Tag Archive

Education

LightHouse News

LightHouse Commits to National Fitness Challenge

LightHouse is proud to announce we will be partnering with the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) to promote physical fitness for blind and visually impaired children and youth.

Incentives will include prizes and the opportunity for top participants to attend a Paralympic Sports Camp.  We will roll this exciting fitness program out to campers attending Enchanted Hills Camp this July and August.

For further details, please contact Brandon Young at 415-694-7372 or byoung@old.lighthouse-sf.org.

LightHouse News

Seats Available – Charter Bus to American Council of the Blind’s Annual Conference and Convention

The LightHouse will charter a bus to American Council of the Blind’s 50th annual conference and convention this July. Presently, plans are in the making for pick-up and drop-off at the LightHouse in San Francisco, the Ed Roberts Campus (Ashby BART) in Berkeley and in downtown Sacramento.

The bus will travel leaving the Bay Area at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, July 9 and make two additional stops before arriving mid-afternoon at the John Ascuaga Nugget Hotel Resort Casino in Sparks, Nevada. The bus will depart at noon on Wednesday, July 13, reversing the drop-offs and returning to the LightHouse by 6:00 p.m.

There are a limited number of seats available for purchase. One-way seats are $100.00; round-trip seats are only $150.00. Deposits are due mid-May. For more information or to reserve your seat, contact Rich Russo, Community Services Program Assistant at 415-694-7352 or rrusso@old.lighthouse-sf.org.

LightHouse News

Adoption of Google Apps Program Discriminates Against the Blind

Baltimore, Maryland (March 15, 2011): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind people in the United States, today requested that the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, investigate civil rights violations committed by New York University (NYU) and Northwestern University against blind faculty and students. The NFB made the request because the schools have adopted technology that is not accessible to the blind. Both universities have recently adopted Google Apps for Education as a means of providing e-mail and collaboration tools to students and faculty. Google Apps for Education is a free suite of hosted communication and collaboration applications that includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs, and Google Sites. Each of these applications contains significant accessibility barriers for blind people utilizing screen access technology, which converts what is on the computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille. A similar request for investigation has been filed against four Oregon public school districts that are using Google Apps. The complaints allege violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For further illustration of this matter, please view a demonstration of screen access technology used by the blind and the accessibility barriers that a blind person experiences using Google Apps.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Given the many accessible options available, there is no good reason that these universities should choose a suite of applications, including critical e-mail services, that is inaccessible to blind students. Worse yet, according to recent data more than half of the American higher education institutions that are outsourcing e-mail to third-party vendors plan to deploy this suite, even though they know that it cannot be used by blind students. Nor can these universities claim ignorance of their legal obligations, since the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Education have specifically warned all university presidents against the adoption of inaccessible technology. The National Federation of the Blind will not tolerate this unconscionable discrimination against blind students and faculty and callous indifference to the right of blind students to receive an equal education. We urge these higher education institutions to suspend their adoption of Google Apps for Education until it is accessible to all students and faculty, not just the sighted, or to reject Google Apps entirely.”

The National Federation of the Blind is represented in this matter by Daniel F. Goldstein of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy.

Resources in the Community

The Digital Network for Students with Visual Impairments: How do visually impaired students approach the new trend of digital social networks by using assistive technology?

1 Commenton The Digital Network for Students with Visual Impairments: How do visually impaired students approach the new trend of digital social networks by using assistive technology?

Sunggye Hong currently works for San Francisco State University and trains teachers of students with visual impairments and is currently seeking participants for a study.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role digital social networks play in the development of social skills of students with visual impairments and the degree to which visually impaired students are participating in such activities.

Sunggye is looking for a student who is blind or visually impaired and is 12 to 18 years old to participate in a survey study. The survey will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete and will focus on the use of digital social media such as online social networks, text messaging, and assistive technology when using such digital media.

If you have any questions or concerns at this point or in the future, or would like to know more about the study, please feel free to contact:

Sunggye Hong, Assistant Professor

Department of Special Education, San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94132
hong72@sfsu.edu
(415)338-3430

Resources in the Community

The Hadley School for the Blind Launches Three New Access Technology Courses

1 Commenton The Hadley School for the Blind Launches Three New Access Technology Courses

The Hadley School for the Blind is pleased to announce the launch of three new, structured and practical online courses designed to improve user access technology skills for users of screen readers. Each course consists of two lessons.

“Screen Readers: Listening Skills” trains users to increase their speed of listening to a screen reader. The course assists in being able to listen and comprehend a screen reader at 300 words or more a minute. It also teaches techniques to enable a user to listen to a screen reader and listen to another person on the phone at the same time. This skill lends itself to success in most work places. For more information or to register, follow this link.

“Screen Readers: Web Browsing” is about navigating Web sites. This course has lessons that provide tips and advice on the best methods to navigate very accessible Web sites as well as those that present more accessibility challenges. The Internet is “an information super highway,” and an ability to navigate it efficiently and skillfully is crucial to educational and workplace success. For more information or to register, follow this link.

“Screen Readers: Formatting Word Documents” is aimed at sharpening the user’s skill in Microsoft Word 2007. This course covers editing text, adjusting fonts, using headings, bullets and much more while using a screen reader. Determining editing and formatting problems with a screen reader can be challenging, but mastering the techniques taught in this course can lead to confident creation of appropriate-looking documents for work or school. For more information or to register, follow this link.

Resources in the Community

2011 Youth Slam Applications

The Youth Slam is a biennial program in its third year that gives blind high school students a week-long college immersion experience focused on exciting STEM (Sience Technology Engineering & Math) subjects like Forensics, Kineseology, Computer Science, Robotics, journalism, Rocketry, Architecture, Environmental Science, and a taste of driving via the Blind Driver Challenge.

Students will spend a school week in the dorms at Towson University from July 17-23, 2011, under the guidance of competent blind mentors, dining in the dining hall, navigating campus to get to classes, engaging in challenging and learningful academic activities, and getting a taste of independent college life, including fun evening activities.

Spaces are filling, but applications are still being accepted through March 1st.  More info about Youth Slam and the application process can be found at www.blindscience.org.

A YouTube video highlighting the 2009 Youth Slam can be found by clicking here.

Resources in the Community

Tip Sheet on Dog Attacks against Guide Dogs

The State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind partnered with the California Department of Consumer Affairs in their “Take Charge” campaign.  The product of this partnership was a tip sheet for consumers regarding dog attacks on guide dogs.  This tip card is available by mail, in Braille, or in Spanish upon request.  The online tip card can be accessed in html or printer friendly versions.

http://www.guidedogboard.ca.gov/resources/dogattack_contips.shtml

Resources in the Community

Medicare Handbook in Braille

The 2011 edition of the “Medicare and You” Handbook, which all Medicare recipients receive in the mail is now available in Braille. It comes in three soft cover volumes, 257 pages in Braille. This is the official US government Medicare handbook, covering what’s new, what Medicare costs, what it covers, health and prescription drug plans, and your Medicare rights. To order this publication in Braille call 1(800) 633-4227, ask to speak to an agent, and ask for Braille.

Resources in the Community

Cooking Without Looking

2 Commentson Cooking Without Looking

By Brian McCallen, LightHouse guest blogger and volunteer

Cooking Without Looking is the newest television show in town just for the blind and visually impaired.

The blind and visually impaired cooks stir up their most tasty dishes, including “Phil’s Fabulous Gourmet Meatloaf” and “Celia’s Easy Cheesy Potatoes.” Not only do the chefs describe how to cook the best food, but also tell viewers how to stay safe and have fun in the kitchen. The third segment of the show: “Food for Thought,” gives blind viewers information about resources they can use. In an informative episode, host Annette Watkins interviews David Evans from the National Foundation for the Blind about NFB-Newsline. It’s the famous service that lets the visually impaired listen to top-rated newspapers just by picking up a touch-tone phone and calling their toll-free number.

Cooking Without Looking previously aired exclusively on WXEL-TV channel 42, the PBS station in West Palm Beach, Florida. I spoke with the program’s parent company, Vision World Foundation, and they said that the show’s gearing up for another run on the Cooking Channel (Comcast Cable channel 182) in the near future. Premiere dates are later to be announced.

In the meantime, you can check out past full episodes and recipes at: http://www.visionworldfoundation.net/.

So stay tuned for Cooking Without Looking! It’s easy, delicious, and most of all FUN!

Resources in the Community

2011 Through the Looking Glass Scholarship

1 Commenton 2011 Through the Looking Glass Scholarship

Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families are pleased to announce new scholarships specifically for high school seniors or college students who have parents with disabilities.  A total of ten $1000 scholarships will be given out Fall 2011.  These scholarships are part of Through the Looking Glass’ National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families.  There are separate eligibility requirements for high school seniors and for college students:

1. High School Seniors. To be eligible, a student must be a high school graduate (or graduating senior) by Summer 2011, planning to attend a two-year or four-year college in Fall 2011 in pursuit of an AA, BA or BS degree, and have at least one parent with a disability.

2. College Students. To be eligible, a student must be currently enrolled in a two-year or four-year college in Fall 2011 in pursuit of an AA, BA or BS degree, be 21 years of age or younger as of  March 1, 2011, and have at least one parent with a disability.

All application materials must be postmarked by March 1, 2011.  Individuals may submit only one application per award period.

Selection criteria for all scholarships include academic performance, community activities and service, letter of recommendation and an essay describing the experience of growing up with a parent with a disability.

Please go to our website: http://www.lookingglass.org for more information, including the application form, complete application directions and an FAQ page that answers many common questions as well as offers helpful suggestions.