American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Winter 2023 WHAT'S HAPPENING?
Braille Monitor in Spanish
https://nfb.org//images/nfb/publications/bm/bm23/bm2301/es/bm2301tc-es.htm
The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce that it published a Spanish-language version of the organization's flagship publication, Braille Monitor, in January 2023. Spanish editions of the Monitor will be available moving forward.
Adopt a Reader
Seedlings Braille Books for Children
www.seedlings.org
Contact: 800-777-8552
[email protected]
If you live in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, or Indiana, and your child has vision loss and is under the age of twenty-one, you may enroll them in Seedlings' Adopt-a-Reader program each calendar year. When enrolling, choose twelve titles that your child would like to receive. Once matched with a sponsor, your child will receive ten of those twelve titles free of charge.
Seedlings has some 1,200 Braille and print/Braille titles available for children from infancy through high school. You can browse the catalog online or request a print copy by mail.
STEM Teachers Advisory Board
https://stelar.edc.org/poster/engaging-blind-visually-impaired-and-sighted-students-stem-storytelling-through-podcasts
STEM Storytelling through Podcasts for Sighted, Blind, and Visually-Impaired Students is an NSF-funded project involving the use and creation of podcasts in the classroom. NSF is attempting to broaden participation for blind, visually impaired, and sighted upper-elementary students through engaging with podcast technology to tell stories about scientists, including those who are blind and visually impaired. The advisory board wishes to engage a range of teacher voices, expertise, and experience. Teacher-advisors' feedback will be used in designing and modifying podcasts and resources developed as part of this project. They hope to recruit twenty-five teachers of STEM courses for grades three to five who are working in a variety of schools and conditions. They seek teachers from classrooms with sighted students and those with blind and visually-impaired students. Teacher/advisors will review material throughout the year, providing feedback through questionnaires and focus groups and by testing materials in the classroom. Teachers who are selected will receive a stipend of $500 and will be recognized as a teacher in the national project.
Creating Tactile Graphics
https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/heiskell
The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, a branch of the New York Public Library, has a program called Dimensions: Community Tools for Making Tactile Graphics and Objects. Interested blind and low-vision persons can attend training sessions on creating 2-D and 3-D graphics using a program called Openscad.
Tactile Adaptation and Labgear Kits
Independence Science
independencescience.com
Contact: 866-862-9665
[email protected]
These two multisensory kits have proved to be valuable resources for teachers and parents of blind and low-vision students by helping to make science learning more accessible in a hands-on way. The Tactile Adaptation Kit includes materials to make tactile representations in numerous ways, along with an instruction manual documenting methods and illustrative examples. The Labgear Kit includes an instruction manual illustrating how students can use adapted measuring tools in their middle- and high-school laboratory learning experiences.
National Federation of the Blind Surveys
https://nfb.org/legal/surveys
The National Federation of the Blind works to advance disability rights. One important way to do that is to learn about your stories. The NFB is conducting several surveys to gain more information in various areas of access. Please review our current survey categories and report your experiences via any of these important surveys. Links to these surveys can be found at the address above. Thank you for your time!
Rideshare Discrimination Survey
The National Federation of the Blind is seeking feedback from Uber and Lyft customers who have been discriminated against by either rideshare company because of disability, including but not limited to a rider's use of a service animal or white cane, or due to inaccessible rideshare app technology. Please take time to report all instances of discrimination through the Rideshare Discrimination Survey.
Education Technology Survey
The NFB is gathering information regarding the accessibility of educational technology used in our nation's schools (kindergarten through graduate level). If you are a student, parent, teacher, or administrator who uses screen access software or other accommodations to participate nonvisually in educational programs or services, or if you are the parent, teacher, or administrator of someone who does, please complete our Education Technology Survey once a semester and contribute to this important research.
Access to COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Survey
The National Federation of the Blind is gathering data to monitor and challenge access barriers for blind people to COVID-19 vaccines and tests. It is vital that blind and low-vision Americans receive the same opportunities and tools to participate in ending this public-health threat as others do. Please complete a five- to fifteen-minute survey regarding your experience with COVID-19 vaccines and testing.
Access to Digital Library Services Survey
Equal access to digital library services is a priority for the National Federation of the Blind. Digital services provide additional opportunities to engage with libraries and increase the availability of information. Your feedback will help us advocate for improved access to digital library services in public and school libraries. Please complete our survey on access to digital library services.
Unemployment Benefits Survey
The National Federation of the Blind is investigating barriers or denials related to unemployment benefits. If you have been terminated or laid off from your job within the past two years, please complete this important survey.