American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention 2024 NEWS
Deadline for Requests: December 16, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
The National Federation of the Blind and the American Action Fund are excited to provide Braille letters and activities to celebrate the holiday and winter season. Each letter is part of a fun packet of activities. The Braille celebration packet is accompanied by a print copy so the whole family can participate. Letters are available in English and Spanish.
FamilyConnect
https://aphconnectcenter.org/holiday/outside-the-box-holiday-gift-ideas-for-family-friends-or-colleagues-who-are-blind-or-low-vision/#main
FamilyConnect has created two videos to introduce friends and family members of people who are blind or low-vision to out-of-the-box ideas for holiday gifts. Whether it’s a ticket to a concert, play, or sporting event; a cooking class; or a lesson in a new skill such as dancing or playing a musical instrument, there is something for everyone.
nbp.org
Contact: 800-548-7323
[email protected]
National Braille Press has a variety of offerings to help you celebrate the holiday season. Check out the website to find holiday cards, print/Braille refrigerator magnets, print/Braille books, and games.
https://www.actionfund.org/index.php/BRAL
Registration: November 15, 2024-January 17, 2025
Contest Period: December 2, 2024 to January 17, 2025
The Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest has been created to promote the joy of reading for pleasure, to promote pride in Braille as a viable literacy medium equal to print, and to demonstrate the importance of independent reading in the development of Braille literacy skills. Blind and low-vision Braille-reading students and adults and teachers of blind students are eligible to participate. Winners will be notified on March 2. Contestants compete against their same-grade peers nationwide to read the most minutes during the reading period.
https://actionfund.org/resources/braille-calendars
Contact: [email protected]
The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults produces more than eight thousand Braille calendars each year. They are given free of charge to any blind or deafblind person in the United States. These pocket calendars are great for the office, home, or travel bag. Individuals may order up to three calendars.
https://aphconnectcenter.org/familyconnect/education/literacy-and-braille/bringing-braille-basics-home
If you are looking to learn Braille at home, discover the short videos and practice pages you can use with your home computer. The Bringing Braille Basics Home series teaches the alphabet, punctuation, capital indicator, number indicator, and numbers.
The documentary Thunder Rolls! combines a thriller sports story with an educational message. When the rules of a game are changed, appropriate technologies are applied, and opportunities are opened, individuals with disabilities can play competitive sports at Olympic levels. Thunder Rolls! follows the Indy Thunder beep baseball team in its quest to win a world championship. In the process it illustrates how the team members and their coach, Darnell Booker, navigate their everyday lives and come together as a family. The documentary reveals a nuanced world that involves the full range of accomplishments and engagements of the individuals portrayed. Narrated by Jesse Eisenberg and with an original music score by Tyron Cooper, this is a spirited, humanistic sports story operating on many levels of entertainment and social significance.
Deborah Bonde, the founder of Seedlings Braille Books for Children, retired on December 1, 2024, after forty years of dedicated service. She will continue to cheer on Seedlings as it brings the gift of Braille literacy to children everywhere. Former assistant director Amanda Hercula will serve as Seedlings’ new executive director. You can read Deborah Bonde’s retirement message at https://myemail-api.constantcontact
.com/An-exciting-announcement-from-Seedlings-.html?soid=1102490454273&aid=jDszDca9JwU&_gl=1
*7dszfy*_gcl_au*MTg4NTAxOTMwNC4xNzI2Nzc4NzQy*_ga*M2Q5ZTBhYTUtM2U5My00MDhmLThjNDAt
MDMyYmMxZTJhMGQy*_ga_14T5LGLSQ3*MTcyODQwMTgzNC40Mi4xLjE3Mjg0MDIyNjMuMi4wLjA.
Contact: Mutiara Syifa
[email protected]
The A11y in Sci team is conducting research to understand what teachers know about technology accessibility in order to support teachers more effectively. The purpose of this study is to understand what teachers know about using technology to construct proactively accessible high school science classes. The findings will be used to design learning opportunities about technology accessibility that meet teachers’ needs. In alignment with NFB’s mission, this study will help science teachers understand the importance of accessibility and will help them provide accessibility in science classes. Participants must be teaching in a public high school (including schools for the blind), be a science teacher or teacher of blind and low-vision students. Interviews will take place early in 2025 and will run 60-90 minutes. Participants will be compensated with a $100 gift card.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqwh_hcoSzTUkskVASsV_g5r3zI7w64GLC_r5Ud86Qx3
mV1Q/viewform
Margie Torres Nowlin is conducting doctoral research on how two- and four-year colleges are improving the accessibility of STEM courses. She invites current and recent blind and low-vision college students to complete a short survey. Ten respondents will be selected for one-on-one interviews.
Dr. Alfred d’Agostino has written a book chapter on making the postsecondary chemistry curriculum accessible to blind and low-vision students, and he is seeking the firsthand experiences of students who have taken postsecondary chemistry courses. Please provide responses to these questions and email him at the address above:
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 the Education Technology Survey once a semester and contribute to this important research.