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News from the Federation Family

STEM Tutorials for Blind Students to be Offered at the 2017 NFB National Convention:
Are you a blind student interested in studying science, technology, engineering, or math? Do you feel daunted by the prospect of doing lab work in a chemistry class or producing visually readable results in a math class? Perhaps you're a professional in a technical field who finds it challenging to produce graphs and charts for sighted colleagues? If so, then come to the convention of the National Federation of the Blind and plan to arrive in time for Seminar Day on Monday, July 10. The NFB in Computer Science, the NFB Science & Engineering Division, and the NFB National Association of Blind Students Division will host the STEM tutorial workshop. STEM educators and technologists will come from around the world to help blind students and professionals learn to use a variety of tools to assist them in excelling in their chosen technical field. Best of all, individual tutoring sessions will be offered throughout the week for those folks who want one-on-one training from experts who are familiar with the access technology they're teaching, as well as the technical field it's being used for. The topics to be discussed and for which tutoring will be available include: access math in electronic materials directly or to convert it to Braille; write math in formats directly accessible to sighted people; read STEM graphs, charts, and diagrams, and create simple graphics; and participate in chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering labs.

There is no charge to attend either the seminar on Monday or the tutoring sessions throughout the week. The seminar on Monday will give an overview of the technologies to be taught, as well as an introduction to the tutors themselves. It is strongly recommended that folks who are interested in being a part of this invaluable opportunity plan to arrive at the convention in time to begin participating in events on the morning of July 10.

For more information, contact: John Gardner, STEM tutorial coordinator, at [email protected].

In Brief

Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity.

State Resource Handbooks Available for Purchase :
I have created twenty-three screen-reader-friendly resource handbooks containing resources pertaining to the blind and visually impaired for use by consumers and professionals. This handbook is for the residents of specific states and includes the many organizations for the blind and visually impaired covering areas such as employment, housing, transportation, and more. Currently the handbooks are for Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Oregon, Ohio, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kansas, and South Dakota.

The handbooks include contact information on the local, regional, and national level. For more information on pricing, order form, and formats please contact Insightful Publications by email at [email protected], by phone at (808) 747-1006, or by visiting http://www.insightful.com/orderpage.html.

NFB Pledge

I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.