Dear AccessWorld readers,
I know the students out there may not be ready to hear these words, but it's time to think about the start of a new school year.
New classes, new instructors, class projects, presentations, tests, new people, and maybe even a new school or moving away to college bring about uncertainty and new challenges. Uncertainty is not necessarily a bad thing. This time of year can be exciting, too, especially if you prepare in advance.
Pursuing an education can be difficult under the best of circumstances, and doing so as a person with vision loss can increase the challenge.
For the students in our readership: you must take personal responsibility for your education, and you must be your own advocate. It is very important to prepare in advance, speak to instructors, and tell those you'll be working with exactly what types of accommodations will best meet your needs. Your education will have a tremendous impact on every aspect of the rest of your life, so it's crucial that you do everything you can to get the most out of your studies.
Good planning prevents poor performance! It's never too early to begin planning for the next school term, whether you're in elementary school or graduate school. Acquiring and learning to use the mainstream and access technology that best suits your situation, registering as early as possible for classes, obtaining reading lists, and searching out alternative formats should be done as soon as you can. Waiting until the last minute is a recipe for disaster.
It has become an AccessWorld tradition for the July issue to be our "Back to School" issue. So, this month the AccessWorld team once again focuses on providing valuable information and resources for students, parents, teachers, and professionals in the vision loss field to help make educational pursuits less stressful and more enjoyable. We are excited to bring you the information in this issue, and we sincerely hope you will find it useful.
Please be sure to check out past "Back to School" issues from AccessWorld. The July issues of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 all contain information that can still be pertinent today. When reading these past "Back to School" issues, I encourage you to start with a 2010 article I co-authored, Educational Resources and Tips from AFB's Information and Referral Center.
As I wrote in the June Editor's Page, AccessWorld is listening. I also told readers to be on the lookout for ways to provide information and feedback to AccessWorld and AFB's tech staff. As Editor-in-Chief, I want to make sure AccessWorld continues to meet your needs and hopefully exceed your expectations. I want to know which technologies you use and which you want to learn more about. I would like to hear your thoughts regarding the coverage provided in AccessWorld. Are you satisfied with article length and level of detail, frequency of publication, and mix of topics? If so, great! If you have ideas for improvements, we want to hear them! Either way, let us hear from you. As time passes and technologies change and advance, the AccessWorld staff understands that your questions and needs change as well.
If you haven't yet done so, please participate in our feedback questionnaire to help you provide us with your views. My tech colleagues at AFB are also interested in other ideas you might have to share with us regarding mobile app development. Please take a few moments to answer a few questions to help us be even better resources for you.
We on the AccessWorld team wish you good luck and good planning as you head back to school!
Sincerely,
Lee Huffman
AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
American Foundation for the Blind
