Release of Keys to Educational Success: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities
AFB Press is pleased to announce the recent publication of Keys to Educational Success: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities, Sharon Z. Sacks, Ph.D., and Mary C. Zatta, Ph.D., Editors. ?This textbook is published in conjunction with Perkins School for the Blind.
Keys to Educational Success: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities is a comprehensive teaching guide that helps educators unlock the learning potential of their students with multiple disabilities by providing key program strategies that can be directly applied to classroom learning routines. The contents of this textbook include information about the basics of assessment, IEP development, and instructional planning and design, as well as specific strategies for essential areas of instruction including communication, literacy, orientation and mobility, behavior intervention, technology, and others. Guidelines for working with very young children, as well as for preparing students for life transitions after school, are explained.
Keys to Educational Success is also an important reference for special education teachers, educational team members, and administrators who support students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities in a variety of school settings.
The paperback format is 604 pages long and is available for $64.95; e-books for $45.95; and the online subscription will be available shortly for $38.95.
Envision Partners with Wichita State University's Regional Institute on Aging to Expand Resources and Foster Student Interest in Low Vision
Envision recently announced a partnership between the Envision Research Institute (ERI) and Wichita State University's Regional Institute on Aging (RIA) that will increase resources for both organizations and promote greater professional and academic interest in low vision rehabilitation. The ERI, which was established by Envision in 2014, focuses on meaningful and applied vision research with the goal of raising the standard for low vision patient care and removing functional barriers for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The RIA is a virtual research organization established by WSU that serves as an intellectual and scientific organizer for the university and its partners to facilitate, leverage, and expand ongoing research work to enhance the lives of older adults.
As part of the collaboration, Dr. Walker has been appointed as an adjunct research scientist at the RIA. She will serve as a guest lecturer for WSU courses and act in an advisory role for Ph.D. candidates. Dr. Walker, ERI scientists and staff members will collaborate with students and faculty to facilitate their exposure to applied problems in visual impairment and support research projects. RIA will provide access to online and physical libraries, institutional review boards and ethics training to facilitate ERI research activities.
At Envision, WSU students will be invited to attend Envision's continuing education events and visiting scholar presentations, accompany Envision staff on clinical rotations and observe programs such as:
- The integrated Envision Child Development Center, where children who are blind or visually impaired learn and play alongside their typically sighted peers;
- The Envision Vision Rehabilitation Center that gives individuals who are blind or visually impaired the tools they need to see beyond their vision impairment and better navigate everyday activities;
- Envision's employment programs, developed to accommodate the high percentage of blind and visually impaired employees working at its headquarters and nearby manufacturing facility.
Audio Described Video Content Now Available on Popular Adult Entertainment Website
In this issue we introduce you to BlindyTV.com, a site which streams the soundtrack of audio described television programs and documentaries. We used this as a launching pad to discuss the difficulties of creating and finding audio described content. Now, in recent news, AccessWorld alerts its readers to a surprising new platform which may help proliferate the adoption of audio description. We say this because this particular industry has always been on the cutting edge of technological advances. Its impact has been felt from the days of the first printing press, and can be traced from the days of silent films through the adoption of instant photography, home video player/recorders, pay for view video, online credit card verification, and streaming video. And while this particular industry did not invent any of these technologies, it is widely perceived that it was the first to profit handsomely from each of these technological innovations.
If you haven't guessed by now, the industry which has now made its first initial forays into video description is the adult entertainment industry. One of its leading online purveyors, PornHub.com, now offers a described video category.
According to a company press release, "The inaugural collection of 50 enhanced-audio videos stems from the site's top viewed videos, and features voiceovers done by both professional voice actors as well as Pornhub Aria, Pornhubs's social media personality."
"It's our goal to service all of our users' needs, which begins with making content accessible to every individual. By integrating an audio-focused series, we can now ensure that we supply content specifically for those who are visually impaired," said Corey Price, Vice President, Pornhub. "With programs like this, we hope to open the door and inspire our community members, content partners and other platforms to create more content with the differently-abled user in mind."
The company is encouraging all of its content providers, both amateurs and professionals, to offer audio described versions of their submissions, which—no matter what your personal feelings may be regarding the adult entertainment industry—can only serve to help spread awareness of the need for audio described content. The described video campaign is being championed by Pornhub's philanthropic division Pornhub Cares, which has hosted several other initiatives, including a limited edition clothing line to support the fight against domestic violence, a breast cancer awareness and fundraising campaign, and the "Pornhub Cares Scholarship," a $25,000 scholarship awarded to a deserving student.
