AFB Announces the Release of the Updated and Revised Foundations of Education, Third Edition

AFB Press is pleased to announce the recent publication of the highly anticipated third edition of the essential textbook in the field of blindness and visual impairment, Foundations of Education, edited by M. Cay Holbrook, Cheryl Kamei-Hannan, and Tessa McCarthy, and authored by dozens of experts in the field of blindness and visual impairment. In this third edition of Foundations of Education, two volumes highlight the history, theory, assessment, and instructional strategies in the education of students who are blind or visually impaired. Additional resources are provided in an online learning center.

In addition to the latest information and best practices, Volume I: History and Theory of Teaching Children and Youth with Visual Impairments, includes a whole new set of chapters that provide additional perspectives on the educational system and focus on crucial topics that connect the education of students with visual impairment to the broader context of educational theory. Volume II: Instructional Strategies for Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, represents the application of the theories presented in Volume I, and contains additional material on planning instruction, moving from assessment to instruction, and supporting students with visual impairments in the general education classroom. Instructional strategies are also highlighted, with chapters dedicated to each area of the core or expanded core curriculum.

Completely revised and updated for the 21st century, Foundations of Education, Third Edition, also includes access to an exclusive, password-protected online resource center to supplement the print textbook. This innovative, fully accessible, web-based Learning Center houses introductory audio presentations from chapter authors, chapter overviews, learning activities, resource lists, and downloadable forms. Also included are peer-reviewed videos illustrating best practices, featuring teachers demonstrating some of the instructional strategies discussed throughout the book. Icons located throughout both volumes direct readers to these resources, which enrich this foundational textbook.

Volume I, History and Theory hardcover edition is 550 pages long and is priced at $84.95; e-books at $59.95; and online subscription at $50.95. Volume II, Instructional Strategies hardcover edition is 980 pages long and is priced at $119.95; e-books at $83.95; and online subscription at $71.95.

Sprint Accessibility Offers Accessible Devices, Affordable Plans, and Customized Customer Care to People with Vision Loss

Sprint Vision is committed to serving the blind and low vision community with accessible devices, more affordable plans, and customized customer care.

Customers who are blind or who have low vision are now eligible for discounted plans and free directory assistance. Sprint's unlimited plans are less costly than similar plans offered by other carriers, and its new "Go Flip" Simple Phone was designed with blind and low vision users in mind.

For more information about devices, customer service, and rate plans, visit the Sprint Vision webpage.

2017 M-Enabling Summit

Register today for the 6th annual M-Enabling Summit, one of the leading global conference and showcases on the East Coast dedicated to technological innovations that enable seniors and persons with disabilities to access digital content and services in new ways.

With its 2017 theme, "Making Connected Things and Services Accessible for All," the M-Enabling Summit sets the stage to promote accessible products, services, and assistive technologies. It also offers an ideal platform to network with accessibility professionals, organizations, and decision makers seeking to address compliance challenges and market development opportunities.

In the spotlight: accessibility for better branding, consumer marketing, innovation in robotics, wearables, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, IoT, smart homes, Section 508 and WCAG 2.1, as well as scaling-up accessibility in higher education, businesses, government, and smart cities.

New to the M-Enabling Summit is the addition of the IAAP Pre Conference Session taking place June 12.

Register today at the registration page.

Leader Dogs for the Blind Summer Experience Camp Application Deadline Extended to April 24th

Application Deadline Extended to April 24!

Leader Dogs for the Blind is Accepting Applications for their Free 2017 Summer Experience Camp

Summer Experience Camp is a week of outdoor fun, friendship, and skill building. The program combines physical activities like kayaking, rock wall climbing, and tandem biking with things exclusively Leader Dog—GPS training and the opportunity to spend time with future Leader Dogs. The combination will help increase your independent travel skills!

The free program is for boys and girls ages 16 and 17 who are legally blind. Leader Dog covers all costs including airfare to Michigan—and everyone receives a free HumanWare Trekker Breeze+ GPS device. Summer Experience Camp is scheduled for June 23-30, 2017. Applications are due by April 24, 2017.

For more information and to download an application, go to the Summer Experience Camp Webpage or call the Leader Dogs for the Blind client services department at 888-777-5332.

Leader Dog client Shannon Columb attended Camp several years ago; check out this YouTube video to find out what she is up to now.

Envision Names Third Incoming Class of Fellows to Conduct Post-Doctoral Research at ERI

Envision announced recently that it has awarded two new fellowships for postdoctoral research studies to Güler Arsal, a former research fellow in the Applied Cognition & Cognitive Engineering Research Group at the University of Huddersfield's School of Human & Health Sciences in the United Kingdom, and to Rajkumar Nallour Raveendran, a doctoral candidate focused on vision sciences at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Drs. Arsal's and Raveendran's research will be based out of the Gigi and Carl Allen Envision Research Institute (ERI) and sponsored by Envision's sister National Industries for the Blind agencies ibMilwaukee and LC Industries, respectively.

"We are proud to be accepting our third incoming class of research fellows, and grateful to ibMilwaukee and LC Industries for their support," said Laura Walker, ERI Executive Director. "Through our efforts to train a new pool of researchers focused on low vision rehabilitation research, our fellows program is making a significant impact in the field. Right now, only a small portion of the eye research being conducted globally is focused on low vision rehabilitation, an area where there is great need. As our multinational ERI fellows graduate and continue their work in other places around the world, we're confident that will change."

Dr. Arsal is a native of Turkey whose study will focus on "Improving Public Transportation Accessibility: Using Cognitive Task Analysis Techniques to Generate Design Recommendations and Create Prototypes of Design Concepts." She earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education and sports from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and went on to receive her doctorate from Florida State University in sport and exercise psychology. Alex Chaparro, a professor of psychology who directs the Aging, Perception, and Performance Lab and the Regional Institute on Aging at Wichita State University, will serve as mentor for the study. Fellowship sponsor ibMilwaukee is a national manufacturer, supplier and distributor of office supplies, office space design, furniture, tools, customized kitting and promotional products in West Allis, Wisconsin, that is dedicated to empowering a diverse workforce that includes individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Rajkumar Nallour Raveendran hails from India and is scheduled to complete his Ph.D. this spring. At the ERI, he will study "Transcranial Brain Stimulation and Visual Rehabilitation." Ben Thompson, an associate professor in the optometry and vision science department at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario Canada, will serve as his mentor. Thompson studies human visual cortex development and plasticity particularly as it relates to brain-based visual disorders. Fellowship sponsor LC Industries is a Durham, North Carolina-based organization whose sole mission is to provide meaningful employment for people who are blind, offering opportunities, skills and training to help them cultivate jobs into rewarding careers.

Fellowships at the ERI provide an educational environment where appointees identify solutions to improve the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired. Through mentoring, the fellows are put on the fast track to independent and impactful research careers. Each fellowship is awarded for one year, with a second year contingent on progress in the first.

The ERI recently graduated its first class of fellows, Drs. Tony Succar, from Australia, and Rezaul Kareem, from Bangladesh, who researched "Restoring Functional 3D Vision in Macular Degeneration" and "Tactile Object Understanding And Characterization," respectively. In addition, both of the ERI's second class of fellows, Drs. Andrea Urqueta Alfaro, from Chile, and Arun Kumar Krishnan, from India, recently received extensions of their projects for a second year each. Dr. Alfaro is researching "Coordinated Joint Engagement, Attachment, And Haptic Development In Infants With Visual Impairments," while Dr. Krishnan is investigating "Structure-Function Relation At The Preferred Retinal Locus Of Subjects With Age-Related Macular Degeneration."

Further information about the ERI and its fellowship program can be found online on this page.

Blind Independent Diabetics Group Formed

The Blind Independence Diabetes Group (BID Group) has been created especially for blind and vision impaired diabetics. The purpose of the BID Group is to provide one location for blind diabetics to get exactly what they need. This includes award-winning Prodigy Voice meters and test strips for $6.87 per box, audible training materials, and friendly support from other blind diabetics.

The goal of the group is to increase independence, teach blind diabetes living skills, and improve health. Advanced Diabetes Supply, a 2017 Medicare Bid Winner, has commissioned Jerry Munden, recipient of the 2011 National Federation of the Blind Bolotin Award, to make it happen.

BID Group partners include the best in the blindness and medical products industry. Advanced Diabetes Supply, AFB VisionAware, Senior Center without Walls, the National Federation of the Blind, and others.

  • The BID Group website is open now
  • All products and services are available on the BID Group website
  • You are invited to join the blind diabetic support group starting April 7th
  • Contact BID Group Facilitator Jerry Munden at 980-253-0949 or jerrymunden@carolina.rr.com for more information

The Shepherd Center Seeks Responders to Survey on People with Disabilities and Mobile Communications for Health Management

The Shepherd center is interested in learning about the experiences or interest of individuals with disabilities in using three broad types of mHealth technology:

  • Mobile apps for recording health information (e.g., physical activity, diet) or managing your health.
  • Monitoring and tracking devices for recording activity and other health-related information (activity trackers, glucose monitor).
  • Websites and other internet-based sources of health information.

As a small expression of appreciation for your participation, the LiveWell RERC will donate $1.00 to each of the following 5 charities:

If interested in participating, you can complete the questionnaire at this survey link.

The Shepherd Center is a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta for people recovering from traumatic injuries or who are managing neurodegenerative diseases. The center is working on a federal grant, the LiveWell Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Health and Function (LiveWell RERC) whose mission is to promote accessibility of information and communication technologies (ICT) such as cell phones and tablets for people with all types of disabilities.

The focus is on how people with disabilities use or would like to use mobile communication technology to monitor and manage their health. The information collected from this survey will be used to help researchers, designers, and engineers create new mHealth solutions to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

Article Topic
AccessWorld News