[nabs-l] Panel looking for Braille readers at George Mason University

Corbb O'Connor corbbo at gmail.com
Tue Aug 11 20:45:30 UTC 2009


----- Original Message ----- From: "Kimberly Avila" <krwa at verizon.net
To: <kavila at gmu.edu
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 2:18 PM
Subject: Braille Readers Panel


Dear Friends and teachers,

(TVI's and service providers, please pass this along to any students who may
be interested in speaking on this panel.)

This fall I will be teaching "Braille Code" through the Virginia Consortium
and George Mason University.  In my efforts to help the graduate
students/prospective teachers of the visually impaired understand braille is
more than memorizing code, I would like to host a panel discussion of
braille readers who will bring personal perspectives of how braille has
impacted their lives.

This panel will consist of 3-5 members of differing ages and braille reading
abilities.  A list of topics that will be discussed will be passed along to
volunteer panel members closer to the date, but here is a general overview
of questions:

How long did it take you to learn braille?
What was easy, what was hard?
Were teachers, family and schools supportive of you learning and reading
braille?
Were there any teaching strategies used that were good for you or not so
good?
What obstacles did you face in learning or accessing braille?
How did you manage all of the braille materials and volumes of books?
Has braille opened up opportunities for you?
Did knowing braille impact your ability to get a job or attend college after
high school?
How has access to braille changed over the years?  (For those who have been
braille readers longer, what has changed in recent decades that you feel are
great or not so great...)
What advice can you give to teachers of the visually impaired or students
learning braille that will make it more efficient, more fun or more
accessible?
Are you glad you learned braille?
Funny stories: students LOVE to hear any cute anecdotes or experiences with
braille that make them laugh.

I have created a very thorough, packed syllabus for the Braille course, with
lessons on every aspect of braille literacy, techniques and technologies for
teaching/transcribing/reading braille and we will be using the NLS
curriculum/WESBraille for code instruction.  However, any technologies or
devices you would like to demo during panel would be great, just let me know
what you will be bringing.

There are four prospective dates for this panel: 10/1/09, 10/8/09, 10/22/09
or 11/12/09.  Please let me know your order of preference for days, all
classes are from 4-6:40 on Thursdays.  The panel will be approximately 1
hour (give or take) and would ideally begin at 4:00, but I am flexible with
the start time (the latest start time would be 5:30).

Our class is located in Fairfax City, about 1.5 miles from GMU's main
campus. Directions will be provided to volunteers.  Sorry, there is no
re-imbursement for guest speaker travel expenses, but your testimony will
have a tremendous impact on future TVI's and students.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Avila M.A., COMS
Adjunct Professor of Special Education, Blindness and Visual Impairment
Contracting Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments
ACVREP Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist
www.vipsight.org




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