[Nfb-dc] FW: NFB Jernigan Institute Newsletter - January Beginnings

[NFB-DC Affiliate]

On 1/14/14, NFB-DC Affiliate <capitol.matters at gmail.com> wrote:
> Image removed by sender. Graphic: NFBJI logoImagineering Our Future
>
>
>
> Issue 60
>
> January 2014
>
> In this issue:
>
> *	Message from the Executive Director <>
> *	What's News at the NFB
> *	Profiles <>
> *	Education <>
> *	Braille Initiative <>
> *	Advocacy <>
> *	Product and Access Technology Talk <>
> *	From the tenBroek Library <>
> *	Independence Market <>
> *	NFB Calendar <>
> *	Citation <>
>
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>
> Message from the Executive Director
>
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> The year of 2014 has arrived with a celebration of Braille at the
> National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Jernigan Institute. Our members
> did not take much time to ring in the New Year before jumping on
> planes and trains to come for our 2014 NFB Braille Enrichment through
> Literacy and Learning (BELL) Program seminar which began on January 2.
>
>
> Image removed by sender. Louis Braille birthday party
>
> As we celebrated Louis Braille's birthday during our seminar this past
> weekend, I could not help but recall how important Braille has been in
> my own growing appreciation of poetry. Poetry can be quite enjoyable
> when read artfully by a human, but I never gained an appreciation for
> poetry read by synthesized speech. When I finally had the opportunity
> to learn Braille, I found poetry to be a different experience. This
> led me to reflect on the fact that the number fourteen has the
> significance of being the number of lines in a sonnet. In a sonnet the
> first eight lines present the problem or question to be pondered,
> while the final six give the answer.
>
> Thus, maybe 2014 is the year for the solution to the Braille literacy
> problem in our country to be realized. Maybe this year will be the
> time when our NFB BELL Program comes to be known all across this
> country. We need more work on the solution--and it seems poetic to
> make fourteen our year. During our seminar this past weekend, you
> could feel the hope and inspiration as Federation members from
> twenty-four of our affiliates planned and imagined how local
> communities would be different once the NFB BELL Program was complete
> in 2014.
>
> Maybe I will make a New Year's resolution to write a sonnet in honor
> of the tremendous code that Louis Braille created and that we are now
> teaching through our NFB BELL Program. Most certainly I will require
> the use of Braille to complete my task and I think the exercise will
> help focus my imagination on the innovative solutions that we will
> forge for the blind in the coming year. I hope your resolutions for
> this year include a pledge of support to work closely with the NFB to
> ensure that all blind people can live that the life they want.
>
>
>
>
> Poetically yours,
>
> Image removed by sender. Graphic: Signature of Mark Riccobono
>
> Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director
> NFB Jernigan Institute
>
> P.S. Check out the video from the Quest for the Salt on the NFB page
> on YouTube
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2924&qid=318325>
> .
>
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>
>
>
> What's News at the NFB
>
>
> 2013 Onkyo Braille Essay Contest Winners
>
> The Onkyo Braille Literacy Essay Contest is administered in the U.S.
> by the NFB on behalf of the North American/Caribbean Region of the
> World Blind Union. The essay contest, which is sponsored by the Onkyo
> Corporation and the Braille Mainichi, was created to promote Braille
> literacy and to encourage the sharing of social and cultural
> information among blind and visually impaired persons.
>
> The essays were required to be written in Braille, and to pertain
> either to how the individual gains knowledge or independence through
> Braille, or to an individual concept about world peace from the
> viewpoint of persons with disabilities. There were two groups of
> competitors: a junior category for persons up to age twenty-five and a
> senior category for persons over age twenty-six. Each winner received
> a substantial cash prize, a plaque, and other gifts from the Onkyo
> Corporation.
>
> The seven winners from the North America/Caribbean Region were as follows:
>
> Ootsuki Prize
>    Jerry McKee, Alabama
>
> Excellent Work Award, Senior
>    Lynn Spittle, South Carolina
>
> Excellent Work Award, Junior
>    Anna Avramenko, Kansas
>
> Fine Work Award, Senior
>    Jeremiah Rogers, North Carolina
>    Carolyn Fish, Virginia
>
> Fine Work Award, Junior
>    Aspen Poole, New York
>    Tamer Zaid, Texas
>
>
>
> NFB Bid for Equality
>
> Thank you to everyone who supported our Bid for Equality online
> auction. We are grateful for our members that helped with this effort,
> including those that spread the word about the auction. And we
> especially appreciate those that made a "bid for equality." The
> package with the highest leading bid was Texas’s two music badges to
> the South by Southwest Music Festival, including hotel accommodations,
> which was followed by Indiana’s pearl necklace and earring set and New
> York’s weekend getaway.
>
> We are excited to report that we received more than $10,000 in bids to
> support our programs.  We are already looking forward to next year’s
> auction.
>
> TEACH Act Collaboration
>
> The National Association of Blind Students (NABS) is collaborating
> with the NFB advocacy and policy department in their efforts to
> advocate for the Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College
> and Higher Education (TEACH) Act. They are collecting stories about
> blind students' experiences with higher education, with a goal of
> collecting stories from constituents living in every congressional
> district in the United States.
>
> They need stories from current and recent students who are, and have
> been, affected by the lack of accessibility in the classroom, whether
> it was through inaccessible instructional materials or a lack of,
> late, or inadequate accessible materials. Instructional materials
> could be any form of curricular content, from digital books, to Web
> content, to PDF, to online digital databases.  If you have information
> to share, compose your paragraph-long story and send it to Cindy
> Bennett at clb5590 at gmail.com. Be sure to include a sentence of how
> accessibility guidelines would have prevented or solved your problem.
> Please include the school you attend or attended, and any
> congressional districts that you live in. For example, if your
> permanent address is in a different congressional district from the
> district in which you go to school, list both. If you do not know this
> information, you can use your ZIP code to look it up at
> http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2885&qid=318325>
> .
>
> The second way that you can help is by reinforcing the appointments
> the NFB has with Congress. If someone has an appointment with your
> congressperson, Cindy will contact you with the date of the
> appointment, and you can call your congressperson's office and tell
> your story. This will show your congressperson that one of their
> constituents is directly affected by inadequate accessibility and
> needs the TEACH Act. This part is very important as members of
> Congress work for their constituents.
>
> If you have any questions, contact Cindy Bennett at clb5590 at gmail.com
> or Lauren McLarney at LMcLarney at nfb.org. For more information about
> the TEACH Act, please read the fact sheet found at
> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/word/2013%20teach%20fact%20sheet.doc
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2886&qid=318325>
> .
>
>
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>
> Profiles
>
>
> Chelsea Cook
>
> Chelsea Cook, who was a student in NFB STEM programs and is now a
> mentor and instructor in those programs, recently gave a presentation
> at the Virginia Tech TEDX event.  The link to the video is
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr2wFIFft2w
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2925&qid=318325>
> .
>
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>
> Education
>
>
> The NFB BELL Program
>
> At the NFB Jernigan Institute, we celebrated Louis Braille’s birthday
> with a planning meeting for our summer Braille program—the NFB BELL
> program. Members of the NFB, educators, and other leaders in the field
> of blindness gathered to share information and resources related to
> hosting engaging and authentic Braille instruction for blind youth
> across the country. In the summer of 2014, twenty-four states will
> host NFB BELL programs. Seven of those affiliates—Arizona, the
> District of Columbia, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina,
> and Oregon—will host the program for the first time!
>
> Stay tuned for more information about the 2014 NFB BELL programs in
> the coming months to ensure that the blind children in your life don’t
> miss out on this exciting learning opportunity. To learn about the NFB
> BELL programs hosted in the summer of 2013, read the November issue of
> the
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2887&qid=318325>
> Braille Monitor, which contains several articles about the programs
> that took place throughout the country.
>
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>
> Braille Initiative
>
>
> Braille Certification Training Program
>
> Under a contract with the National Library Service for the Blind and
> Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress (NLS), the NFB administers
> the courses leading to NLS certification of Braille transcribers and
> proofreaders. Successful completion of these rigorous courses requires
> a great deal of time and effort on the part of the students. We
> congratulate the following individuals who earned certification during
> the month of October 2013:
>
>
> Literary Braille Transcribing
>
>
> Alabama
>    Bobby Alan Nunn, Talladega
>
> California
>    Jocelyne Cardenas, Pico Rivera
>    Martin Albert Zahorik, Camarillo
>
> Connecticut
>    Sean Patrick Murphy, Cheshire
>
> Indiana
>    Nola Marie Zimmerman, Richmond
>
> Iowa
>    Kim David Archer, Anamosa
>
> Minnesota
>    Carol Jean Rubin, Minneapolis
>
> New York
>    Kathy Marie Holden, Hilton
>
> North Carolina
>    Curtis R. Fields, Laurinburg
>    Anthony Darrell Long, Laurinburg
>    Jason DeMartrice Marriner, Laurinburg
>    Allen Curtis Mayes, Laurinburg
>    William Jared Rose, Laurinburg
>    Scott Stephens, Laurinburg
>
> Oklahoma
>    Robert James Loomis, Taft
>
> Texas
>    Ceyma Rena' Bina, Gatesville
>    Jennifer Jean Blaschke, Gatesville
>    Lisa Marie Ortiz, Gatesville
>    Barbara Leanne Price, Gatesville
>    Sandra Leilani Reyna, Gatesville
>    Larissa Ann Saucedo, Gatesville
>
> Washington
>    Therese Beem, Vancouver
>    Sean Adam Southworth, Vancouver
>
> Wisconsin
>    Traci Lynn McDonald, Cottage Grove
>
>
>
> Music Braille Transcribing
>
>
> Missouri
>    Kevin Dyal, Jefferson City
>
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>
> Advocacy
>
>
> CCSS-Aligned Field Tests Begin in Spring 2014:  Will Your Child Have
> Access to Accommodations?
>
> Beginning in March 2014, over one million students nationwide will
> participate in field tests aligned to the new Common Core State
> Standards (CCSS).
>
> The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
> (PARCC) will validate test questions and computer-based delivery
> platforms with students ranging from grades three through twelve when
> schools administer its Performance-Based Assessment and End-of-Year
> Assessment.
>
> The NFB is currently investigating the accessibility features
> available for the impending PARCC field tests, including the
> availability of Braille and screen access software.  Your feedback on
> this matter is critical.  School districts were notified in the fall
> of 2013 whether or not they would be included in the testing.  If your
> child is scheduled to participate in either the PARCC
> Performance-Based Assessment or End-of-Year Assessment, NFB needs to
> hear from you.
>
> Please call Valerie Yingling, paralegal, at 410-659-9314, extension
> 2440, if your child will participate in the testing.  If you are
> unsure whether or not your child will be involved, ask your school’s
> principal.  If your child will not be included in the testing because
> his or her accommodations will not be available, please call Valerie
> Yingling.
>
> PARCC field tests may be conducted in the following states and
> district:  Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia,
> Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
> New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
> and Tennessee.
>
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>
> Product and Access Technology Talk
>
>
> It is 2014, which means that the access technology team is starting to
> ready itself for the 29th Annual International Technology and Persons
> with Disabilities Conference, known to its friends as CSUN. We will be
> presenting at the conference in San Diego, as we usually do. The
> topics this year are varied: Phones for Low Vision and Blind Seniors,
> 3D Printing and 3D Creation for Tactile Graphics, Communication
> Technologies for Those Who are Deaf-Blind, Non-Visual Access to Cloud
> Productivity Suites on Mobile Devices, and Non-Visual Access to Cloud
> Productivity Suites on Desktop Computers.
>
> Prior to that in March, Anne Taylor and John Baker, CEO of
> longstanding ally Desire2Learn, will be on a panel with the title
> "Education for All - Accessibility Innovations" at legendary tech,
> music, film, and more festival, South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas.
> They will be joined by Kel Smith from Anikto LLC and David Rose from
> CAST. You can find more information on this panel here:
> http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/21192
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2922&qid=318325>
> .
>
> Finally, keep an eye on this space for information about technology
> day at the 2014 NFB National Convention in Orlando this summer; we
> expect to be announcing those sessions very soon.
>
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>
> From the tenBroek Library
>
> Are you interested in conducting research at the tenBroek Library?
>
> We are pleased to welcome researchers interested in many of the
> aspects of blindness, with the exception of its treatment and
> prevention. Our collections focus on the organized blind movement, the
> education of blind children, disability law and policy, the history of
> attitudes toward blind people, and literary works by blind authors. We
> work hard to preserve the history of blind people in a variety of
> ways, including collecting NFB literature, maintaining the
> Federation's archives, and building our collections of archival papers
> and published works. We also document the life experiences of blind
> people in the United States in interviews collected through our oral
> history program.
>
> Our collections are open for use by all and the holdings of the
> tenBroek Library can be accessed in three ways:
>
> *	The Blind Cat
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2888&qid=318325>
> : Our online public access catalog (OPAC) where researchers can search
> our collection of published materials. The scope of our published
> materials, which extends to all facets of blindness except the medical
> treatment or prevention of blindness, includes print, talking book,
> Braille, and digital formats.
> *	The Cane Tip
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2889&qid=318325>
> : Our online finding aid database describes the manuscript and
> archival collections held by the library, including the personal and
> professional papers of NFB Founder Jacobus tenBroek, the papers of
> past NFB President Kenneth Jernigan, and the NFB Institutional
> Archives, as well as several smaller collections.
> *	E-mail: Send your reference questions to jtblibrary at nfb.org and
> we’ll contact you to discuss your project!
>
> To learn more about the holdings of the Jacobus tenBroek Library,
> please visit the Blind Cat, the Cane Tip, or contact us by e-mail at
> jtblibrary at nfb.org to schedule a visit!
>
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>
> Independence Market
>
>
> If you have left it to the last minute to get a Braille or large-print
> 2014 calendar, the NFB Independence Market can help. The following
> 2014 calendars and planners are available for ordering.
>
> 2014 American Action Fund Braille Calendar
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2890&qid=318325>
> This comb-bound, pocket-sized Braille calendar measures 6 x 6 1/2
> inches. Each calendar page includes the days of the month and lists
> major holidays. A page for personal notes is in the back. The calendar
> is available free of charge.
>
> 2014 Large-Print Calendar
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2891&qid=318325>
> This spiral-bound, large-print appointment calendar measures 8 1/2 x
> 11 inches with inside pockets. Each month is displayed on two facing
> pages and features two-inch blocks for each day of the month. The
> months are tabbed and include a section for monthly notes as well as a
> three-month calendar overview. The calendar costs $10.00, plus
> shipping and handling.
>
> 2014 Large-Print Planner
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2891&qid=318325>
> This organizer, designed with low-vision professionals in mind,
> features easy-to-read large print. The spiral-bound, 144-page planner,
> with a black leatherette cover, measures 8 1/2 x 11 inches. All
> calendar views are spread over two pages and include current and
> upcoming year-at-a-glance views, as well as twelve monthly and
> fifty-three weekly views. Pages for names and addresses, notes, and
> personal information are also included. The calendar costs $20.00,
> plus shipping and handling.
>
> New!
> 2014 Large-Print Wall Calendar
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2891&qid=318325>
> When fully opened, this monthly wall calendar measures 22 x 17 inches.
> The daily boxes are 2-1/4-inch squares and the numbers marking the
> date are 3/4 inch tall. The date markers are in the top right corner.
> At the bottom, there are four lines for notes between small versions
> of the previous- and next-month calendars. The calendar also includes
> an overview for the previous and next years. The calendar costs
> $10.00, plus shipping and handling.
>
> Products, including the items listed above, can be ordered from the
> NFB Independence Market online or by phone.  For more information,
> contact us via e-mail at IndependenceMarket at nfb.org,or by phone at
> 410-659-9314, extension 2216.
>
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>
> NFB Calendar
>
>
> Upcoming Events
>
> Washington Seminar
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2919&qid=318325>
>  – Great Gathering-In – January 27, 2014
>
> Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2892&qid=318325>
> , "Disability Rights in the 21st Century: Creative Solutions for
> Achieving the Right to Live in the World" – April 24-25, 2014
>
> NFB National Convention
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2920&qid=318325>
>  at the Rosen Center - July 1-6, 2014
>
> Start of the NFB's 75th year – November 16, 2014
>
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>
> Citation
>
>
> More and more the words (and therefore, the thoughts and the deeds) of
> the work place and the home, the school and the church, the street and
> the playground reflect this new mood. And underlying it all, fueling
> the change and focusing the progress, is (as it has been for the past
> half century) the National Federation of the Blind. With all of the
> problems and all of the work we still have to do, we come to this
> meeting tonight with a feeling of hope and a mood of gladness. We come
> with a joy and a certainty of triumph. At long last we know who we are
> and what we must do. We are organized, confident, and prepared for
> what lies ahead—and no force on earth can turn us back. Our words, our
> thoughts, and our dreams reach for a tomorrow which is bright with
> promise, and the heart of that promise is the individual determination
> of each of us and the unshakable power of our vehicle for collective
> action—the National Federation of the Blind. The past has belonged to
> others, but the future belongs to us. Let us speak, think, and act in
> support of each other—and we will make it all come true!
>
> --Marc Maurer. "Language and the Future of the Blind
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2921&qid=318325>
> ." Banquet speech, 1989 NFB National Convention, Denver, Colorado,
> July 8, 1989.
>
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>
>
> Thank you for reading the NFB Jernigan Institute’s Imagineering Our Future.
>
>
> Help make a significant difference in the lives of blind people across
> the country.
>
>
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> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2893&qid=318325>
> Make a Gift Today
>
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> Make a Gift Today
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2884&qid=318325>
>
>
>
> To donate a vehicle to the NFB, call toll-free
> 1-855-659-9314
> or visit our
> vehicle donation
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2894&qid=318325>
> page.
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>
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>
> If this issue was forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe,
> please e-mail JerniganInstitute at nfb.org.
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>
> Please check with your company to see if it offers a matching program
> that will match your gift.
>
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> Image removed by sender. Photo: Girl Playing Flute
>
> Interesting links:
>
> Archive of Straight Talk About Vision Loss videos
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2895&qid=318325>
>
> National Center for Blind Youth in Science
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2896&qid=318325>
>
> Access Technology Tips
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2897&qid=318325>
>
> TeachBlindStudents.org
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2898&qid=318325>
>
>
>
>
> Image removed by sender. Photo: Martial Arts
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>
>
> Blogs:
>
> Access Technology
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2899&qid=318325>
>
> Voice of the Nation's Blind
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2900&qid=318325>
>
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>
> Support the NFB Jernigan Institute through the Imagination Fund
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2901&qid=318325>
> .
>
> Unsubscribe
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> National Federation of the Blind
>
> 200 East Wells Street
> at Jernigan Place
> Baltimore, MD 21230
> United States
>
> 410 659-9314 Image removed by sender.
>