<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue">Talk
about a wake up call!</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"> I learned that <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ??";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">not
only are</span> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue">iPads being piloted in the high school,
but also in every school in our district.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1"> At my younger son’s elementary school the whole 5^th grade
class will be using iPads this school year. One of the other elementary schools
in our district chose to pilot iPads at the kindergarten level! The whole
district is getting wired to phase in the electronic era. This is no longer
some futurist possibility – the e-wave is here & will likely roll into your
district before you know it. How many TVIs & parents are ready to assure
their blind </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">K-12 </span><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">students have equal exposure to all the iPad has to
offer? How many know who to link braille-notakers to iPads? </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">It is with this reality in mind that I share the
following thoughts.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">Based on the US </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;letter-spacing:
-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">Department of Justice’s & the US Department
of Education’s </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">joint written statements (attached), existing
accessibility laws include requirements to ensure that e-based & web-based
education is accessible to all. </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:red">As such, e-based & web-based instructional materials & tools
are mandated to be not only blind student-user-friendly, but e-content must as
much as possible be equivalent to the educational experience that sighted print
reading students are privy to.</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">The laws & regulations seem quite clear &
specifics have been well-defined the US DOE & DOJ Joint FAQ (attached), yet
surprisingly few individuals in school districts, in the blindness education
field, & in textbook publisher’s circles appear to be aware of the
regulations, & fewer still appear to be in compliance with regulations.
Mechanisms to inform all those that need to know, as well as mechanisms to
encourage & enforce compliance are lacking. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">I know that there are individuals on these list-servs who
have started to address the issues. As a parent of 2 blind students mainstreamed
in an academically high-performing school district, I would like to share what
I perceive to be some of the main issues within the scope of this topic. I will
start with a thought-provoking theoretical scenario & then move on to try
to define specific areas of concern that not only warrant attention, but that
need to be addressed.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">I am hoping those of you who have the interest, the motivation,
the connections, & the clout will take these issues not only to heart, but
will also take the lead in tackling these head-on Locally (in your school
districts & VI programs), at the State level, & Nationally.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">Imagine a large-scale study spanning a
decade or so which divides all sighted students in the US into 2 groups:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Study
Group 1</i> would have full access to the entire content of current textbooks
(or iPad-based e-textbooks if you prefer); the other half of the students, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Study Group 2</i>, would be permitted access
to only the main body text & some side text. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Study Group 1</i> would have access to detailed maps for social science
& well-done graphics of all sorts for both science & math (e-based
graphics might even be interactive); the millions of students in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Study Group 2</i> would have limited access
to all non-text visuals, and would have exposure to only a limited number of
make shift maps & diagrams deemed to be the “most important ones” created
by someone locally in their district. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:13.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;
line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">What would the
results of such a study be? Who would score better on tests? Who would rank
higher in their class? Would their higher education & job opportunities be
affected? </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:13.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;
line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">ANSWER: There
would be outrage over how unfair this type of study would be well before it
ever got off the ground & such an experiment could never happen because it
would be considered unethical. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Yet, this
does illustrate the position blind students are or could be in.</i></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">I am a huge fan of technology & e-text & its
potential to enhance the learning experience of all, but the </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">scope
of the accessibility issues that needs to be addressed in the area of emerging electronic
education & technology is broad & is not getting an appropriate level
attention & urgency. These issues should be addressed thoughtfully &
preemptively, rather than in the historical reactive fashion. These are not
esoteric concerns, but rather have now become concrete academic issues. It
would not be as stretch to go so far as to take the position that this may even
be an equal rights issue. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue">1.
E-Textbooks for blind students are not an educationally equivalent experience
to standard print textbooks the sighted students are using. </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue"></span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">The most blaring example of this is that in current
e-textbooks for blind students the pictures, charts, & diagrams are usually
frequently omitted. It is critical to understand that in state-adopted
textbooks beyond the main body of text, most textbook pages contain additional
diagrams, illustrations, graphs, pictures, charts, & links to suggested
webpages. These charts & other visuals may make up a quarter to over a half
of the relevant content on a given textbook page; as such, much of this
information is not really supplemental, but rather represents the “key points”
on what the students are expected to learn & understand. Not only is the
graphic content NOT DESCRIBED fully in e-textbooks, but the presence/absence of
the graphics may not even noted - so the blind student may not even be aware
they are missing vital information that has been presented to sighted kids in
graphic form.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"> As an aside, even some of
the California State produced embossed textbooks omit figures, diagrams,
charts, & especially maps (under the heading of something along of “see
teacher” for this section) – yet one must wonder: “how often does the
clarification actually happen?”. </i></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">The e-files are a nice supplement, they are easily
searchable; they are portable & give students ongoing access to glossaries
& textbook dictionaries. E-text affords students the opportunity to look up
specifics in other chapters easily when they don’t have the needed embossed volume
readily available. Unlike sighted students who have the whole book in the
classroom & at home, braille readers only have real-time access to 1 or a
few volumes at time in class, & unlike their sighted peers who have a full
textbook for home use, many (if not most) don’t have a full embossed copy of
their textbooks for home. Yes, this a real problem for many reasons: because
some teachers teach chapters out of sequence, when studying for exams students
may need access to other chapters, & importantly the textbook glossaries
& indexes are in completely separate volumes which blind students don’t
have ready access to. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">Part of the reluctance of TVIs in past years to use
e-textbooks is the argument that they are not completely “cleaned up”. Not all
are fully transcriber-proofed - at least many don’t appear to be - having extra
symbols/markers that students need to ignore. While the formatting of
e-textbooks for blind students (or lack thereof) hasn’t changed that much, more
& more TVIs & students realize that the e-textbooks are never-the-less
readable & as such usable. In the textbooks for blind students that I have
seen, the book is presented as a folder, the files have been “.rtf” files, some
of which are readable in their downloaded form on a braillenotaker, others are
not readable. The files names within the folders are page numbers, not chapter
titles – this does not appear to have been particularly well-thought out.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">A further problem with e-textbooks (that is also an issue
with embossed textbooks, is that the supplemental or illustrative “side text”
& comments in elementary, middle school, & high school education level
textbooks is somehow inserted between paragraphs of the main textbook text
(often in what seems to be an arbitrary way) that breaks from the main text
flow. Older students can adapt to this, but this makes it confusing &
harder for children in the younger grades, especially 4th grade and under who
are trying to follow along in passages being read in class. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";color:red">The unfortunate reality is that “Publisher Quality
books” don’t necessarily provide the blind/visually-impaired reader an equal
literary experience to the print version, even in the educational setting.</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1">Bookshare is truly an Amazing Resource! The last few years most of our
school district’s Summer Reading books have been available for immediate
download; the few that were not yet available, were quickly processed by the
Bookshare staff & posted within a few weeks. The Bookshare staff &
volunteers are phenomenal group of individuals. That being said, there are
however issues that may not be obvious to all. My elder son finished one of his
9th grade Summer Reading Books, </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”. The
text was overall fine, but the published print version of this book has quite
number of important visuals in the form of diagrams, puzzles, formulas &
pictures, symbols etc, that are an important part of this novel. Some of the
symbols were transcribed incorrectly, but in most cases these important
components were just omitted completely. The context of the visuals was not
described & not even referred to – it just wasn’t there on the downloadable
version. My son could tell something was missing based on the context, &
requested we go to our local library to check out the print version of the book
– we did & described each graphic. My son contacted Bookshare to inform
them of the problem with this particular book. The response he received was:
“This is a publisher quality book and unfortunately we cannot edit publisher quality
books.” This novel is a Summer Reading Book not only locally, but elsewhere as
well & as such is part of academic curriculums. An increasing number of
academic literary books are including graphics that are an integral part of the
stories. I am an optimist & hope that this can be eventually appropriately
addressed. Hopefully the “Publisher Quality” textbooks that Bookshare produces
are/will be closer to a true print-equivalent experience for our students than
the above-mentioned book was. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">As e-textbooks are further refined, students
will still need access to high-quality transcriber-produced & embossed
textbooks for diagrams, charts, maps, & other graphically-displayed
components – it just is not acceptable that such information be omitted &
students need the hand-on to really understand the graphic layouts. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:red">It is my
understanding that based on the current laws, omissions of the pertinent
graphically displayed content in state-adopted textbooks is not only “not fair”
to blind students, but in reality, it is does not meet the legal requirements
set forth by the laws of this country.</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1"> Those that produce & distribute textbooks for blind
students should pay attention to this for they may be held accountable for
assuring compliance with the law.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;color:blue">2. New-Generation E-Textbooks will literally prove to be a
shift to an entirely new dimension.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1"> In their current form e-books for use on braille notetakers are
basically just the straight-forward text found on book pages. Graphics, charts,
tables, maps etc are currently not adequately described & are too
frequently omitted. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">As State-adopted
textbooks go electronic, such as on an iPad, e-textbooks will no longer be
“2-Dimensional” (</i>that is the current straight text with pictures/graphs),
rather it is highly likely that specific words, concepts within the text,
references & pictures will be hyper-linked to other pages or websites that
discuss those issues in more depth & will likely include links to
non-accessible video, pictures, and to PDF files. (Since may students use braillenotekers
to access materials, access to PDFs need to somehow be made a priority for
those who produce the notetakers.) This linking will make textbooks in a sense
“3-D & perhaps even 4-Dimensional”. To my knowledge there is no clear plan
in place to address this shift to the next dimension. Who is responsible &
accountable for assuring that blind students will have equal access &
educational experience?</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:blue;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">3. The
move towards electronic & web-based teaching experiences is no longer
theoretical, but is actively occurring in classrooms & curriculums all over
the country.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;
letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> This is happening at all grade
levels, in some districts more rapidly than others, but the shift is definitely
in progress. While this has the potential to level the playing field, the reality
is that many teacher’s webpages, many web-based school calendar programs, and
many publishers’ webpages are not fully independently accessible. Furthermore,
many teacher/district calendars<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>&
importantly the publisher’s websites of many state-adopted textbooks that
students are instructed to use (to learn more about concepts, access study
guides, & take pre-tests) contain links to materials that are not fully
independently accessible. Based on the US Dept. of Justice's & US Dept. of
Education's New Accessible Technology Guidelines (attached) these types of
issues are basically illegal, yet these types of problems are wide-spread &
as commonplace as exceeding the speed limit.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> 
</span>It appears that few school district personnel are even aware of the
requirements of on-line accessibly compliance. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:red;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">According
to the guidelines, accessibility is mandated by the law - whether or not there
are any blind students in that class/school – just like wheelchair
accessibility is now required irrespective of whether or not there are
wheelchair users in a school.</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">Given
that many districts are in early stages of development & adaptation to the
“educational e-wave,” now is the most logical time to make all districts aware
so that they can take into account compliance with accessibility requirements. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:blue;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">4. TVIs
don’t get enough training to be truly proficient in all the necessary new
technologies the blind/VI students need to optimally succeed & reach their
full potential.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;
letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> Education of our future TVIs in
the various blind/low vision technologies needs to move well beyond “exposure
level”. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:red;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">Students in TVI programs
should have to demonstrate at least a certain level of - not only familiarity -
but rather Functional Proficiency with at least the basic commonly used
blind/low vision software</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">, such as screen-reading
programs </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">(such as JAWS),</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">accessible OCR programs (such as Kurzweil), </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">&
accessible braille/text conversion programs (such as Duxbury),<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>& with hardware (note-takers such as
BrailleNote or PacMate, etc.) (I realize that specific companies & brands
can’t be focused on, I present these as illustrative examples - it is up to
individual teaching programs to sort out the specifics).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:red;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">The
technological skill level of what may have been adequate for TVI a year ago,
will no longer be adequate in the very near future.</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">TVIs
also now, or in the very near future, will be responsible for being able to
teach their blind/VI students to use iPads & wirelessly link them to
braille-displays so that students can access their curriculums. TVIs need to be
able to teach students how to create & format WORD, EXCEL, & PowerPoint
files & how to independently handle PDFs. The reality is that very few
sighted TVIs are truly proficient with these technologies to a truly adequate
degree that the students need nowadays in order to be fully competitive with
their sighted peers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>How actively &
adequately are TVI Teaching Preparation Programs addressing these new issues?</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:blue;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">5. In
addition to really upping expectations in this area in TVI Teaching Preparation
Programs, alternate solutions should seriously be considered. </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue"></span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">School
Districts/SELPAs/LEAs may want to seriously consider consciously partnering
more with national organizations of the blind such as the NFB & with state
schools of the blind, such as in California – CSB (the California School for
the Blind) – which has a phenomenal technology program that has run regional
in-services for TVIs & has CSB campus-based week-long or so programs for
young blind/VI students in the summer & occasionally at other times. Such
opportunities are way underutilized. Their online tools for teachers &
technology users (the students) should be taken advantage of & online
teaching content should be developed further with all these factors in mind.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">An
additional solution would be for all local VI programs to hire at least one
proficient blind TVI. Blind individuals will in general be the most proficient
with the various blind technologies & their functional application for they
use these tools on a daily basis. (I do realized that there are sighted TVIs
that are in fact capable of doing it all & I applaud that, but based on my
interactions with families & TVIs from around the country, there are many
TVIs who lack the needed level of proficiency with the blind technologies.) The
current concept of caseloads could be restructured at bit, to more of a team
approach when needed, where the blind TVI focuses more on the technology
aspects of each student’s educational needs, as well as other critical
blindness skills. Having such local expertise in each VI program would be a
huge boost of resources to the programs & the students each program is
charged with educating. Furthermore having daily access to such a blind
co-worker would likely result in enhancement of the technology skills of all
the TVIs in the program. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:blue;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">6. While
literally infants & toddlers are being exposed to iPads & iPhones (this
is not an exaggeration, I see this in my office regularly), equivalent exposure
of blind kids to similar technologies typically only begins later in elementary
school & beyond.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">In
fact at our son’s high school orientation this week, the principal described
how his elementary school age children & even his 5 year old have iPads
& use them to access Khan Academy (</span><a href="http://www.khanacademy.org"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none">www.khanacademy.org</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">) &
Rocket Math (</span><a href="http://www.rocketmath.net"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">www.rocketmath.net</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">)
& he gave examples how these programs have helped his boost his own young
children’s academic performance. How many blind children have this type of
access? If you believe in equal expectations, why don’t your students have such
equal access? </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">If
there is not an immediate educational awakening & paradigm shift in the
Blind/VI Educational Arena, very few kids at the elementarily & middle
school level will be anywhere near as proficient as their sighted peers in
technology. While I have observed a slow shift in attitudes with respect to earlier
age of exposure to technology, the gap between what sighted kids & blind
kids remains huge, & arguably with the earlier exposure of sighted kids to
iPads & iPhones & child-oriented computer programs, the gap will likely
get even bigger. This gap needs to be closed. There needs to be a strong shift
to much earlier introduction of technologies to kids & their families. Kids
/families should have access to screen readers at home<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>electronic games (braille-notetaker-based
& computer/web-based), and other sighted peer equivalent hardware &
software.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:blue;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">7.
Lastly, in the context of young children, the concept of what constitutes
“blind-accessible” needs to be defined.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;
mso-font-kerning:.5pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:
text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">The same webpage that may
technically be accessible to a student in middle school or high school (who has
been trained in blind technologies) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">may
very well not be independently accessible to a student in the younger grades</i>,
for various reasons including the technologies may not yet have been
introduced, or they may not yet have the required proficiently, or they may not
have the needed software or hardware to access required assignments at home. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">The current problems & the obstacles that lay ahead
have been described & appreciated by many educators, parents, students,
& leaders in industry & the blind community, yet as I look around, I
can’t quite figure out who is really taking the lead. There are many
well-meaning & strong advocates, but there is no clear team leader. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">Some of you may be familiar with these famous lines from </span><span class="MsoSubtleReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">the
poem, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Invictus</i>: “I am the master of
my fate:</span></span><span class="MsoSubtleReference"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">
</span></span><span class="MsoSubtleReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">I am
the captain of my soul.” We all have a vested interest in this area. </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">The web-based electronic-based educational
fleet of ships has set sail - for both charted & uncharted waters. There
are many exceptional & experienced “sailors” & captains, but each is
steering their own ship with their own goals in mind. For the voyage to be
fruitful more coordinated course need to be charted ahead of time; we need a
mission & fleet admiral (or steering committee) to oversee the voyage &
to take responsibility for addressing the obstacles that will be encountered
along the way. A team-approach is needed locally & at the State &
National levels.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">This really needs to be made a priority.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;
mso-themecolor:text1">Respectfully,</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">Eric Vasiliauskas</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">-----</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">1. June
29, 2010 US Department of Education Dear Colleague letter: </span><a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html"><u style="text-underline:#266AA8"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;
letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;text-underline:#266AA8;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none">www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html</span></u></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">2. Guidelines
in the form of Frequently Asked Questions: </span><a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-ebook-faq-201105.html"><u style="text-underline:#266AA8"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;
letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;text-underline:#266AA8;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none">www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-ebook-faq-201105.html</span></u></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt">3.
May 26, 2011 second US DOE Dear Colleague letter stating that the same legal
obligations apply to elementary and secondary schools:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;line-height:11.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly"><a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201105-ese.html"><u style="text-underline:#266AA8"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;
letter-spacing:-1.0pt;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;text-underline:#266AA8;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none">www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201105-ese.html</span></u></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";mso-bidi-font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:.5pt"></span></p>