[Youth-outreach] {Disarmed} JI Newsletter - New Year's Resolutions

Wed Jan 2 21:31:21 UTC 2013

	IMAGINEERING OUR FUTURE  

	ISSUE 49   

	JANUARY 2013  

	IN THIS ISSUE: 

	* MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR [1]

	* 

	WHAT’S NEWS AT THE NFB [2]  
	* 

	EDUCATION [3]  
	* 

	BRAILLE INITIATIVE [4]  
	* 

	ADVOCACY [5]  
	* 

	PRODUCT AND ACCESS TECHNOLOGY TALK [6]  
	* 

	FROM THE TENBROEK LIBRARY [7]  
	* 

	INDEPENDENCE MARKET [8]  
	* 

	NFB CALENDAR [9]  
	* 

	CITATION [10]  

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

	Dear Friends, 

	It was pretty hard to ignore all the talk about the fiscal cliff
during the holiday season. Regardless of what happens in Congress and
in government, the National Federation of the Blind continues to
advance opportunities for the blind, powered by volunteers from every
state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 

	In 2013, we look forward to the certainty that the members of the
Federation provide to our movement. We can feel confident that the
rights of blind people across the country will be protected and that
expanded opportunities for greater independence will be achieved. The
generosity of our friends and donors helps to support resources that
empower blind people across the country to receive the training
necessary to be full contributing members of society. In this new
year, we look forward to continuing the tradition of making every
dollar contributed to the NFB have maximum impact on the blind of this
nation. 

	Despite the challenges facing our nation and our local communities,
we should feel great hope in that we have an organization like the NFB
to bring people together to build opportunities even through the most
difficult times. In fact, it is in those hard times that we are most
grateful that we have an organization for collective action. We have a
knowledge base that cannot be found in any public library. We have
programs that cannot be found in any government agency. We have
passion and commitment that cannot be dampened. 

	As you set your resolutions for 2013, I hope they include a list of
ways that you are going to help advance a future full of opportunities
for the blind through our organization. I have made my list and I look
forward to the great things we will achieve by working together.
Regardless of what happens in Congress or in government, we have
things to accomplish--so let's get to it. 

	With hope for the new year,

Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director
NFB Jernigan Institute 

WHAT\\'S NEWS AT THE NFB

	NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND CONGRATULATES DR. FREDRIC K.
SCHROEDER  

	Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder was recently elected as first vice president
of the World Blind Union [11] (WBU). Dr. Schroeder, who also serves as
first vice president of the NFB, was elected to the position at the
Eighth General Assembly of the World Blind Union, recently held in
Bangkok, Thailand. 

	Dr. Schroeder said: “I am honored to have the opportunity to
represent the blind of the United States within the World Blind Union,
and I look forward to helping to advance the WBU’s important agenda
to improve the lives of blind people across the globe. I thank the
members of the WBU for placing their trust and confidence in me.” 

	For more information see the NFB Web site [12]. 

	DR. JACOB BOLOTIN AWARDS APPLICATIONS  

	Recipients of the 2013 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards will be determined by
the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee of the NFB. Online applications
are due by March 31, 2013. Individuals or organizations are encouraged
to apply on behalf of themselves or others. The award recipients will
be announced at the 2013 National Federation of the Blind National
Convention [13] in Orlando, Florida.  

	The Jacob Bolotin Award Program is funded through the generosity of
Dr. Bolotin’s nephew and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman. In
addition to establishing the Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman Trust to
endow the awards, the late Mrs. Pearlman also wrote _The Blind Doctor:
The Jacob Bolotin Story_. The book has been published by Blue Point
Books [14]. Proceeds from book sales will also benefit the award
program. For more information or to fill out the online application,
please visit the Web site [15]. 

	A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT THE NFB 

	The NFB is eligible to receive donations through various Web sites
that support philanthropic giving. Among these are GoodSearch.com
[16], GoodShop.com [17], and GoodDining.com [18]. By designating the
NFB as the charity you wish to support, you can generate funds simply
by searching the Web, shopping online, and dining at their partner
restaurants.  

	Each Web search generates about a penny for the NFB. While this seems
small, if many people switch to “good" searches instead of
“google” searches, this could quickly add up to a sizable
contribution per person. By accessing your favorite store’s Web site
via the GoodShop.com Web site, a percentage of your total purchase
will be donated to the NFB. Everyone goes out to eat, at least
occasionally, and by dining at GoodDining.com partner restaurants, a
portion of your purchase will be donated to the NFB as well. To sign
up, go to the GoodSearch.com [19] Web site and click on the "Register
Now" button.   

EDUCATION

	NEW RESOURCES 

	January-—being the month of Louis Braille’s birth-—is always a
great month to talk about and celebrate Braille. In the last quarter
of 2012, the NFB published two free resources to help parents and
educators better serve blind children with residual vision who may
read print in addition to Braille.  

	The first of these resources is an assessment tool. In school,
students are evaluated to determine the type of services they will
need in order to succeed in the educational environment. One of the
assessments that are traditionally conducted for blind students is a
reading/learning media assessment. This assessment helps determine
which medium/media is best for the child (i.e. Braille, Braille and
large print, etc.). The NFB unveiled the National Reading Media
Assessment (NRMA)—the first research-based assessment of its kind.
Unlike other assessments, this tool is not biased towards any one
reading medium. Parents, educators, and other interested parties can
learn more about the NRMA by visiting www.nfbnrma.org [20], or by
contacting Dr. Jessica Ewell at 410-659-9314, extension 2529. 

	The second resource helps to fill a gap that exists in the field of
blindness--the lack of information regarding how one can be literate
in both Braille and print. To help parents and educators learn more
about how to encourage literacy in children who will be using both
media, long-time NFB leader and educational advocate, Sharon Maneki,
recently published _Integrating Print and Braille: A Recipe for
Literacy_. This free eBook shares practical wisdom from teachers,
parents, and successful blind adults about techniques and strategies
for teaching and learning print and Braille together to achieve
literacy. Each chapter gives the reader another “ingredient” to
add to a child’s personalized “recipe,” demonstrating how these
dual reading media work together in a myriad of ways to foster student
success. You may access the book online [21] or download the eBook.
[22] 

	We hope you find these two free resources useful in helping the blind
children in your life, who will use both Braille and print, to become
literate in both mediums, so they can choose the right tool for any
given task.  

	BRAL 

	The end of the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest for adults is fast
approaching. Louis Braille’s birthday, January 4, marks the end of
the contest’s two-month reading period. Contestants should finish
documenting the material they read for the contest, and make sure
their final entry form and reading log make it to the NFB Jernigan
Institute by January 18, 2013. To view the leaderboard as it stands
today and to access the electronic forms through which final entries
and reading logs can be submitted, please visit www.nfb.org/bral [23].

	SERVICE SATURDAY 

	Help us in our quest to change what it means to be blind! As readers
of this newsletter know, the NFB conducts innovative programs that
empower blind people of all ages and that provide them with the
necessary skills to compete with their sighted peers in the classroom,
on the job, and in the community. These vital programs rely heavily on
the work of volunteers like you! We need your help to bring the hopes
and dreams of blind Americans to fruition.  

	If you live near Baltimore, join us January 19, 2013, for the NFB’s
first Service Saturday of 2013 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. In addition to
helping with work that is vital to blind Americans, volunteers will
have the opportunity to learn some Braille, have their questions about
blindness answered, and meet other local service-oriented people.
Visit the Service Saturday Web site [24] to learn more about this
event and to let us know that you plan to participate by completing a
quick form. 

	Thank you to all of our volunteers around the country who regularly
give generously of their time to ensure that blind people have the
opportunity to benefit from the programs and resources of the NFB. 

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, 2012: 

	LITERARY BRAILLE TRANSCRIBING 

	Alabama
   Charlotte Denise Phillips, Talladega 

	Arizona
   Edward Clay Bullard, Phoenix 

	California
   Christopher Paul Calvet, Orange 

	Indiana
   Nick A. Cherry, Bunker Hill
   Darryl Pinkins, Bunker Hill 

	Ohio
   Leonard Prince Joyce, Grafton
   Daniel Charles Sams, Grafton 

	Tennessee
   Susan Marie Roberts, Loudon 

	Texas
   Renee Cecile Black, Gatesville
   Cary Lynn Boyd, Gatesville
   Kelly Antoinette Hudson, Gatesville
   Jamie DeAnn Lindley, Gatesville
   Tyshee Manik Prokop, Gatesville
   Margaret Elizabeth Ryan, Austin
   Rachel Evonne Wafer, Gatesville 

	Virginia
   Jennifer Lynn Grisetti, Troy 

	Wisconsin
   Carl Joseph Fields, Oshkosh
   Brian Jantz, Oshkosh 

	LITERARY BRAILLE PROOFREADING 

	Georgia
   Robert Larry Schneider, Macon 

	MUSIC BRAILLE TRANSCRIBING 

	Florida
   Elizabeth (Betsy) Florence Heiserman, Crestview 

	Georgia
   Rickey Barry Alexander, Macon 

ADVOCACY

	Please make a New Year's resolution to support fair wages in 2013. 

	Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is an unfair,
discriminatory, immoral provision that permits employers to legally
pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. With
the introduction of the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act
of 2011, members of the NFB, along with members of over fifty other
organizations, came closer to repealing this suppressive statute than
ever before. It is critical that we continue to build on this momentum
in the coming year. We are working to get fair wages legislation
introduced in the 113th Congress. 

	For background information on the issue, see our Web site [25]. A
Subminimum Wage Strategy Summit will be held on January 15, 2013, at
the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, from 10:00
a.m.-3:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. All of our existing fair wage
partners are encouraged to send a representative. Other individuals
representing organizations that would like to assist in the repeal of
Section 14(c) of the FLSA are invited to attend. Participation
requests must be received by January 9, 2013. E-mail Alewis at nfb.org,
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2374 to RSVP.  

PRODUCT AND ACCESS TECHNOLOGY TALK

	Rarely has the access technology team caused such a stir with so
little effort. Recently CNET, Engadget, and ZDNet posted some
well-meaning but under-informed comments on accessibility in the new,
larger Kindle Fire that really muddle what is essentially a
straightforward matter--Kindle books are not available to blind users
in any way that is even remotely equivalent to the access of sighted
users. It was, therefore, important to set the record straight. The
resulting blog post [26] responded to some of the claims made about
accessibility and discussed the state of the matter. It was quickly
picked up and passed around, and before the end of the day was our
most popular blog post ever. If anyone ever doubted the interest of
blind users in access to eBooks, this post and the response to it
quickly made the point.  eBooks have been a prominent topic on the
blog in general, so please check it out [27]. There is a lot of
information available on there, especially about Nook and Kindle
accessibility. 

	Meanwhile, any prospective visitors to the IBTC might like to know
that we have (finally) received the SMART Brailler from Perkins
Products, which adds a slew of new features to its tried and true
Brailler, and which we expect to see in a lot of classrooms in the
future. In the category of long-awaited products, we have also added
the American Printing House for the Blind’s Braille Plus 18, their
tiny Android-based notetaker. Other noteworthy additions are Apple’s
iPad Mini, which has joined its brethren in our display case, and the
tiny new Focus 14 Braille display from Freedom Scientific, which is
rapidly becoming a favorite. Anyone wishing to visit the International
Braille and Technology Center can contact us at access at nfb.org [28],
or call 410-659-9314 x2410. 

FROM THE TENBROEK LIBRARY

	This month we would like to tell you about one of the amazing and
accessible exhibit pieces on display in the tenBroek Library. Over the
years talented sculptor Ann Cunningham—who currently teaches tactile
art at the Colorado Center for the Blind—has created several
beautiful works of art for the NFB, which are appealing to both the
fingers and the eyes. Her most recent work featured in the tenBroek
Library is a bronze bas relief sculpture of NFB founder and library
namesake, Jacobus tenBroek.  

	Commissioned by the NFB in the fall of 2010, and completed in the
spring of 2011, the bronze tactile panel measures
approximately sixteen inches by twenty-one inches and features a view
of Dr. tenBroek’s face, shoulders, and chest. Wearing a coat and
tie, he is facing forward and, with eyes open, appears to be looking
directly at his audience. As is typical of bas relief art, this
particular piece is mostly flat, with material taken away in some
spots and added in others to create a sense of depth and dimension.
Based on a series of pencil sketches and tactile paper mock-ups
created using photographs preserved by the tenBroek Library, the bas
relief piece went through many stages before it was ready to be seen,
and felt, by library visitors.  

	First Cunningham carved the face of Dr. tenBroek from a slab of
oil-based clay using her sketches as a guide. Next she made a hollow
rubber mold of the original clay slab, which she used to make a wax
replica, known as a wax “positive.” The wax positive was then sent
to a foundry where it underwent the remaining stages of production.  

	At the foundry, wax channels were applied to the back of the positive
in a process known 

	as “spruing” or “gating.” These channels would serve as the
molten metal’s access path inside the mold during the actual casting
of the piece later in the process. Next the wax positive was dipped
into a vat of slurry (or liquid clay) approximately nine times, with
drying time allowed between each dip. The slurry coating formed a hard
ceramic shell around the wax positive, which is called an investment.
This investment was placed in a furnace where the wax was melted out.
Left now with only a hollow ceramic mold, the foundry filled the
investment with molten bronze, which was left to harden and cool in
the mold for about an hour. To finish the cooling process, the whole
thing was then placed in water, which caused the ceramic shell to pop
off of the new metal sculpture. And after a bit of sandblasting and
polishing, the tenBroek bas relief was ready to be touched! 

	The tenBroek Library is the only research library on blindness that
is owned by the blind themselves, and as such we encourage all
visitors to examine our art and historical displays with their hands.
You can learn more about the tactile exhibits currently on display in
the tenBroek Library on our Web page [29]. Visitors are also welcome
to schedule a tour of the Jernigan Institute, including the tenBroek
library, by contacting NFB Community Relations [30].  

INDEPENDENCE MARKET

	Many of us make resolutions at the beginning of the year to make
positive lifestyle changes, to tackle a project we have been putting
off, or to learn a new skill. The NFB Independence Market has some
products which may enable you, a blind family member, or a friend to
implement some of those resolutions in 2013.  

	Perhaps the most common New Year's resolutions we make,
after indulging in all those delicious holiday treats, are to lose
weight and get in better physical shape. With a Talking Food Scale
[31], you can control the portions you cook. A Talking Pedometer [32]
will allow you to monitor how far you jog during your exercise routine
or how far you walk while going about your everyday tasks. And then
you can check the results of all that dieting and exercising with a
Talking Personal Scale [33].  

	Perhaps you have decided to become more organized this year and plan
to label your DVD collection, the herbs and spices in your kitchen, or
your file folders. Again, the NFB Independence Market has tools that
can help. You can create adhesive Braille labels with a slate on
Labeling Tape [34] or Labeling Sheets [35]. We also have Braille Label
Makers [36] as well as Label Tape Holders for the Classic Perkins
Brailler [37]. If you are looking for alternatives to Braille
labeling, the PenFriend Audio Labeler [38] may meet your needs.  

	Perhaps you have decided to improve your blindness skills this year.
If you are planning to learn to read Braille and/or write with a slate
and stylus, the NFB Independence Market has materials that can assist
you. We have three different Braille curricula [39], a _Handbook of
Braille Contractions_ [40], and _The Slate Book_ [41], as well as
slates and paper for writing Braille. Perhaps you want to start using
a cane and don't have ready access to someone to teach you. You may
find the book, _The Care and Feeding of the Long White Cane_ [42], by
Tom Bickford, to be a valuable resource and inspiration.  

	If you would like further suggestions on which Independence Market
products can make everyday life easier, please e-mail us at
independencemarket at nfb.org [43], or call us at 410-659-9314, extension
2216, Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 p.m. eastern time. And good
luck with those ambitious New Year's resolutions!  

NFB CALENDAR

	UPCOMING EVENTS 

	Service Saturday [44]: January 19, 2013 

	Washington Seminar [45]: February 5-7, 2013 

	Tactile Graphics Conference [46]: April 12-13, 2013 

	Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium [47]: April 18-19, 2013 

	2013 NFB National Convention [48]: July 1-6, 2013 

CITATION

	"We stand on the edge of another day, and we know that tomorrow is
bright with promise. Nobody else can create the future that must and
will be ours; we must do that for ourselves. And do it we will. We
have the imagination, the courage, the spirit, and the will. We have
the unity that makes us one, and nothing on earth can change our
course or turn us back. We dare to have perspective, and we reach for
tomorrow with joy. Come, and we will make it come true!" 

	--Marc Maurer, "The Edge of Tomorrow [49]", 2005 NFB National
Convention Banquet Speech, Louisville, Kentucky 

	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. 

	MAKE A GIFT TODAY [50] 

	Back to Top [51] 

	MAKE A GIFT TODAY [52] 

	IF THIS ISSUE WAS FORWARDED TO YOU AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE,
PLEASE E-MAIL JERNIGANINSTITUTE at NFB.ORG. [53] 

	Support the Jernigan Institute through the _Imagination Fund_ [54] 

	INTERESTING LINKS: 

	Archive of Straight Talk about Vision Loss videos [55] 

	National Center for Blind Youth in Science [56] 

	Access Technology Tips [57] 

	TeachBlindStudents.org [58] 

	BLOGS: 

	Access Technology [59] 

	  Unsubscribe [60] 
 National Federation of the Blind200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
United States
410 659-9314 

Links:
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