by Sharon Lovering
The announcement of products and services in this column is not an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its staff, or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The Braille Forum” cannot be responsible for the reliability of products and services mentioned.
To submit an item for “Here and There,” send an e-mail message to [email protected]. You may call the ACB toll-free number, (800) 424-8666, and leave a message in mailbox 22. Please bear in mind that we need information two months ahead of actual publication dates.
Attention Blind Parents
Are you willing to share your expertise and knowledge with other blind parents? If so, then send your e-mail address to [email protected] and we will send you a survey to complete and send back to be used in a book for blind parents. Remember all your frustrations, aggravations, and joyful moments? Share them with others who can understand and benefit from them. If you have no Internet capabilities, you can send a request for the survey to: Barbara Bates, 169 Old County Road, Westport, MA 02790. Please specify tape or electronic disk (and format). No braille.
No Foolin’!
This is not an April Fool’s joke. During the Ski For Light program held in Anchorage, Alaska, a fundraiser raffle was held with the prize being a ride on a dogsled in the Iditarod parade on March 1. Well, it looks like Ski For Light raised $1,500 and Pat Beattie won the drawing to ride in the parade ... and did so.
2003 ELA Scholarship Application Now Online
The Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation, Inc. (ELA) is pleased to announce that the 2003 ELA Scholarship application is now available at www.ela.org.
The ELA Scholarship provides financial assistance to women with physical disabilities who are enrolled in a college or university graduate program in the United States. ELA scholarship awards are based on merit and are given in an objective and nondiscriminatory basis. Each applicant is required to submit an application packet including an application form, a college transcript, two letters of academic recommendation, a medical verification form and an essay outlining how she will “Change the Face of Disability on the Planet.” Scholarships range from $1,000 to $2,000 per year. The application deadline is June 1, 2003. For more information, write to the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation, 2460 N. Lake Ave., PMB #128, Altadena, CA 91001, or phone (626) 398-8840.
Studio Recorder
Studio Recorder™ is a powerful new tool produced by the American Printing House for the Blind. It is an audio recording and editing program designed to create direct-to-digital audio masters. It contains many features that make recording, editing and proofreading audio books easy, such as: the ability to speed up playback with no pitch distortion; three levels of phrase detection; index tone generation and removal; a simple user interface; accessibility for blind and visually impaired users; and much more. To order, visit www.aph.org or call (800) 223- 1839.
Tell A Friend, Get A Discount
Pulse Data HumanWare is pleased to announce its “tell-a-friend” program to show our appreciation to our ever-growing BrailleNote user family. How does it work? Tell a friend, colleague, or associate about the numerous, exciting ways that the BrailleNote has increased your productivity, assisted you in the classroom, workplace, or home, and when this individual orders a BrailleNote or a VoiceNote, we’ll either issue you a check for $100 for every order that results, or give you $100 credit per order toward your next Pulse Data HumanWare purchase. Simply have your colleague acknowledge your name and address and the serial number of your BrailleNote or VoiceNote in writing with their order, stating that you are the referral source of his or her BrailleNote order, and we’ll do the rest! So assist us in expanding the membership of the first family of PDAs designed with you, the visually impaired consumer, in mind!
It’s EASI!
Earn a certificate in accessible information technology. No need for expensive travel or taking time away from work. Work anywhere and any time. Previous courses have included more than 4,000 participants from more than 36 countries. EASI provides eight online courses in accessible information technology which can be taken separately for continuing education credits; five classes comprise the certificate.
All classes are online, interactive, instructor-led month-long courses: Barrier-free Information Technology; Beginner Barrier-free Web Design; Advanced Barrier-free Web Design; Barrier-free E-learning; Accessible Internet Multimedia; Learning Disabilities and Adaptive Technology; and Train the Trainer. For more information, visit http://www.easi.cc/workshop.htm, or e- mail Norman Coombs, [email protected].
Glow-In-The-Dark Canes
No, it’s not science fiction. California Canes now has glow-in-the-dark canes available. They are made of the same carbon fiber as the company’s other canes, but with a coating that glows at night, giving you more visibility. Prices range from $23 to $30 for standard, in-stock sizes. Supply is limited. Regular canes are also available. Contact the company toll-free at (866) 332-4883, via e-mail, [email protected], or visit the web site, www.californiacanes.com.
New Shirts at Blind-Novel-Tees
Blind-Novel-Tees invites you to check out our new screen reader friendly shopping cart and the new line of shirts! All shirts come in medium through 2X and are $16.95 plus shipping unless noted.
The newest logos are: Brain Works Eyes Don’t; Lack of Sight Does Not Mean Lack of Vision; This is my Braille Shirt (with the word “Braille” in Braille); Have Cane Will Travel; Have Dog Will Travel.
Visit us and keep up with the latest at www.bntonline.com. We accept phone orders at (423) 626-2075 between the hours of noon and 8 p.m. Eastern (Monday through Friday). Master Card and Visa welcome! Write us at this address: Blind-Novel-Tees, P.O. Box 460, New Tazewell, TN 37824.
Amy’s Braille Printing
Amy McGarrah runs Amy’s Braille Printing. She takes printed material and transcribes it into braille. For businesses, it’s $20 an hour plus $1 per page. For individuals, it’s $1 a page. Contact her for more information at (313) 538-1799 or (313) 930- 5071, or via e-mail at [email protected].
RAND/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship
The RAND/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship in Education Policy is designed to enable outstanding young scholars in education policy to sharpen their analytic skills, learn to communicate research results effectively, and advance their research agendas.
Housed within RAND Education (http://www.rand.org/education/) and co-sponsored by the Spencer Foundation (http://www.spencer.org/) the program blends formal and informal training and extensive collaboration with distinguished researchers in a variety of disciplines. Fellows will spend 60 percent of their time on an appropriate RAND Education project and 40 percent of their time on their own research. Staff mentors will meet regularly with the fellows to ensure that the fellows’ programs reflect their own research interests and provide opportunities for them to make substantive contributions on their project teams.
Fellowships are for one year, renewable for a second, and will be in either RAND’s Santa Monica, Calif., or Washington, D.C., office. Each fellow receives a yearly stipend of $50,000, plus a research and travel allowance.
Fellows must have completed a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline such as education, psychology, sociology, economics, statistics, anthropology, or political science within the last five years. Applications will be evaluated on the basis of academic performance in doctoral studies, promise of continued scholarly growth and productivity, potential benefits from the fellowship program, and research interests that match those of the RAND research staff.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis for positions that begin in summer or fall 2003.
Older Americans Information
Sedgwick Press recently published the fourth edition of “Older American Information Directory.” This new edition includes more than 12,000 listings addressing physical, biological, psychological, social, political and economic aspects of aging. A brand-new section on assisted living centers and facilities was added, too. The softcover edition costs $165; an annual subscription to the online database, $215; and combination pack (book and online) costs $300. Call Sedgwick Press at (800) 562-2139, or e-mail [email protected] to order.
Mississippi State RRTC Gets Grant
The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research granted the Mississippi State University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center a five-year, $2.5 million grant to explore ways to improve employment and community integration outcomes for people who are blind or deaf and who are experiencing a secondary onset of hearing or vision loss resulting from aging. This project is a collaborative effort of MSU-RRTC, the Helen Keller National Center for Deafblind Youths and Adults, and the RRTC on Persons Who Are Hard of Hearing or Late Deafened at National University in San Diego. It will provide opportunities to evaluate accessibility and usage of assistive technology, investigate community integration strategies, and develop recommendations to improve communication systems, transportation and job placement strategies. Information from the project will be used to develop model service delivery systems for service providers, and to help families and consumers improve the quality of life of those aging with vision and hearing loss, according to B.J. LeJeune, the project’s director.
Resource List
VISION Community Services recently published the 18th edition of its popular VCS Resource List. It includes more than 100 items, many of which are free of charge, in a range of formats. Categories include eye diseases and conditions, consumer organizations, electronic reading and computer aids, financial resources, and much more. Call (617) 923-2790 and leave a message; be sure to specify your format choice. Or visit the web site, www.mablind.org.
Kelly Receives Order of Canada
Ottawa, January 17 — Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, recently announced 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada and six promotions within the Order. Among the appointments is Newfoundland native (Nova Scotia resident) Terry Kelly. The following citation was written by the Governor Genera’s Office and is posted on her web site (www.gg.ca) with those of the other new appointees.
“Terry Kelly, C.M., Member of the Order of Canada: A man of determination, perseverance and talent, he inspires people of all ages. Blind since the age of two, he uses his own life experiences to motivate others. A popular motivational speaker, he discusses fears and dreams, challenges and goals and the value of enthusiasm. A runner at the 1980 Paralympics, he has also made his mark as a musician and is the recipient of six East Coast Music Awards. His latest album is the first CD ever to be released with liner notes in braille. A portion of the revenues from every album sold is donated to the World Braille and Literacy Foundation and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.”
To learn more about Terry Kelly, visit his web site at www.terry-kelly.com.
APH Summer Training Program
Would you like to learn Internet skills while learning how to find your own books in the Louis Database? How about learning keyboard commands while browsing Fred’s Head for daily living tips? Or how about practicing writing skills while sharing your experience with Brainwaves participants?
The American Printing House for the Blind is once again sponsoring a Summer Training Program for blind and visually impaired students. The goal of the program is to teach students how to use assistive technology to access APH on-line resources independently. These resources include the Louis Database of Accessible Materials, Fred’s Head Database of Tips and Techniques, and Brainwaves contest Web Page.
How does it work? When you sign up for the program, an APH representative will design a workshop according to the group’s needs, grade and size. On the date scheduled, an APH representative will come to your school or technology center to conduct the workshop. The training is free anywhere in the United States.
At the completion of the training program, students will be able to: look up books about their favorite topic in Braille, large print, tape, or disc; access information about Braille music; look up APH educational games and software; search for daily living, O and M, and technology tips; get info about the latest gadgets, sports, and recreational activities; and use their personal experience to help others. To make the program even more exciting, every participant will have the option of searching for and ordering a free T-shirt on-line through the Louis Database. Students will also get a certificate for completing the program.
For more information, contact Maria E. Delgado at (502) 899- 2340 or toll-free, (800) 223-1839 ext. 340; or by e-mail, [email protected].
Christian Camping for the Blind
The 2003 Siloam Camp for the Blind will be held June 21-28 at the Golden Cross Ranch in New Caney, Texas located just outside Houston. The cost for the camp is $200, which includes all activities, meals and sleeping accommodations. Pastor Bob Rathbun will be teaching the book of Revelation during the morning sessions and Rev. George Gray will conduct the evening services.
Activities for the week include two talent nights, swimming, horseback riding, a scavenger hunt, visit to the Holocaust Museum in Houston, a shopping trip to Wal-Mart, a hayride and campfire, and much, much more! Join us for an exciting time of spiritual refreshment and renewal!
A $25 non-refundable camp registration fee is required to receive the camp application and medical form. Make check payable to the Gospel Association for the Blind, and send to: PO Box 1162, Bunnell, FL 32110. Full and/or partial camperships are available to first-time campers which would cover transportation as well as the week of camp! For further information, call (386) 586-5885 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 12 noon (Eastern time) or leave a voice mail message at (866) 251-5165 mailbox 7128 with your name, address and phone number and someone will return your call with further information! Come and join us in Texas for a great week of spiritual growth and fun.
Seeking Donations
Two Nigerian organizations are seeking donations of braille and large print books and other reading materials, cassettes (both recorded and blank), books of the Bible on tape (New and Old Testament), pocket slates and styli, braille writers and typewriters. They are trying to open a school for blind children. If you have any of these items to spare, send them to either of the addresses that follow: The Director, Oshun State Library Board, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria; or The Director, Ondo State Library Board, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.