Hi guys!? Carina is in NZ and had trouble registering for the webinar because she’s not from the U.S., and asked me if anyone outside the U.S. can register.? The answer is yes -- APH says everyone is welcome -- and I’ve been trying to respond to Carina and tell her how to do it, but my messages keep bouncing.?

?

BTW, I just sent the announcement out Friday night and 150 people had registered by this morning.? They can accept 500, so if you’re planning to attend, I suggest registering sooner rather than later.

-- Dona
________________________________________
Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the blind
Gambrills, Maryland
dona@... / 301-858-0138
www.sauerburger.org
________________________________________

?

On Fri, Apr 3, 2020 at 9:07 PM Dona Sauerburger <dona@...> wrote:

Hi everyone!? I’m really excited to tell you about a free, 3-hour webinar “”!? Dr. Amy Parker at the Portland State O&M program organized the webinar, hosted by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), which will include a discussion of distance-based O&M consultation with students.? ACVREP credit is available.

?

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 10 am-1 pm EST

?

Description:? APH’s “Crossings With No Traffic Control” software provides simulation experiences and information that help instructors teach students to analyze situations at street crossings where there is no traffic control, including recognizing when they don’t have enough warning of approaching vehicles (“Situations of Uncertainty”). This field-tested tool can assist with building confidence and competence with young and older clients through instruction and coaching.?

?

The presenters will provide an overview of this multimedia product, along with case studies for its use.? Experienced O&M panelists will also explore the ethical use of this product for distance-based consultation with specific clients and students, with a question and answer discussion from the attendees.

?

Instructors:?

Laura Zierer, Independent Living Project Leader at APH;?

Dona Sauerburger, COMS;?

Stephanie Carmicheal, COMS at Vermont Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired;?

Amy Parker, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of O&M Program at Portland State University (moderator)

?

More information is at ? including a .? Hope to see you there!

NOTE:? If you wish to stop receiving announcements from me, please respond to this email and let me know.? Thanks!

?

-- Dona
________________________________________

Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the blind

Website:?

________________________________________

Hi everyone!? I’m really excited to tell you about a free, 3-hour webinar “”!? Dr. Amy Parker at the Portland State O&M program organized the webinar, hosted by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), which will include a discussion of distance-based O&M consultation with students.? ACVREP credit is available.

?

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 10 am-1 pm EST

?

Description:? APH’s “Crossings With No Traffic Control” software provides simulation experiences and information that help instructors teach students to analyze situations at street crossings where there is no traffic control, including recognizing when they don’t have enough warning of approaching vehicles (“Situations of Uncertainty”). This field-tested tool can assist with building confidence and competence with young and older clients through instruction and coaching.?

?

The presenters will provide an overview of this multimedia product, along with case studies for its use.? Experienced O&M panelists will also explore the ethical use of this product for distance-based consultation with specific clients and students, with a question and answer discussion from the attendees.

?

Instructors:?

Laura Zierer, Independent Living Project Leader at APH;?

Dona Sauerburger, COMS;?

Stephanie Carmicheal, COMS at Vermont Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired;?

Amy Parker, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of O&M Program at Portland State University (moderator)

?

More information is at ? including a .? Hope to see you there!

NOTE:? If you wish to stop receiving announcements from me, please respond to this email and let me know.? Thanks!

?

-- Dona
________________________________________

Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the blind

Website:?

________________________________________

?

Hi Everyone,

On Apr 1, 2020, at 3:14 PM, Natalie Perzylo <nperzylo@...> wrote:

HI Michael,

?

When you said, ‘step back into older methods of distance learning’, it reminded me when I was working as a governess in a remote Australia sheep farm. I was in charge of the kids’ learning.? How kids used to learn there (maybe still do if they don’t have internet connection)? was to use CB radio. Remember those? All of the kids around the vast area, maybe 9 to 12 students, were on ‘the call’ and the teacher would ask each student a question, and that’s how they would meet once a day for 30 minutes.

I would do the ‘real’ teaching… to motivate them to do their distance learning books that got sent to them once a week.

Not sure you were thinking of CB radio, but that’s one of the older methods that I remember- in 1990.

?

Natalie

?

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>On Behalf Of?Michael Byington
Sent:?Thursday, 2 April 2020 5:02 AM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [OandM] New topic: working from home, etc

?

Thanks Jen. I attended four or five meetings by Zoom last week, and have already been in one Zoom meeting this week, with one more scheduled this afternoon, not to mention going to Church on Zoom last Sunday morning.?

?

One of the districts I serve in O&M is having group work sessions for the students using a platform similar to Zoom that is owned by Google. I do not remember what it is called, but I have three work sessions scheduled with students and other related services professionals, using this platform, this coming Friday.

?

Zoom and similar services are wonderful platforms, and I am aware that they are used by many people who are blind and by consumer organizations of the blind, ?Nonetheless, for most people, these kinds of platforms are visually based. The visual aspect of them is the reason that they are so popular. In talking with some of my higher functioning students, they feel rather Zoomed out at the moment. I proposed that instead, I send them lessons and they send me responses by snail mail with consultation between us by telephone. They seemed relieved not to have one more thing to do on Zoom. Lets face it. For many of our students, the visual aspects of Zoom and similar platforms make them just one more thing where blind and visually impaired students do not have full access. Writing and mailing assignments, on the other hand, allows the students to practice a number of independent living skills that have transferability.

?

I love all of the modern technology, although I often feel I am constantly trying to catch up and keep up with it. Nonetheless, sometimes it is good to step back to some of the older methods of distance learning. Maybe this time off from physical school would be a good time for some of the Braille students who are learning Braille only with a Braillewriter or notetaker to have an opportunity to even step back and practice some slate and stylus skills..

Michael Byington, MA, COMS, LLC

Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist Co-located with Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

(785) 221-7111 (cell and voice mail)

ByingtonCOMS@...?(office e-mail)????

?

?

From:?[email protected]?[mailto:[email protected]]?On Behalf Of?Jen
Sent:?Tuesday, March 31, 2020 3:35 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[OandM] New topic: working from home, etc

?

Hi folks:

?

As folks trickle in, we are almost at 150+ subscribed in our new home, I thought I’d throw out a topic out there (I feel like a Table Topic Master at Toastmasters as I’m attending so many Zoom meetings!).

?

Share what your organization or yourself doing to continue serving clients in a “long-distance” format? What educational things are you doing to continually stay involved in your career??

?

Please do share at a totally different world we are all experiencing!

?

Jen and “Cheeseball” Parmesan

Privacy Disclaimer: This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, proprietary, and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copy of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and erase this e-mail message immediately. ATTENTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Do not open attachments or click on links unless you have confirmed the identity of the sender.

On Apr 1, 2020, at 4:16 PM, Michael Byington <ByingtonCOMS@...> wrote:

Breaker breaker there good buddy, Natalie. This here is the old White Cane Shaker teacher coming at you here from my office 20.

?

Well, yes I remember the world of the CB. I am not sure I was advocating stepping back into that again, but it is kind of a point currently of using whatever works. ?I would venture however, that my example of the slate and stylus may still have more practical applications for people who are blind than does the CB, but who knows? Others may disagree with that.

?

I suppose I was thinking about older teaching methods when I wrote that post because of a couple of conversations my wife and I have had recently. As you can probably tell the two of us both have a bit of mileage on our odometers, and she worked for many years as a Rehabilitation Teacher for the Blind, and then as an adult Braille instructor before she retired a few years ago. ?My wife is totally blind, and is a competent Braille note-taker user, but despite the availability of these reasonably portable Braille input devices, my wife gets on her soap box any time I mention that most Braille students in the public schools with which I work as a COMS are not required to learn to use the slate and stylus. As I have been thinking about remote lessons for my students over this time of school shutdown, ?a question has come to my mind that I do not know if has been researched. This would be a difficult research protocol to design, but in thinking about working with students remotely on the subject of reversing routes, it makes me curious as to whether students who are required to learn to use the slate and stylus to write Braille are aided in developing a plasticity of mental functioning making it easier for them to learn to reverse a rout in their heads. After all, turning around the Braille letters and contractions by having to write right to left and essentially backwards would seem to be a good mental tool for such functioning.? Of course I ponder this question from the comfortable position of being a COMS and not a TVI. I thus do not have to figure out all of the ins and outs of teaching slate and stylus use as a part of Braille.

?

Hey Jen, I doubt that you imagined that your suggested topic would lead to a discussion as far reaching as CB radios and theories of teaching slate and stylus.

Michael Byington, MA, COMS, LLC

Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist Co-located with Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

(785) 221-7111 (cell and voice mail)

ByingtonCOMS@...?(office e-mail)????

?

?

From:?[email protected]?[mailto:[email protected]]?On Behalf Of?Natalie Perzylo
Sent:?Wednesday, April 01, 2020 3:15 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [OandM] New topic: working from home, etc

?

HI Michael,

?

When you said, ‘step back into older methods of distance learning’, it reminded me when I was working as a governess in a remote Australia sheep farm. I was in charge of the kids’ learning.? How kids used to learn there (maybe still do if they don’t have internet connection)? was to use CB radio. Remember those? All of the kids around the vast area, maybe 9 to 12 students, were on ‘the call’ and the teacher would ask each student a question, and that’s how they would meet once a day for 30 minutes.?

I would do the ‘real’ teaching… to motivate them to do their distance learning books that got sent to them once a week.

Not sure you were thinking of CB radio, but that’s one of the older methods that I remember- in 1990.

?

Natalie

?

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Michael Byington
Sent:?Thursday, 2 April 2020 5:02 AM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [OandM] New topic: working from home, etc

?

Thanks Jen. I attended four or five meetings by Zoom last week, and have already been in one Zoom meeting this week, with one more scheduled this afternoon, not to mention going to Church on Zoom last Sunday morning.?

?

One of the districts I serve in O&M is having group work sessions for the students using a platform similar to Zoom that is owned by Google. I do not remember what it is called, but I have three work sessions scheduled with students and other related services professionals, using this platform, this coming Friday.

?

Zoom and similar services are wonderful platforms, and I am aware that they are used by many people who are blind and by consumer organizations of the blind, ?Nonetheless, for most people, these kinds of platforms are visually based. The visual aspect of them is the reason that they are so popular. In talking with some of my higher functioning students, they feel rather Zoomed out at the moment. I proposed that instead, I send them lessons and they send me responses by snail mail with consultation between us by telephone. They seemed relieved not to have one more thing to do on Zoom. Lets face it. For many of our students, the visual aspects of Zoom and similar platforms make them just one more thing where blind and visually impaired students do not have full access. Writing and mailing assignments, on the other hand, allows the students to practice a number of independent living skills that have transferability.

?

I love all of the modern technology, although I often feel I am constantly trying to catch up and keep up with it. Nonetheless, sometimes it is good to step back to some of the older methods of distance learning. Maybe this time off from physical school would be a good time for some of the Braille students who are learning Braille only with a Braillewriter or notetaker to have an opportunity to even step back and practice some slate and stylus skills..

Michael Byington, MA, COMS, LLC

Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist Co-located with Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

(785) 221-7111 (cell and voice mail)

ByingtonCOMS@...?(office e-mail)????

?

?

From:?[email protected]?[mailto:[email protected]]?On Behalf Of?Jen
Sent:?Tuesday, March 31, 2020 3:35 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[OandM] New topic: working from home, etc

?

Hi folks:

?

As folks trickle in, we are almost at 150+ subscribed in our new home, I thought I’d throw out a topic out there (I feel like a Table Topic Master at Toastmasters as I’m attending so many Zoom meetings!).

?

Share what your organization or yourself doing to continue serving clients in a “long-distance” format? What educational things are you doing to continually stay involved in your career??

?

Please do share at a totally different world we are all experiencing!

?

Jen and “Cheeseball” Parmesan

Privacy Disclaimer: This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, proprietary, and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copy of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and erase this e-mail message immediately.?

ATTENTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Do not open attachments or click on links unless you have confirmed the identity of the sender.

?

HI Michael,

?

When you said, ‘step back into older methods of distance learning’, it reminded me when I was working as a governess in a remote Australia sheep farm. I was in charge of the kids’ learning.? How kids used to learn there (maybe still do if they don’t have internet connection)? was to use CB radio. Remember those? All of the kids around the vast area, maybe 9 to 12 students, were on ‘the call’ and the teacher would ask each student a question, and that’s how they would meet once a day for 30 minutes.

I would do the ‘real’ teaching… to motivate them to do their distance learning books that got sent to them once a week.

Not sure you were thinking of CB radio, but that’s one of the older methods that I remember- in 1990.

?

Natalie

?

?

Thanks Jen. I attended four or five meetings by Zoom last week, and have already been in one Zoom meeting this week, with one more scheduled this afternoon, not to mention going to Church on Zoom last Sunday morning.

?

One of the districts I serve in O&M is having group work sessions for the students using a platform similar to Zoom that is owned by Google. I do not remember what it is called, but I have three work sessions scheduled with students and other related services professionals, using this platform, this coming Friday.

?

Zoom and similar services are wonderful platforms, and I am aware that they are used by many people who are blind and by consumer organizations of the blind, ?Nonetheless, for most people, these kinds of platforms are visually based. The visual aspect of them is the reason that they are so popular. In talking with some of my higher functioning students, they feel rather Zoomed out at the moment. I proposed that instead, I send them lessons and they send me responses by snail mail with consultation between us by telephone. They seemed relieved not to have one more thing to do on Zoom. Lets face it. For many of our students, the visual aspects of Zoom and similar platforms make them just one more thing where blind and visually impaired students do not have full access. Writing and mailing assignments, on the other hand, allows the students to practice a number of independent living skills that have transferability.

?

I love all of the modern technology, although I often feel I am constantly trying to catch up and keep up with it. Nonetheless, sometimes it is good to step back to some of the older methods of distance learning. Maybe this time off from physical school would be a good time for some of the Braille students who are learning Braille only with a Braillewriter or notetaker to have an opportunity to even step back and practice some slate and stylus skills..

Michael Byington, MA, COMS, LLC

Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist Co-located with Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

(785) 221-7111 (cell and voice mail)

ByingtonCOMS@... (office e-mail)????

?

?

?

Hi folks:

?

As folks trickle in, we are almost at 150+ subscribed in our new home, I thought I’d throw out a topic out there (I feel like a Table Topic Master at Toastmasters as I’m attending so many Zoom meetings!).

?

Share what your organization or yourself doing to continue serving clients in a “long-distance” format? What educational things are you doing to continually stay involved in your career?

?

Please do share at a totally different world we are all experiencing!

?

Jen and “Cheeseball” Parmesan

Privacy Disclaimer: This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, proprietary, and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copy of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and erase this e-mail message immediately.