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4 year old tapping top of the iPad screen and text, "Spatial Tech Standards: Directional Terms"

Spatial Tech Standards 1: Directional Terms

This series is designed to show how a tablet (in this case an iPad, but the same is true with any tablet) can be used to systematically teach critical...
Photo of silicone suction cup toys: bright red with 3 suction cups and orange with one suction cup and bulb.

Squigz: Toy to Promote Improvement of Developmental Skills and Independence

Squigz by Fat BrainToys are a fun multi-sensory toy that can help support many developmental skills. As a TVI, part of the job is to be creative in our...
Image of hands holding a tablet with floating app icons. Text, "Tech Standards. Why Teach Digital Concepts Early?"

Tech Standards: Why Teach Digital Concepts Early?

Teachers of students with visual impairments or blindness are responsible for teaching so many things. How do you prioritize what to teach when? It used to be...
PAIF-ready raised line coloring page of Donald Duck and text, "Tactile Graphics vs. Raised Line Drawings"

Braille Alphabet Coloring Pages Part 2: Tactile Graphics vs. Raised Line Drawings

Looking for emerging reader activities? Here is another set of braille alphabet coloring pages - with lovable Disney characters! In a previous and popular post...
Image of the B (bunny) tactile coloring page with text, "Braille Alphabet Coloring Page"

Braille Alphabet Coloring Pages

Inclusion is what we all strive for. I always think back to sitting with a student when I worked with a young child in a gen ed classroom years ago. The class...
Screenshot of Math Melodies counting game and text, "Math Games for Preschool/kindergarten"

Math Melodies App: Young Students

The Math Melodies app is a FREE fully accessible math app created specifically for students who are blind or low vision. The app covers a wide range of math...
Image of a young man with a guide dog and the text, "World Braille Day" in print and simulated contracted braille.

Braille Boom Cards

Boom Cards are digital, self-checking, interactive activities. Boom is a platform which enables teachers to purchase, find and/or create digital activities for...
Toddler touching an iPad screen with Text, "ABC's of iOS Course"

ABC's of iOS: VoiceOver for Kids 3 - 8 Course

Perkins is offering a 6 module (12 weeks) course on how to introduce young children to an iPad running VoiceOver. The online modules are video tutorials...
Photo of toddler pressing silicone buttons with index fingers using Dimpl Duo toy.

Dimple Duo: Toy to Develop Finger Strength

Dimple Duo by Fat Brain Toys is a fun sensory play educational toy, that can be used increase finger strength and finger isolation. The toy has six silicone...
Cartoon girl with clasped praying hands showing distress in front of a computer with text, "Homework hotline"

National Homework Hotline for Blind or Visually Impaired Students: Part 2

The National Homework Hotline for Blind and Visually Impaired students (NHH-BVI) was created in response to the school closures due to COVID. (See Homework...
Christmas Alphabet book cover with an image of Santa, audio button, and text, "Emerging Reader Book".

Christmas Alphabet Book

Alphabet books are among a child's first exposures to read aloud books and are important first steps to reading. Students with visual impairments should also...
All white cartoon figure of a boy doing a victory jump and the the word, "Success!"

Teaching Braille Remotely to a Student with Autism

I wanted to share a success story with remote learning. Last year I had a 3rd grader with no functional vision that I was trying to teach Braille to. He also...
title page of the Five Little Ducks book with text, "Creating Accessible Books"

Creating Accessible Books Using Pages

Emerging readers should have access to fun digital books - just like their peers! The books can be read aloud to the student, the student can listen to the...
Image of two student desks in front of a blackboard with the words, "lesson library"

Crowd Sourced Lesson Library

Update: The Lesson Library is now LIVE under the Paths to Technology Resource Library. Here is the direct link to the Lesson Library. Note: The Lesson Library...
BrailleBuzz logo with text, "Beginning Braille App"

BrailleBuzz App Review

Teachers are buzzing about APH's new beginning braille letter app, BrailleBuzz! This is a sister app to the popular stand-alone BrailleBuzz toy. Both games...
A page from the Rainbow Cat book with text, "This is Rainbow Cat" and image of painted ceramic cat.

Rainbow Cat Book: Emerging Reader

Emerging readers should be flooded with interesting books and these books should be available in various formats! Preschoolers love to do the same activity...
Cover of the Farm Vehicles book with a dump truck and text, "Farm Vehicles by Stephanie Bissonette"

Farm Vehicles Book

Farm vehicles are essential to keep a farm moving (pun intended). They sound, feel, look and ride differently from each other. Let’s explore a variety of farm...
cartoon drawing of an iPad with a finger on the braille word "barn" on the answer sheet & text, "Braille Sheets: iPad Game".

ObjectiveEd: Braille Sheets

A combination of paper braille and technology? How cool is that!  Braille Sheets literacy tool that combines paper braille in tandem with with a fun app! In...
Screenshot of video: Graphic, "The Kindergarten Sight Word Dance Song" and Sight Word Lesson.

Kindergarten and First Grade Sight Words Lesson

Remote instruction activities can be challenging for young students to sit through. We know that early elementary students have trouble sitting still in class...
Picture of the book "That's Not My Bear" book standing up with a brown teddy bear leaning on it.

Reading Remotely

This time of remote instruction has been difficult for our students, families, and teachers. I am trying desperately to meet the needs of my students the best...
Young girl reading a teacher-created print/braille book with her hands on the braille.

Teacher-Created Resource Library!

Finding Solutions Students in today's classrooms are using digital educational materials - especially now with remote instruction, online courses and virtual...
Seesaw logo and text, "Remote Instruction"

Remote Instruction using Seesaw for Dual Media Learner

Seesaw is an online platform that had been used by schools prior to COVID- 19 in New Hampshire to communicate with parents and share student work. Once schools...
Books and judge's gavel, with text, "It's the Law".

Assistive Technology: It's the Law

It's the Law!   As school is ending all across the country, this is a good time to take stock of what we accomplished this school year and what we want to...
Image of cartoon readers sitting on and standing around a digital book and "Bookshare #AllInTogether Summer Read-a-thon"

Bookshare's #AllInTogether Summer Read-a-thon

Get #AllInTogether for Summer Reading Are you looking for fun and EASY ways to keep your child or students learning this summer? Bookshare’s #AllInTogether ...
Photo of Victor sitting in a car drawing a campus map using the Sensational BlackBoard tactile drawing tool.

Concept Development: Drawing

In a recent series on Remote O&M Instruction for Students Transitioning to College, Victor, a rising college freshman, applied his strong O&M skills to...
Cover page of ABC's of iOS: A VoiceOver Manual for Toddlers and Beyond! a collaboration between Diane Brauner & CNIB Foundation.

ABC's of iOS: A VoiceOver Manual for Toddlers and Beyond!

UPDATE! The ABC's of iOS manual is currently available FREE for everyone during COVID-19!  Are you a parent or teacher of a toddler, preschooler, or...
Image of 2 teenage boys in front of computers & text, "Virtual ExCEL Academy for students with visual impairments starting March

Summer Virtual ExCEL Camp

We have had so much fun and developed so many friendships through the Virtual ExCEL Academy this spring! The American Printing House for the Blind is ready to...
Access and Engagement logo and text, "COVID-19 Remote Instruction for Students with VIB Survey"

Access and Engagement Survey: COVID-19 Remote Education for Students with Visual Impairments

We hope you will participate in a survey to help us better understand the challenges and successes students with visual impairments, including those with...
Image of a student playing an iPad game and text, "Free O&M and Braille Webinars"

ObjectiveEd Daily Live Webinars

We are now offering two live webinars every day - one focused on Orientation & Mobility skills and Assistive Technology skills, and another focused on...
Photo of hands on a braille display and open app on iPhone with text, "Remote Braille Instruction: Braille AI Tutor"

ObjectiveEd and Microsoft Help Students Practice Braille During Pandemic

Thanks to a grant from Microsoft’s AI for Accessibility program, ObjectiveEd has developed Braille AI Tutor – an innovative system to enable students to...
Braille document on an iPad with Apple Pen writing corresponding print & Good Notes app. Text, "Interlining Braille: Remotely"

Interlining Braille: Remotely!

You (the TVI) and your general education classroom teacher are working in tandem to continue classroom instruction with your braille student during the COVID-...
Screenshot of Word Melodies Home screen with cartoon animals, musical notes and text, "Accessible Emerging Reader App"

Word Melodies: Emerging Reading and Writing App

Update: 4/8/20 Word Melodies version 1.0.1 is now available in Google Play as well as in the App Store. This new release fixed the bugs mentioned below. I am...
Photo of Crosby an adorable 7 month old golden retriever.

Crosby, Service Dog in Training: iBook

Read all about Crosby, a seven month old Golden Retriever in training with the Wildcat Service Dog Program in Lexington, Kentucky. After a year of training in...
Cartoon image of smiling boy laying a couch at home holding an iPad.

Objective Ed: How it works

To help students with visual impairments during this crisis, ObjectiveEd is providing free access to their digital curriculum to schools and teachers to use...
Book Creator logo and text, "Accessibility Updates: Book Creator"

Book Creator Accessibility Updates

Book Creator is a simple tool that educators, family members, and students frequently use to create fun digital books. Book Creator's latest update included...
photo of a fluffy white cat laying on the couch and text, "Braille Contractions"

Alphabetic Word Sign Book for Early Readers

My student has been learning to read high frequency words in braille and alphabetic word signs. She’s had the greatest success reading teacher created...
Young boy with ear buds holding an iPad with text, "Interactive Stories"

Novel Effect App Review

As educators, it is important to make literary experiences as interactive and valuable for the students that we work with. With that in mind, the Novel Effect ...
Image with 3 photos of gift ideas: Build a Snowman, Penguin foam ornament, Snowman QR codes and text, "Gift ideas"

Student Christmas Gifts

"Yikes - it is almost winter break and what simple gift can I give to my students with visual impairments?!" This question keeps popping up and as teachers of...
Cover page of the digital book Noelle’s Christmas Tree with an image of a Christmas tree with white lights next to a fireplace

Christmas Themed Book for Early Readers: Noelle's Christmas Tree

In first grade, my student has been learning to visually read lists of sight words. In braille, she practices reading some of the same high frequency words, as...
Cover page of a digital book titled I am Thankful with an image of four book boxes lined up next to each other on a shelf.

Digital Thanksgiving Book for Early Readers

This month, my student and I created a book about what she is a thankful for using the Book Creator app on an iPad. My student dictated the sentences for the...

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