Writer, Aggregator: Kevan Worley
Contributors: Dan Burke, Erin Daley
Here is what you need to know
BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! Students Have Returned
to the Building.
From the aggregator: As you know, dear reader, the chief
program of the National Federation of the Blind is our Colorado Center for the
Blind. We are excited – indeed, we are overjoyed – to report the following,
which we have just received from our contributing editor, Dan Burke.
We’ve never been so positive about being negative! Here’s a pic of public health
personnel setting up Monday morning in the parking lot at our apartments in
preparation for testing everyone at CCB. Meanwhile, students and staff begin
queuing with proper social distance. By Tuesday morning, all 37 tests had come
back negative for COVID-19.
Classes have been
virtual since Thanksgiving. Students returned to our apartments on January 3rd,
4th, and 5th and remained quarantined after traveling for
the two-week holiday break. With these negative results, we’re all positively
ready to get back to in-person training at the center this week.
Mountain Time at 5, Wednesday, January 27. Know
Your Rights! Know Your Responsibilities! Taking Full Advantage of Vocational
Rehabilitation in Colorado.
The first Mountain Time at 5 for 2021 features a cast of
experts to bring consumers and students important information about the scope
of services available under our Colorado Blindness and Low Vision Services
Unit. Look for more information on our Colorado Talk list serv and NFBCO social
media.
Think of the vocational rehabilitation system as a tool or
instrument of opportunity. Learn how to use the tool and play the instrument
during this empowering Mountain Time at 5 Zoom call.
To learn more now! Email assistance@nfbco.org.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 974 1756 2247
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,97417562247#
+1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 974 1756 2247
Did
You Know?
As we embrace the possibilities of a new year, we thought
it would be a good time to remind everybody that NFB still has some dynamic
special interest divisions.
- Did
you know that we have a growing Colorado Association of Blind Students?
- Did
you know that our Blind Parents’ Division is maturing into one of the most
active blind parents’ division in the nation?
- Did
you know that Amira Lucas, parent of a 2-year-old blind child, is working with
Michelle Chacon and our Parents of Blind Children Division to implement a
series of online Zoom learning sessions for Colorado’s blind children? Michelle
managed education programs for the blind in New Mexico. She is a teacher of
blind students with Denver Public Schools. She is also the recipient of the
National Federation of the Blind Teacher of Blind Students award.
- Did
you know that the National Federation of the Blind Sports and Rec Division is
eager for your involvement and plans lots of sports and rec activities for
blind people of all ages? They are seeking your stories of triumph and
struggle, delicious and health recipes, or questions about anything related to
weight loss, sports, nutrition, mindfulness, etc. Please e-mail Erin Daley at daleyem@gmail.com to
submit any articles or questions.
All of these are opportunities
meant for us. Learn more by calling our information line, 303-778-1130 ext.
219. Leave a message and we will get back to you. This is also the hotline for
blind people who may need some advice or assistance during this difficult time
of pandemic. You may also email assistance@nfbco.org. We
enjoy receiving your comments and questions. Find your interest. Find your
place. Find your joy in the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.
Welcome!
Successful Learning Through LEGO® Play. Another
Example of Braille is Beautiful, by Amy Gunning, TVI in the CSDB School for the
Blind.
From the aggregator: When I was a child at schools for the
blind, we always had Legos around the playroom. They had bumps and grooves and
various smooth and rough surfaces to touch. For the non-blind, of course, there
were also colors. Although I enjoyed putting the blocks together, I could never
“build” anything. Legos were intriguing and fun. but for me they lost their
luster very quickly. In recent years, the National Federation of the Blind has
worked with toy and game companies, including LEGO®, to enhance playtime and
learning time for the blind of all ages. This is why I was so excited to
receive the following article by Amy Gunning. Amy is known as one of the most
effective, imaginative, and understanding teachers at our Colorado School for
the Deaf and the Blind. Here is what she says about braille Legos. Please share
this post with the teachers and parents of blind children you know, because
building and playing with braille Legos is fun!
Earlier this school year, the School for the Blind received a new,
highly anticipated, fun braille-learning tool: LEGO®
Braille Bricks, from the LEGO Foundation. As described on the LEGO
Foundation’s website:
The LEGO® Braille Bricks concept is a play-based methodology
that teaches braille to children who are blind or have a visual impairment.
Each brick in the LEGO® Braille Bricks toolkit retains its iconic form, but
unlike a regular LEGO® brick, the studs are arranged to correspond to
numbers and letters in the Braille alphabet. Each brick shows the printed
version of the symbol or letter, allowing sighted and blind children to play
and learn together on equal terms. This ingenious combination of features opens
up a whole new world of playful learning that teaches children Braille in an
enjoyable and tactile environment. The LEGO Foundation and LEGO Group are
behind this pioneering project that will help children with blindness or visual
impairment learn Braille in a playful and engaging way using moderated LEGO
bricks. We have teamed up with blind associations to develop, test and launch
the concept known as LEGO® Braille Bricks (https://www.LEGOFoundation.com).
Students learning print are surrounded by vast amounts of toys,
games, puzzles, books and many other materials that make learning print very
fun, engaging, and meaningful. The equivalent types of materials for students
learning braille have not always been so readily available. One of the reasons
these LEGO Braille Bricks have been so highly anticipated is because of their
“learning through play” benefit. Each LEGO Braille Brick kit contains braille
bricks with letters, basic punctuation symbols, number signs for creating
numbers, and signs of operation math symbols so these LEGOS can be used across
a variety of subject areas.
What makes these LEGO Braille Bricks so exciting is that they are
designed to support tactile learning skills while being fun, interesting,
motivating, engaging, and meaningful materials students can use to build and
play. When learning visually, we receive whole-picture information
instantaneously; learning tactually initially takes more time to explore/figure
out individual pieces of information and then to put all those pieces together
to form the whole-picture concept. Braille is an amazing literacy code based on
a set of six dots presented in individual braille cells or in combination with
two or more braille cells, but learning it can be tricky. What makes learning
braille tricky is figuring out which dots of each braille cell are there, which
dots are not there, and where each dot is located within each braille cell and
in relation to the adjoining braille cells. Developing the tactile perception
skills to figure this all out is often challenging and time-consuming. These
braille LEGOS have very enlarged braille dots that provide more tactually
distinct patterns, which in turn provide more tactual information for figuring
out each braille symbol.
Students of various ages, abilities, and stages of
braille-learning in the School for the Blind have been enjoying playing with
the LEGOS since being introduced to them earlier in the school year. Students
have given us positive feedback about how much easier it is for them to figure
out the braille on the LEGOS. Students who have had a hard time with learning
braille despite being provided with a wide variety of braille-learning
activities, strategies, and techniques are already showing more success with
using these braille LEGOS and are expressing more interest in and excitement
about learning braille. We have a whole lot more playing and learning to do,
but for now these initial successes are sure making our teacher hearts smile!
Artistic Expression, Powerful Perspective, and Heightening
Dimension Through Arts and Advocacy, by Rishika Kartik.
From the aggregator: This is possibly the longest piece we
have ever posted in the Blind Coloradan. I think you will agree we made the
right decision. Rishika, a high school student, and her father attended our
2020 Washington Seminar, which is where I met her. I was immediately struck by
her kindness, energy, and intelligence. Here is what she says about her
engagement with arts, advocacy, and the National Federation of the Blind
Colorado Center.
It was a cool autumn night in 2008 when the specks of color
on my canvas ignited sparks of passion within me. Painting the self-portrait in
my home, I was enthralled by the sleek lines on my canvas, the subtle fusing of
hues, and the carefree whimsy of the brush in my hand. Blank pages became a sea
of possibility, and, with every stroke, I became liberated to create a world of
my own. Since then, art has become how I connect with others, express myself,
and make sense of the world.
I started volunteering with the blind and visually impaired
(BVI) community in 2018 because I was searching for a way to broaden my
perspective and interact with diverse individuals. Immediately, I fell in love
with the sense of community at Anchor Center for the Blind, Colorado Center for
the Blind, and Colorado Center for the Deaf and the Blind. I will proudly say
that each blind individual I’ve been fortunate to meet over the last two years
has given me my vision and illuminated insights I would have never considered,
one of the most notable being the importance of Tactile Art and accessible
creative outlets. Art is such an essential part of my life, yet I saw so
many individuals consistently being deprived of it. As a sighted artist, I
realized that public perception of art is unfortunately unidimensional. It
became evident that tactile art is just as important as visual self-expression.
Visual art is ingrained within every aspect of modern culture, from coloring
books in early education and murals on street corners, to museum visits and household
paintings. Therefore, making art more accessible spearheads inclusivity,
fostering community, therapeutic development, creativity, and holistic
wellbeing. When I started incorporating tactile art into my volunteer work, the
impact was ubiquitous across cultures, age groups, and backgrounds. This
revelation has changed my life and has empowered every aspect of my
allyship.
I am
profoundly grateful to Colorado Center for the Blind and my inspiring mentor, Ann Cunningham, for giving me the opportunity to become the
president of the Tactile Art Club in January. Running the Tactile Art Club completely revolutionized the way I perceive art and allowed me
to look at creativity in a nuanced multi-sensory way. What started as a small
group of about five enthusiastic artists soon grew exponentially in
participation, with teachers of students with visual impairment, students, and
allies of all ages coming together to explore new artistic possibilities. At
the end of February, the club was averaging around 15 dynamic participants and
focused on providing an enriching experience to interact with ceramics, accessible
tools, and textures.
However,
the entire structure of the club changed in March. Continuing to spread
positivity through tactile art remotely proved to be a previously unaddressed
challenge, but that certainly did not stop the club from flourishing! The
online format eventually broadened participation from Colorado to all parts of
the country and the world. We were thrilled to have 28 participants join our December Tactile Art Club meeting. The international community that the virtual
club enabled soon became vital to the experience, as club members learned just
as much from the diverse perspectives as they did from the mediums. While we
were physically distanced, we became more socially connected than ever.
Witnessing
an international community develop, I realized that art not only had aesthetic
or practical functions, but also socio-emotional and cognitive benefits, as
well. Having the opportunity to teach online also changed what I considered
“works of art.” In order to address learning inequities and to ensure an
affordable, equitable, and convenient experience for everyone, we shifted from
traditional mediums to household objects This development allowed us to
experiment with a variety of intriguing materials-- paper, tinfoil, pipe
cleaners, etc.-- and made me appreciate the beauty of “ordinary” items in a new
way. I am so appreciative of the dedicated members of this club who have deeply
impacted my view of accessibility, creativity, and, broadly speaking, the way I
interact with my world.
Meeting
inspiring individuals through Tactile Art Club reiterated the importance of
this cause, impacting the virtual execution of my project, Vision of the
Artist’s Soul. I am so thankful to Arts In Society for giving me a generous grant to create a comprehensive Tactile
Arts education program for blind and visually impaired youth, and Tactile Art
Club has given me the confidence and experience to create holistic education
and artistic outlets virtually.
These
experiences have also motivated me to expand my work to other facets of
accessibility. The National Federation of the Blind has graciously allowed me to start a Museum
Accessibility committee with blind and sighted industry leaders. During these
meetings, we discussed best practices for accessible museums and inclusive
public spaces. I began reaching out to local museums such as Denver Art Museum, Museo De Las Américas, and the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Denver to partner with them and implement the
insightful information that I learned from the NFB committee. Subsequently, I
founded Touch and Create Studios, a program that works one-on-one with museums
to improve inclusivity and conducts workshops for students with diverse ability
levels. The Museum of Contemporary Arts generously gave me the chance to conduct my
first workshop for blind and visually impaired youth, which featured the
practice of phenomenal blind artists such as Marguerite Woods and Emilie
Goussiaux. The workshops were an
uplifting success, and I am looking forward to implementing similarly inclusive
programs with the other museums and organizations.
Finally,
I am thankful to have learned more about how to best be an ally to this
community and challenge my notions as a sighted person. I am so lucky to gain
more knowledge and grow with every experience. I attended the 2020 National Federation of the Blind National
Convention virtually, and met a
diverse group of people, with such solidarity,
independence, and optimism. At the NFBCO State Convention, I was fortunate to conduct a pumpkin carving art studio with Ann
Cunningham. My time at both the National
Convention and the State Convention made me so grateful to be a part of this
community, and I cannot thank NFBCO and Colorado
Center for the Blind enough for welcoming me with
open arms and making me feel like a part of the federation family. I also got
the opportunity to attend the Washington Seminar with the federation to advocate
for legislative initiatives, which inspired me to pursue advocacy by creating
the design for the 2020 White Cane Day celebration and starting the social
media campaign #MyCaneMyIndependence. The mission of #MyCaneMyIndependence
is to raise awareness for White Cane day and to advocate for the right of
individuals who are blind and visually impaired to travel independently. It
also aims to celebrate the achievements of blind individuals and advocate for
policies and infrastructure for a more accessible and inclusive society.
Ultimately,
this year has taught me to approach my interactions through an abundance
mindset, which aims to enrich pre-existing assets of a community instead of
acting as a “savior”. I now know that solutions must be human-centric and work
directly with the population that they are trying to benefit. I truly believe
the blind and visually impaired community has given me so much more than I
could ever give them, and I am thankful for the ability to see service and
advocacy in a new way.
Note from the aggregator: As we go to post, we
find that Rishika’s article will soon be published in Future Reflections.
Future Reflections is a publication of the National Organization of Parents of
Blind Children, NOPBC. Congratulations, Rishika!
What is Lidar?
Merely a generation ago, only those who write and read science
fiction would be thinking about some of the life-changing technologies we have
today. The exciting thing is that technology for travel, gaining access to
information, enjoying entertainment, and more are continuing to develop at a
more rapid rate than most would have thought possible only a few years ago. Now
we think about 3-D printing, Aira, Be My Eyes, and so much more. The other day,
I was reading about Lidar technology. These new technologies will continue to
change the landscape for everyone, but the implications for blind people are
significant and amazing. Technologists are spending time on the research and
development of some truly revolutionary applications for these emerging
technologies. For example, here is what Wikipedia says about Lidar technology,
“Lidar is a method for measuring distances by illuminating the target with
laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor. Differences in laser
return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D
representations of the target. It has terrestrial, airborne, and mobile
applications.”
And this is just one area of research – research that will
change the way we live in the world.
From the Grandpa Files, by
Kevan Worley.
I haven't had a haircut in
almost a year (back in the before times and just prior to Washington Seminar).
And that is very strange. Here you have a bald grandpa with hair that will grow
on the sides and in the back. I keep it very short. Now it is shoulder length.
As I work or read, I find myself playing with my new long and lustrous hair. I
don't know about visually, but it is lustrous to the touch. I know – odd; but
it feels good! It keeps me from putting my fingers in my eyes. I know many
congenitally blind folks who frequently place their fingers in their eyes. No
matter how many times I have tried to break the habit, no matter how many
parents, teachers, loved ones, or authoritarians have exhorted me not to engage
in such a horrible habit, I would get yelled at. Sometimes I would get my
fingers slapped. I would be advised that I would never date if a young gal saw
me with fingers in eyes and hand covering face. I was told, rightfully so, how
anti-social the behavior was. Nevertheless, I have never been able to, nor have
I known any other congenitally blind children, who have been able to completely
stop. I have often been asked by parents how to get children to stop. My belief
is this: we should teach and role model the times when hands in eyes and
rocking, which I also do, is unacceptable and harmful to your educational,
professional, and social integration. In Grandpa's mind, forcing kiddos with
certain disabilities to completely eliminate such behavior is unreasonably
restrictive. If I need to rock and roll in private or ease my eye strain or
gain some level of comfort with my fingers lightly resting in my eyes when not
in public, in my own space, so be it; but this is just Grandpa's opinion.
That’s It for This Edition of the Blind
Coloradan.
Forward,
always Forward!
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