#HereToHelp Resources for Professionals
Vision
Students with visual impairments and blindness often rely on tactile, auditory, and visual cues to support their learning. Providing materials in specialized formats and using specialized assistive technologies can help better support these students and their learning. The following resources provide a variety of academic supports that may help students who have visual challenges, including accessing books and other learning material, as well as resources for professional development for teachers who are new to supporting these students in a remote learning environment.
Professional Development Online Courses | Explore Invision's free online professional development learning community, which offers opportunities for all teachers and professionals whose work requires them to know about blindness and visual impairment. |
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Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults Courses | Discover free, online training modules from the Hellen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults. |
Remote Instruction and Services for Blind and Low Vision Participants | This free webinar from AFB Leadership Conference features Dr. Rachael Sessler Trinkowsky, who shares her expertise on providing remote instruction to students who are blind or low vision. |
ObjectiveEd - Distance Learning Tools for Students with Vision Impairments | Discover free access to distance learning tools for students with vision impairments. |
Paths to Literacy | Explore daily lessons for students with visual impairments from Paths to Literacy, American Printing House for the Blind, and CalState University. |
Hadley seminars | Hadley is offering all of its Continuing Education (CE) seminars free of charge. Enter "FreeCE' in the scholarship/discount field upon registration. |
Shipping Free Matter for the Blind | Explore the U.S. Post Office's Q&A for mailing free matter for persons who are blind or visually impaired. |
Cane Songs | The Perkins School for the Blind explores using a song's rhythm and the words to help motivate students. |
OCDEB facebook page | The Ohio Center for Deafblind Education shares activities for learning for visual impairments, hard of hearing, and deafblind. |
Working Together to Support Students with Visual Impairments to Access Curriculum | The Perkins School for the Blind offers ideas on how to connect students and their families to volunteers who want to provide support during this time of need. |
Coffee Hour with TSBVI | Join the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for a coffee hour to help everyone with online learning. |
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Distance Education Resources | Join the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) every Thursday at 11 a.m. for Zoom lessons for blind children and their families. |
Dice Games | Didax offers free activity books for families to play together. The games are suitable for grades K-8, and easily adaptable for visually impaired students, that cover a wide variety of math topics. |
CVI friendly stories | Check out this collection of Cortial Visual Impairment (CVI) friendly preschool stories. |
Aira | Aira is an app-based service that connects blind and low-vision people to highly trained, remotely-located agents. Through the end of May 2020, Aira is offering free access to any college student. |
Freedom Scientific: Jaws, ZoomText, Fusion | Working from home until the end of June? Check out free access to Jaws, ZoomText, and Fusion. |
At Home with APH | Check out these fun activities and virtual educational opportunities for learners of all ages from the American Printing House for the Blind. |
MathTrax | Free graphing tool developed by NASA for middle school/high school students who are blind or have visual impairments. The graphs have descriptions and sound and work with screen readers. |