Hope you like the new look of our website.  As you can see it is under construction. Please bear with us!
VisionServe Alliance is a membership organization that works to engage leaders in building a better world through services to people with vision loss by:
• Convening opportunities for leaders to work together on key issues related to services for people of all ages with vision loss
• Promoting quality services to people of all ages with vision loss
• Encouraging member organizations to meet the highest standards of ethical practice and effectiveness in governance, fiduciary responsibility, self-regulation, and financial accountability
• Serving as the voice of the nonprofit sector providing services to people of all ages with vision loss
 We offer CEO’s and Executive Directors from vision loss nonprofits:
•  Collaboration & support
•  Leadership programs
•  Consultation
•  Advocacy
•  Conferences
•  Networking
•  Referrals
NEWS TO USE
Parent and Educator Survey  
 
Perkins School for the Blind is asking for help in distributing a survey which will help us better understand the needs of educators and parents of students who are blind and visually impaired with respect to online education. Survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of 2 free iPads which will be awarded on Friday Feb. 17th. Completing the survey will only take a few minutes. A summary report of the survey will also be given to you and survey participants. Can you help us?

Feel free to include the link to this survey (below) in an email or listserv blast, on your website, in an eNewsletter, on an organization's Facebook page, blog post or wherever you think it is appropriate. Also, if you would kindly let us know when you've sent this invite out or posted it on your webpage so we can track response activity it would be greatly appreciated.

Please see instructions for emailing or posting on your webpage below.

For inclusion in email: Copy the following text and simply paste it on facebook, listserv, or email.

Perkins School for the Blind values your opinion. Can you take a few minutes to complete a survey to help us better understand the needs of educators and parents of students who are blind and visually impaired?

Survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of 2 free iPads to be awarded on Friday Feb. 17th. A summary report of the survey will also be given to participants if they choose. Click the link to take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online

For inclusion on your webpage: Copy the following text and paste it to display on your webpage.

Perkins School for the Blind values your opinion. Can you take a few minutes to complete a survey to help us better understand the needs of educators and parents of students who are blind and visually impaired?

Survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of 2 free iPads to be awarded on Friday Feb. 17th. A summary report of the survey will also be given to participants if they choose.

Click here to take survey.<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online>

Banner ads for your webpage: Copy one of the following banner ads and paste it to display on your webpage.

[Description: http://support.perkins.org/images/content/pagebuilder/ipad_survey_vertical.jpg]<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online> Click here to take survey.<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online>

[Description: http://support.perkins.org/images/content/pagebuilder/ipad_survey.jpg]<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online>
Click here to take survey.<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/perkins-online>

Thank you!

Steven M. Rothstein
President
Perkins School for the Blind
175 N. Beacon St.
Watertown, MA 02472
www.perkins.org
T - 617.972.7200
 
The Carroll Center for the Blind announces a third course in our series of on-line courses for patients, families and professionals. The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) approves 30.50 contact hours for this self-study. With the support of Diabetes Educators Educating Massachusetts (DEEM), the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s COA and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education, provides 23.5 contact hours of continuing education credit. Many other health professions accept the Carroll’s Center’s certificate for continuing education credit.
Thanks to private foundation funding, these courses are currently FREE!
The curriculum was developed by Margaret E. Cleary, RN, MS, CVRT®, who has over thirty years of experience as a rehabilitation nurse, diabetes educator and certified vision rehabilitation therapist at the Carroll Center. “I anticipate that at the conclusion of this course, health care participants will be far better able to aid patients who have diabetes and visual impairment in developing a therapeutic, healthful and productive lifestyle” Cleary said.
Brian Charlson, director of computer training at the Carroll Center, supervised the technical aspects of the project which features Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), a software platform that provides the sighted reader with complete and easily-accessed materials while allowing the visually impaired student easy access through his or her own adaptive technology.
For more information about these new online courses read the FAQ's or contact Brian Charlson at 617-969-6200 ext. 224.
You can register for our new Diabetes and Visual Impairment courses by following the appropriate link below:
• A New View for Patients and Families
• A New View for Vision Professionals
• A New View for Health Professionals   

Video Description for the 21st Century Classroom
 
Join us for a free, forward-looking webinar on the changing world of educational video description on January 24, 2012. This innovative webinar is presented by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), in collaboration with the Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC), and the Description Leadership Network (DLN). Register now at http://webinars.dcmp.org/ to reserve your seat at the table.
This exciting and interactive presentation is perfect for teachers, administrators, and parents who want to know all about the latest developments in video description technology and how it can help blind and visually-impaired students in every educational setting.
Topics include: 1) A teachers' guide to using video description; 2) A comprehensive overview of resources for obtaining described materials; and 3) A sneak peak at the description technologies of the future being developed at the VDRDC.
The Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC), administered by The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, is a two-year project with the mission to develop new technologies and techniques for the annotation of online video content and improving video accessibility for blind and visually-impaired students. The VDRDC is funded by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), grant number H327110005.
This Webinar is the first in a series of four to be presented during the two-year project. Participants will have valuable opportunity to learn from and interact with VDRDC scientists, DCMP staff, and other members of the Description Leadership Network – a coalition of world-class organizations involved with the practicality, policy, and technology of blindness and video accessibility. DLN members include: The American Council of the Blind (ACB)
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), CaptionMax, The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), Dicapta, IDEAL Group, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA), The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and Narrative Television Network (NTN).
 

SCHOOL FOR BLIND MARKS 125 YEARS 
 
Kim Domonkos drives more than an hour with her son each weekday morning from their Perryopolis home to the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, but she thinks every minute is worth it.
 
If the vast array of new expectations created by the CVAA are going to have any meaning, individual consumers must refuse to put up with unusable technology and be willing to make their voices heard through the complaint process.   

Envision Announces a new CEO
FROM: Sam Williams, Chairman, Envision, Inc. Board of Directors

This past April, the Envision Board of Directors made the commitment to each of you that we would cast the net far and wide in a national search for the best CEO for the future of Envision. Today, I am pleased to announce that we have found that leader in Frank Clepper.
Frank brings with him more than 20 years in military leadership and 10 years in corporate leadership.  His passion and his proven record for excellence in leadership make him an ideal fit to lead our organization in the years to come. Frank’s first day on the job will be Monday, February 13.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank Kent Wilson, interim CEO, who has led the charge in sustaining operations throughout the Envision family during this transition period. We are grateful for the leadership and continuity he has provided. Kent will resume his duties as CFO, Envision, Inc. on February 13.  

2012 NFB Writing Contest
 
The annual youth and adult writing contests sponsored by the Writers’ Division of the NFB will open January 1st and will close April 1st.
 
Adult contests, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and stories for youth are open to all entrants eighteen years and over.
 
The Youth Writing Contest, poetry and fiction, are to promote Braille literacy and excellence in creative writing. Entries will be judged on creativity and quality of Braille. The age groups for these authors is divided into grade levels: Elementary, Middle and High School.
 
Prizes for contest winners range up to $100 for adult categories and up to $30 for youth categories.
 
All contest winners will be announced at the Writers’ Division business meeting during the NFB national convention to be held in Dallas, Texas, the first week of July, 2012. In addition, shortly after convention, a list of winners will appear on the Writers’ Division Website, www.nfb-writers-division.net First, second, and third place winners in each category will be considered for publication in the Writers’ Division magazine, “Slate & Style.”
 
For additional contest details and submission guidelines, go to the Writers’ Division Website, www.nfb-writers-division.net  
 
EVENTS
Spring 2012 Executive Conference
• Will be held in Boston MA on April 25 - 28, 2012 

Fall 2012 Executive Conference
• Will be held in San Francisco, CA on November 7 - 10, 2012