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| | If you have news or updates that are of general interest to
vision educators, please submit them to the
GIMC
for possible posting on this page.
Latest News
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GIMC News
We are pleased to welcome our new state vision coordinator -
The following is the official announcement from Kim Hartsell at DOE:
Kathy Segers has joined the Division for Special Education Supports as
the program specialist for Visual Impairments effective February 16, 2008.
Kathy most recently worked at the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon
where she served as the Assistant Director for Students with Multiple
Disabilities, Kindergarten and Preschool. Previously, she worked as the
Coordinator for Student Services at the Academy. Kathy was a teacher of the
visually impaired in north Georgia for several years and she worked at the
Georgia Instructional Materials Center (GIMC) where she was instrumental in
its start-up. Kathy has been an active member of the Council for Exceptional
Children at the local, state, and national levels for many years.
We are very excited to have Kathy in her new position as the program
specialist for Visual Impairments. In the near future, she will be
scheduling regional consortia and will be announcing several professional
learning opportunities for teachers of the visually impaired. Kathy will
also work with GIMC staff on the provision of accessible instructional
materials for students who are blind and other print disabled as required by
IDEA 2004.
Kathy’s office will be located at the GIMC, which is housed on the campus
of the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon. You may reach her via email
at
ksegers@doe.k12.ga.us or
by phone at 478-751-4000.
Please check the CONTACT page for the most current contact information.
Returning books to:
Georgia Instructional Materials
Center
2895 Vineville Ave.
Macon, GA 31204
 | Please write the GIMC access number
on the outside of the box and indicate how many boxes were used to ship
that book. |
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| APH has announced that the MaximEyes Video Magnifier is now
available for the first time using federal quota funds. Only five (5)
will be available to each APH account during each federal fiscal year.
This limit was imposed by APH because the MaximEyes is very
expensive. The GIMC will take requests for the five (5) available for
order at this time. Because I anticipate more than five requests I want
to set some ground rules. Please consider the following:
Only one request per school district.
The student must be currently registered with APH.
The student's IEP must have a recommendation in the A.T. special
considerations for this type of device (we will require a copy).
The device must be returned when the student no longer attends
your school district or no longer needs it. It cannot be transferred
to another student in your district.
Some school districts have ample local funds for CCTVs while
others do not. Please do not request one if your student already has
access to an appropriate device.
Finally, read over the attached brochure. This CCTV has some
important differences from standard CCTVs. This type of CCTV may not
be the most appropriate device for many CCTV users.
I hope that by using these guidelines we can help the students who
are most in need. If this CCTV meets a need, each year we can add five
more and eventually have enough available for all the students that will
benefit.
The next federal fiscal year begins on October 1. At that time we can
order five (5) additional MaximEyes.
Brochure for
MaximEyes
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| Check out the monthly APH newsletters. The first announcement of new
APH products are covered in this newsletter.
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| Pam Zipperer has requested that the GIMC post the following
announcement from GAB:
"The Georgia Academy for the Blind is pleased to announce the
opening of the Smokey Powell Assistive Technology Center. The Center
will offer low vision clinics, assistive technology evaluations for
students who are blind or VI, and professional training opportunities
for teachers of students who are blind/VI. The Center will also loan VI
assistive technology devices or software as available, and will provide
training and support for teachers, families and others in the customary
environment. For more information and a schedule of classes, please see
the GAB website:
www.gabmacon.org or contact Pam Zipperer, Coordinator at
pzippere@doe.k12.ga.us." |
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