LDA of Michigan Conference November 16-17, 2009

Learning in the 21^st Century Featured at Learning Disabilities Conference

Lansing, MI September 19, 2009 – Lynell Burmark, Ph.D. and Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D. are the featured keynotes at this year’s Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Michigan Conference scheduled for November 16 and 17 at at Kellogg Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. The tools of technology (universal design in learning) will take center stage. Lynell Burmark, Ph.D., author and educational consultant, will keynote on Monday with “Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn”. Also on Monday, there will be a full-day symposium “Educating ALL Students: Utilizing Instructional Technology for a Diverse Population”, in addition to regular conference sessions. Tuesday’s keynote, Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., is an advocate, author and consultant in adaptive technology, speaking on “Life with Learning Disabilities”. Tuesday also features an orientation and mini-sessions for teens, teachers and parents before attending conference sessions. Governor Jennifer Granholm has officially proclaimed November as Learning Disabilities Awareness Month in recognition of the needs and potential of people with Learning Disabilities.

Scheduled for Monday, Lynell Burmark’s keynote emphasizes the benefits of learning in an image-rich environment. Her book, Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn, a widely adopted textbook for teacher education and instructional technology programs, won the book of the year award for publisher ASCD in 2002 and is now expanded, updated (2006) and available as an eBook. Lynell is featured in a 30-minute segment on Canter & Associates video for the Masters in Instructional Technology with Walden University. She also has produced a 10-minute video on visual literacy, which is distributed free to educators through 100% Educational Videos.

Also slated for Monday is an all day symposium on Educating ALL Students: Utilizing Instructional Technology for a Diverse Population “Learning in the 21st Century” classroom requires instruction technology supports in order to meet the learning needs of a diverse group of students. Teaching ALL students requires a plethora of research based strategies in order to meet the learning needs of all students. Learning problems are often a result of an inflexible curriculum with teaching methods and materials that are not responsive to the diversity of students represented in the classroom. This full day session will provide participants knowledge on how to design classrooms with universal access to the curriculum for ALL students to be successful. Speakers include Jeff Diedrich (Michigan Integrated Technology Supports), Kenneth Graham (Premier Literacy), the RTI Team from Cesar Chavez Academy, Detroit (The Leona Group, LLC), and Mari Cris McFarland (Livonia Public Schools).

Tuesday’s keynote speaker, Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., published Faking It: A Look into the Mind of a Creative Learner in 1992, and in 2001, What About Me? Strategies for Teaching Misunderstood Learners, both of which draw on his challenges attending the University of Georgia (UGA). Before joining Tools for Life, he served as Training Director of the Learning Disabilities Research and Training Center (LDR&T center), a collaborative effort of the University of Georgia and the Roosevelt Institute for Rehabilitation at Warm Springs, Georgia. In that role, he directed training activities and supervised national project dissemination efforts. He is experienced in coordinating distance-training activities. Currently, he serves as Director of the Alternative Media,Access Center, a joint project with the University of Georgia Department of Psychology.

Also on Tuesday LDA of Michigan invites teens, teachers and chaperones to join Dr. Pam Bellamy, of Michigan State University for orientation, session selection, and mini-sessions offered on a variety of topics of interest to teens. Join the full conference for sessions following the orientation. Teens are invited to stay for lunch and talk to LDA Conference organizers about their experiences.

Scholarships are available for family members and teens to attend the conference on a first come, first served basis.

Download the conference flyer at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/LDAconf2009.pdf. A schedule is posted at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/calendar.htm#sessions. To advertise in the conference program download the form at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/advertise.pdf. SB-CEUs will be offered.

For further information about the LDA of Michigan’s Annual Conference or scholarships, contact Flo Curtis by telephone at (517) 485-8160 or (888) 597-7809, or by e-mail at ldamich@sbcglobal.net. For more information on the LDA of Michigan, go to http://www.ldaofmichigan.org.

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©2009 Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan. The Learning Disabilities Association is a 501(c)3
 non-profit volunteer organization with offices located at 200 Museum Drive, Ste. 101, Lansing, Michigan 48933. Telephone: (517) 485-8160; fax (517) 485-8462; toll-free: (888) 597-7809; email: ldamich@sbcglobal.net; website: www.ldaofmichigan.org

2009 Conference Keynote Speaker is 21st Century Learner

This year's theme for our conference is Learning in the 21st Century. In order to meet the needs of diverse learners, a broad range of strategies need to be engaged to enable access to the curriculum. Among these are the tools afforded by instructional technologies.

If you are looking for a real treat, Tuesday's keynote speaker at the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan 2009 conference and membership meeting will be Christopher Lee. Christopher is the author of two books, Faking It: A Look into the Mind of a Creative Learner, and What About Me? Strategies for Teaching Misunderstood Learners. These books are written with Dr. Lee's experience as a person with learning disabilities, and as a provider of accessibility tools to assist in overcoming barriers.

Picture source: http://www.christophermlee.com/

Computers and Assistive Technology Remove Barriers for State of Georgia Employee with Learning Disability

source: Microsoft Accessibility, case studies

If words were big sturdy objects that Christopher Lee could touch, heft, and climb over, he might have a lot easier time reading. But as flat symbols on a page, they confound him. A severe learning disability, called a cognitive processing deficit, affects his ability to read, write, and sound out words.

Through the growth of understanding about learning disabilities, the introduction of numerous assistive technologies, and the foresight of the state of Georgia, Christopher Lee has successfully surmounted the barriers created by learning disabilities and gained responsible and fulfilling employment.

A Long Road to Understanding

As a child growing up in Florida in the 1960s and 1970s, the experts were just starting to understand dyslexia. And Lee was in college before he was tested and pronounced to have a learning disability. "That was a turning point for me," Lee recalls. "I had heard the term 'learning disability' before, but I didn't want to admit that's what I had."

After his learning disability was identified in college, Lee received help through the Learning Disabilities Center at the University of Georgia. The folks at the Center taught him how his brain worked and what learning situations and tools could help him learn.

Computer Becomes Tool for Learning and Employment Opportunity

In his junior year in college Lee discovered computers. "I loved the keyboard; it took away that dreaded piece of dead wood—the pencil," he says. "The keyboard was tactile; I could feel it, I could connect letters with physical action." When letters appear on the monitor, they're far clearer to Lee than when he writes them down on a piece of paper. Spelling checkers cleaned up his frequent misspellings, and grammar checkers flagged muddled word distinctions. "The computer made a huge difference in my ability to learn," he says.

In 1994, Lee landed a job at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation as training director for a learning disability, research, and training grant. "That's when I really began learning how the state of Georgia helped accommodate people with disabilities."

State of Georgia is Trailblazer in Providing Assistive Technology Access for Citizens

Following the lead of the federal government, all U.S. states have created vocational rehabilitation and assistive technology programs. One state that has led the way is Georgia. Georgia is a trailblazer in ensuring that its citizens have access to the assistive technology needed to lead full and productive lives. The state's Assistive Technology unit has evolved over time. Currently, it has two branches—one focuses on equipping individuals with technology that will help them to work, and the other, called "Tools for Life", provides technology services to all Georgians with disabilities regardless of age or work status. Lee was introduced to Tools for Life while working at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Center for Rehabilitation, and it was here that he really learned about assistive technology.

Assistive Technology: A "Huge Help"

"Assistive technology products were a huge help to me, especially after the Internet came along," Lee says. In his current job as project director for Tools for Life, Lee uses a standard Windows-based PC outfitted with Texthelp Read&Write, which combines a screen reader, phonetic spelling checker, homonym color coder, word prediction program, word abbreviation program, and thesaurus. He also uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking for speech input, the ZoomText screen enlarger, and Inspiration Software's Inspiration visual thinking and learning software, a program that lets him draw his way to clear expression.

When he needs to read a lot of scanned documents, Lee uses the Kurzweil 3000 screen reading program, a high-end optical character recognition program that reads typed text and will even read definitions using a built-in dictionary. He uses the Soothsayer on-screen keyboard, which aids him in navigating his way to correct word choices and spelling. Lee also uses the accessibility options in Microsoft Windows 2000 and the Microsoft Office 2000 suite, taking advantage of the enlarged icons and color features.

"Assistive technology vendors are starting to see that there is a huge market for individuals with learning disabilities in addition to sensory disabilities. Because cognitive disabilities are invisible, it's easier for individuals to fake it or deny the existence of the disability. They end up falling into the welfare system because they don't understand their challenge, or what technology exists to help them," Lee says.

But the state of Georgia is making great strides in preventing this loss of human and economic potential. Tools for Life and other state of Georgia-sponsored programs are increasing access to assistive technology for Georgia's 1,700,000 citizens with disabilities.

Here's a video of Christopher Lee, talking about Microsoft Accessibility.

Picture source: Microsoft Enable website

The Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan 2009 Conference will be held on November 16 and 17 at Kellogg Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. To download the brochure for the conference, or to get more information click on the links provided. SB-CEUs will be available. Teen and family conference scholarships are available by contacting ldamich@sbcglobal.net or by calling 1-888-597-7809. Register before November 1st for a discount on the registration fee.

Michigan Legislators Support Alternatives to Algebra II for High School Curriculum

From the Red Tape Blog: Items of potential interest to government documents librarians or government information managers in Michigan. For more information contact Jon Harrison

image from: ed.gov

Michigan Legislators Support Alternatives to Algebra II for High School Curriculum

Michigan legislators made it clear today that math-related career and technical education courses could fulfill the Algebra II graduation requirement for high school students.

The bill was passed unanimously today by the state Senate; the House Education Committee also soon will take up a vote on similar legislation.

While Algebra II is still a graduation requirement, students can earn credit toward the requirement by taking CTE courses with math components like electronics, machining, construction, welding, engineering or renewable energy.

The legislation is supported by the Michigan Department of Education, Spokeswoman Jan Ellis said.

"MDE supports this legislation because it clarifies to CTE instructors, educators, parents and students that CTE courses can fulfill the Algebra II, and even other graduation requirements," Ellis said. "Students don't all learn the same way, and many would greatly benefit from learning these key subjects in CTE courses where there's hands-on examples and real work applications."

Ellis said it always has been possible to gain credit for graduation by taking CTE courses. However, it was unclear, and Ellis said this legislation explains the credit.

"We support legislation that clarifies what the department's intent has always been," she said. "Our goal is to make sure students can learn in many venues, including online courses, for example, and get credit for the graduation requirements."

Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, agreed the legislation will help clear up any misconceptions.

"We recognize that some students learn best behind a desk and other students learn best using their hands," said Kuipers, chairman of the senate education committee, who introduced the legislation. "We wanted to make clear that was an acceptable method of instruction, provided that they still hit on the same benchmarks and standards that are laid out in the high school curriculum.

"It's the right thing to do."

For the full article, see Christina Stolarz, "Legislators: Career, technical courses may fulfill Algebra II requirement", Detroit News, August 19, 2009.

For another article, see Lori Higgins, "Program gets panel's nod to fulfill math requirements", Detroit Free Press, August 19, 2009.

For another, see David Eggert, "High schoolers closer to skipping algebra II class; House panel votes in favor of financial literacy", Lansing State Journal, August 20, 2009.

This clarification of the requirement does not require a Personal Curriculum. For students with disabilities, a Personal Curriculum is a way to alter the requirements for a diploma.

More clarification to be added to this post...

IEP video online

I was working on solving an unrelated problem, and happened across this item on the Reading Rockets website. If you are interested in seeing what might be covered in an IEP (Individualized Educational Planning meeting), this video gives you a start. You can even download podcasts from iTunes for later, offline viewing. I love the Meet the Authors section, and have a story to tell about Avi, from my last days of teaching young adolescents in a middle school language arts resource room.

to be continued...

Library Services Threatened

I went online to reserve some books and other materials at my local library branch and discovered this announcement on the home page of the Ann Arbor District Library (my letter to my representatives in the Michigan Senate and House follow):

AADL: Pittsfield Branch (my branch), Source: AADL.org

AADL Library Services Threatened by Governor's Executive Order
to Abolish State Library

On July 13, Governor Granholm issued an Executive Order abolishing the Department of History, Arts and Libraries, as part of her effort to reach a balanced budget for the next state fiscal year. It is understood and accepted that hard decisions must be made, and that all departments of state government should be expecting to find savings and efficiencies.

It is not clear how abolishing the department dedicated to promoting Michigan history and the arts, and supporting all libraries in Michigan will result in significant savings; the Governor has indicated that there is an unfunded plan to move the collections to repurpose the State Library building. Library services, when separated or isolated from a larger system, and placed in a bureaucratic environment, will wither.

Governor Granholm Source: Michigan.gov

How will this proposed plan affect you? The State Library administers the services of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. AADL is a sub-regional service provider and has been since February of this year. The plan as proposed moves the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped from the Library of Michigan to the Commission for the Blind. It is not clear if any funding will follow the move, and the Commission is facing the same cuts as all other state departments and agencies. If services from the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped statewide are to remain stable and funded, the Governor, and our legislators, should be made aware that the proposed move is a threat to its existence.

The Library of Michigan also administers the group purchasing of databases that are made available to all libraries statewide for reduced costs. Any library cardholder or Michigan citizen with a valid driver’s license can access those databases from anywhere in the world. If the resources of the Library of Michigan are dispersed or eliminated, and if the State Aid to Libraries allocation is reduced, then access to these databases will disappear. Only the larger, most affluent communities will be able to consider locally funding these resources. Even at AADL, continuance of the currently available set of resources will not be possible.

Source: Michigan Electronic Library

The very popular statewide interlibrary loan program via MeLCat is also administered through the Library of Michigan, and paid for through a match of State Aid allocation with Federal funds. Each $1.00 of state funding for this service is matched with $.50 of Federal funding, and the total to fund this statewide delivery service is in the millions of dollars. This service is also threatened if the Library of Michigan is abolished, and State Aid is reduced.

It is an irony that in a time when all are calling for efficiency, resource-sharing, consolidation of services, and collaborations to save and find money, a state institution that has led statewide programs that work for the benefit of all Michigan citizens, and which help to provide the critical tools needed for our workforce to reinvent itself, is threatened because someone has the very uncool and uninformed notion that libraries are obsolete (sic).

The Ann Arbor District Library opposes Executive Order #2009-36, and supports funding of State Aid to Libraries at the current level of $10M.

Josie Parker, Director

Josie Parker Source: aadl.org

Here's my letter to State Senators and Representatives, and my hope is that you will also write.

September 3, 2009

I am the current President of the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan, and an ardent supporter of the resources from the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. While there are many new technologies that have made print text increasingly accessible to the blind and dyslexic, we also need to maintain some of the "lower tech" resources for people who lose their vision later in life, or, through injury, become unable to process print visually. For these reasons, I believe that we need to continue funding the services of the Michigan Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and its local outreach services at the AADL.

In the field of education, teachers are under a great deal of pressure to provide "scientifically proven, research-based" instruction to ensure that all children are successfully learning. The MeL has significantly improved access to education journals that enable teachers to continue to update their practices without incurring the prohibitive costs of either subscribing to these journals or joining multiple organizations in order to access these journals. In Michigan, especially, if we are to realize the visions espoused by our leaders to bring 21st Century Learning to all of our children (and adults), the loss of access would be tragic.

Finally, the HAL has been a marvelous resource for teachers in Michigan as they help their students discover Michigan's multi-faceted past (part of the required curriculum in Michigan), and connect it to our much-hoped-for bright future.

Efficiency and consolidation of resources is one thing. Elimination of resources is another. I hope that the Governor understands the value of the resources under HAL, and keeps access open, even if rearranged.

Kathleen Kosobud

President, LDA of Michigan

www.LDAofMichigan.org

The Governor has proclaimed November Learning Disabilities Awareness Month. Please support accessible text for all kinds of readers, and accessible education for all kinds of learners.

Austin's Movie Wins a Telly!

Note: Tim Nagae is one of the supervisors at our local community cable station. He is entirely too modest about his own gifts in creating such a compelling short documentary.



Dear Friend:

"Austin's Movie" won another national video and film award from the "Telly Awards" - 2009 30th Annual Telly Awards - Bronze (Finalist) TV Documentary.

The "Telly Award" is one of the most exclusive awards most known as an award for TV commercials, but it is also for non-broadcast/broadcast TV programs. It is not easy to win this award; in fact, my previous production, "Haley and Madonna," which won an EMMY, did not win it. So it is quite an honor to be awarded.

The Telly Awards' website is http://www.tellyawards.com/ (The winners for the 2009 awards are not yet listed.) And there's an article about the Telly Awards on the Wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telly_Awards

I was lucky enough to produce "Austin's Movie," which has been very well received and won the "Accolade" and "Telly." I really appreciate the fact that CTN, the public access TV station, gave me this opportunity to produce this movie, and that WFUM Flint broadcast it. Without them, it wouldn't have reached this much accomplishment. However, this acknowledgment really comes from Austin and his family, who touched so many people's hearts. I was just a lucky guy who made this movie about him and his family, and this project made me a better person than I used to be. Thank you.

Tim

Fundraising Ideas from National and Local Groups

I've been going through the old LDA (national) Statelines, trying to find all the items that I missed and would have liked to have seen shared on this blog. Here's a good one for all presidents, executive directors and membership chairs.--KK

Source: www.istockphoto.com

Letter written October 15, 2008:
Dear Affiliate Leaders,

I hope by now you have had the opportunity to view the recent materials sent to you from the Membership Committee for your use. The Membership Committee has been very active and attempting to provide you with usable materials in our efforts to increase our membership base. I wanted to share with you that at a recent LDA of Illinois board meeting, we tried one of the suggested activities. Our state board members were notified ahead of time to bring names and addresses of friends, colleagues, and relatives with them to the board meeting. At the meeting we filled out the letters and addressed envelopes and the membership invitations were then mailed out from the state office. A few days later my principal walked into my room and indicated she had received my letter and membership information. She said the membership fee was very reasonable and she was joining. That night my mother called and said she was joining also. It had never crossed my mind to ask either one of them! I was very encouraged that this small effort on my part resulted in two new memberships. I encourage all of you to review the membership materials and put them to use. Contact your state president and have membership items put on the agenda for your next state board meeting. Only through our active efforts will our membership increase. Please feel free to call or email Sharon Tanner or myself for any further information or clarification. Thank you for all your hard work and efforts on behalf of LDA!

Sincerely,
Ernie Florence
Membership Chair

Our county chapter does this with fund-raising. We have a database of all the past contributors to the chapter, and print address labels for our annual appeal. We print out an appeal letter with a tear-off at the bottom of the appeal letter. Return envelopes are pre-addressed with our treasurer's address label. Each board member gets a stack of envelopes and selects the labels for people whom they know. They write a short personal note at the bottom of the appeal letter, stick the address label on the envelope, and fold the letter, and return envelope into the mailing envelope. We have one board member who seals the envelopes and stamps them. Finally one member takes the batch to the post office, pre-sorted and bundled.

Source: artofmakingmoney.info

This chapter has a pretty good return on their letters. Some contributors designate their gifts to a reading tutoring scholarship in the name of a founding member. Others designate their gifts to a community college fund we set up in the name of another founding member. The remaining money goes into a general fund for other projects of the chapter. It's a lot of fun for us, because we get together for the mailing and a potluck, and it's a good return on our investment of time, postage and printing costs.

Kathleen

Other Ways of Staying Connected

Byron and I were chatting at the meeting on Saturday about using a wikispace for our board as another way to stay connected with our strategic planning efforts. I would be willing to set this up if that is amenable to everyone else....

odiogo

We frequently talk about finding ways to make text more accessible to our members. I know that we have odiogo on this site. How does this work and where can we find more information? Would this be something to add to our website somehow and post our newsletter or parts of it to address this possible need?