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Modernizing Public Benefits Programs:  What the Law Says State Agencies Must do to Serve People with Disabilities.  The pamphlet, adapted from NCLEJ materials, discusses the legal obligation to make agency websites accessible to people with disabilities, to make any online application forms and process accessible, to modify agency policies and practices when necessary to ensure accessibility, to ensure that telephone communication with individuals with disabilities is effective, and to use automated phone systems that are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.

Register for this webinar When: Wednesday, January 26 at 1:00 p.m. Mountain This web tour will include information about: The National Inclusive Education Initiative's web-based professional development offerings  The Institute on Disability's Facebook community of practice The Including Samuel website  I am Norm youth empowerment initiative and website Inclusive education bookstore/resources

The Instructional Innovations Unit is excited to provide an incredible online resource for all Montana educators. This professional development data base within the OPI website contains hundreds of video clips, lessons, and resources that can be downloaded onto your computer and iPod.  This resource is a direct result of the Montana Reading First project.  However, it also contains content for teachers Pre-K through high school.  Knowing that statewide professional development is extremely difficult because of the rural nature of our state, the Montana Reading First project director, Debbie Hunsaker, planned and initiated this resource called ‘Knowledge Box’. Throughout the implementation of the Reading First project, national and local presenters were filmed and the content was edited into short video clips, resources, and lessons. To access this resource go to the OPI website www.opi.mt.gov and click on Instructional Innovations under Programs. http://opi.mt.gov/Streamer/Instructional_Innovations/index.php#gpm1_5 For more information, contact BJ Granbery, 444-4420

What: Are you wondering how to implement curriculum with fidelity? Are you unsure what fidelity means and what your responsibilities are? Implementing your curriculum with fidelity can be the difference for your students. Join Gwen Poole to learn more about curriculum fidelity and how implementing curriculum with fidelity can squeeze the most from programs that your school is using. During this presentation participants will : Learn what fidelity is and what it is not Be introduced to fidelity checklists Understand the roles and responsibilities regarding curriculum fidelity Where: College of Education Building, Room 122 MSU-Billings Campus, Billings MT When: March 25, 2011  from  9:00 am to 4:00 pm Registration 8:30-9:00 About Presenter: Gwen Poole is a passionate Montana educator. She has fourteen years of teaching experience which includes Kindergarten, First grade, and Title 1 (K-5). During that time she has also been a Response to Intervention Facilitator and worked with several schools in their implementation of RtI. Most recently, Gwen joined the Instructional Innovations Unit at OPI where she works with schools toward improvement as well as building professional development opportunities for schools through the Instructional Innovation Website. More information: Workshop Brochure and online registration available soon on the Region III CSPD website, www.msubillings.edu/cspd/events.htm. For more information about CSPD contact Debra Miller, Region III CSPD Coordinator, at 657-2072, or e-mail at dmiller@msubillings.edu.

Visit the NAMIWALK website for more information and to register for this event What: Each fall, a group of dedicated volunteers and staff hold the NAMIWalk to generate the resources and awareness that allow NAMI Montana to complete its critical mission of supporting, educating, and advocating for Montanans with severe mental illnesses and their families.  NAMI Montana will be holding its eighth annual NAMIWalk in Helena at Memorial Park on September 25th.  It's set to be our best walk ever.  We've got goals of having over 2,500 Walkers and raising $125,000. When: Sunday, September 25, 2011 Where: Memorial Park Helena, MT More Information: Please go to the Walk website to sign up to be a Team Captain, to be a Walker, or to donate.  Find out about how to start a team and the duties of a Team Captain here.   If you don't feel comfortable signing up online, please send us an email at info@namimt.org or give us a call at (406) 443-7871 and we'll send you a packet of information.

What: The fourth Friday of September was designated by the 1997 Legislature as American Indian Heritage Day, in recognition of Montana’s constitutional commitment to preserve the cultural integrity of American Indians. The definition of a quality education in Montana includes specific language for the integration of Indian Education for All throughout the curriculum. MCA 20-9-309. Activities that celebrate American Indian Heritage Day can create sustained interest in learning about the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians, setting the tone and creating connections for a year of integrating Indian Education for All. Spark interest with these activities… Display information about Montana tribes – tribal specific posters, maps, and books. Learn the names of all Montana reservations, tribes that live on them and languages spoken there. Research how names of the tribes are spoken in their own languages. Explore nearby Montana Indian cultural and historical sites and community museums. Invite cultural resource experts from Montana’s tribal nations to visit. Display OPI Indian Education for All curriculum materials. Through the study of Montana Indian cultures and peoples, all students become more self-aware of their own cultures and develop a reference point to support greater understanding of others. Explore the OPI Indian Education website for links to DVDs, websites, publications and lessons for most content areas and grade levels: http://opi.mt.gov/Programs/IndianEd/Index.html When: Friday, September 23, 2011

This post is part Seven of the Special Needs iPad & App Series. Almost from the day the iPad was launched there was an immediate buzz about the special needs apps that were available in the iPad app store. Apple quickly realized that the iPad was perfectly suited to enhancing the lives of individuals with special needs and created a special education section of the app store. Websites and blogs sprung up dedicated to reviewing apps for Assistive Communication, Social Skills, Life Skills,Scheduling and more. The need for the iPad is an obvious one for children with special needs. But what if you can’t afford one for your child, what do you do?

It's finally here! You have been hearing about ZoomReader for a couple of months now, and we are pleased to officially announce that our ZoomReader app is available for purchase in the iTunes App Store for just $19.99! So what exactly is ZoomReader? Using your built-in camera on the iPhone 4, you can zoom in on printed text or apply a color filter to make everything easier on your eyes. It's not just a video magnifier; you can also snap a picture of something and ZoomReader will convert it into text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology and then read the text back to you! Many of the features in ZoomReader are available via voice control, too - just say "take picture" and seconds later it'll appear on screen. Just think - now you can read the small print on a receipt, box, menu, or pill bottle. Whether you're on the go or using ZoomReader to help you read a newspaper in the comfort of your living room, this quick and powerful program does everything a dedicated video magnifier can do and then some - from the convenience of your iPhone and at a much lower price. Get your copy today in the iTunes App Store . If you'd like more information, you can visit our mobile website where you'll find a bunch of how-to videos.

We’re not trying to compete with Google or Bing. There are, of course, a huge number of sites out there that may help you. What we are giving you here is a selection of sites that don’t always rank highly with search engines or that you might not even think to include in your search. You may find that only some of them help in your unique situation. That is why we’ll tell you a little about each. We hope that you’ll find something that truly helps you among them.

In my work helping to develop policies on accessible workplace technology, I have sometimes fallen into the trap of looking just at the “little picture.”  By that I mean that sometimes I’ve focused too much attention on making sure that information and communications technology is (ICT) is compatible, or interoperable, with assistive technology specifically screen readers.  I know I’m not the only one who has made this mistake, because I come across a lot of information suggesting that once a website is found to work with a screen reader or another type of assistive technology, the accessibility discussion can simply end there.  Millions of people around the world use assistive technology, so it is understandable that interoperability is a very important issue.  But it sometimes commands so much attention that we forget to look at the “big picture” of fully accessible ICT or the biggest picture of all, universal design.

Welcome to the most complete website designed to help people with disabilities, seniors and their families to find a cell phone and service! CTIA-The Wireless Association® and the wireless industry created AccessWireless.org to be your “first stop” to learn about the ever-changing world of cell phones and wireless services, and discover those that meet your specific needs.

A community-powered website for blind and low-vision users of Apple's range of Mac computers, the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. AppleVis is a rich resource that strives to empower the community by offering multiple pathways to access and share relevant and useful information. As a community, we seek to encourage and support people in exploring the many ways in which these mainstream products and related applications can offer opportunities to the vision-impaired for personal enrichment, independence and empowerment.

Although there are a variety of school-based services available for children with learning, emotional, and social disabilities, one critical need often goes unfulfilled: providing guidance and strategies that instill self-advocacy.       Most students have only a superficial notion of the reasons they receive these special accommodations, and many children are completely uninformed. Resource teachers and specialists do not generally have the authority to label and enlighten students about their disabilities, the foundation for building self-advocacy. If children are to learn how to become better consumers of educational resources, especially as they grow older, someone must take the lead.      Parents of children with disabilities can fill this role by doing the following: Introduce children’s diagnoses to them in elementary school so that they can make sense out of their struggles Use a matter-of-fact tone of voice when explaining to children that they learn/behave/relate differently from other students and, therefore, need extra help to ensure that they can succeed just like their classmates Don’t leave out the disability label—such as writing disability, ADHD, or Aspergers Syndrome—since labels are a reality of their educational life Emphasize that the teachers and special staff at school who help them will be aware of this label and prepared to help in certain ways to make school a fairer place for them to learn and grow      It’s important to review with children the ways in which their school must provide special help and services. Emphasize that these accommodations are rules the school must follow. “You have the responsibility to do your best job, and teachers must follow the learning/behavior/friendship helping rules that make things fair for you,” is one way to put it. Explain how extra time on assessments, decreased homework, or social skills groups are examples of the helping rules that schools must follow. Discuss how there is a written promise called the individualized education plan (IEP), which includes all the helping rules and makes all of this clear.      Find child-friendly resources—such as books, websites, and videos—that explain in detail their specific disability and the ways other children have learned to cope and achieve despite these limitations. Use these materials as a springboard for deeper discussion about past times when their disability created significant stress or barriers to success. Reassure them that this was before their problem was known and that there is so much that can be done to build a plan for success now that it has been identified.      Point out that one of their most important responsibilities is to be able to discuss their disability with teachers and ask for extra help and accommodation when struggles are too great. Make sure that these discussions take place before middle school, when developmental factors make it harder to get such discussions started. Ensure that they know what practical steps are in their IEP at each grade so that they can respectfully remind teaching staff if necessary.      Having a disability is like having to wear glasses; students with glasses have accepted this fact as necessary to seeing clearly.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a new video where Department staff share personal stories and identify tools that support students experiencing bullying. In response to students suffering bullying in schools, ED has redoubled efforts to give parents, educators, and students the tools they need to stop harassment, including through the website Stopbullying.gov and civil rights enforcement.

There are several amazing websites that do an excellent job of incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. As you know, UDL is all about creating learning environments that meet the needs of all types of learners—closed captioning for the hearing impaired, read-aloud capabilities for the visually impaired, for example.