Slide-A-Round Math Manipulatives

I corresponded with Leanne Parnell, Deafblind Consultant at the University of Dayton’s School of Education and Health Science. After reviewing the information I sent her via email, she offered to share my information with her colleagues. With the 2016-17 school year just around the corner- July 25th for my district (Rome City Schools)- it is time to be getting back into teaching mode!

I just talked to Clayton Guffey, Senior Assistive Technology Specialist, at the Arizona Assistive Technology Program in Phoenix, AZ. We discussed the positive feedback I received after my demonstrations during my recent visit in Tucson on June 20-24. Because we both shared a mutual interest in scheduling a demonstration in Phoenix during the week of October 3-7, I informed him that I will need to receive confirmation from some of his AZ colleagues before I could schedule a Phoenix area demonstration. I told him that I would contact him by the beginning of September to schedule a specific date and time.

Be sure to check my “Latest News”, and hopefully you will be able to attend one of demonstrations!

I am going to meet with Ettor Strada, Special Education Director, at the Arizona Academy of Math and Science in Tucson at 9:00. Even though it the middle of summer for students, administrators know that school will be here before we know it!

At 10:00, I am going to meet with the staff at Tuscon Unified School District’s Wakefield Parent Center. The purpose of my meeting is to provide additional resources for parents to use with their children during the 2016-17 school year.

I appreciated the opportunity to share my low vision and braille manipulatives at the University of Arizona’s Department of Disability and Psycheducational Studies in Tucson, AZ on June 20th.

Dr. Penny Rosenblum invited me to demonstrate my teaching strategies to her graduate students who serve VI students in many parts of Arizona. They were very receptive and willing to ask questions during and after my demonstration.

I received an update from Emmy Marchioni, FLAEYC Administrative Coordinator, that my article will be published in July. The article goes in-depth about how all students can learn their fractions’ standards with my manipulatives. My manipulatives serve as a bridge from visual to abstract concepts.

I am going to do demonstrations at the 2016 FLAEYC Conference in Orlando, FL on September 24-25. This will be my first conference in Florida. I am looking forward to meeting and sharing my teaching strategies with many Florida educators and administrators in a few months!

I contacted Tamara Bishop- Amavilah, President of the Arizona Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, about sharing my teaching strategies in Arizona during the week of June 20-24. She offered to share my information with her colleagues on Arizona’s list serv. Ms. Amavila- Bishop also mentioned her organization is going to have a spring conference in Tucson, AZ. Stay tuned for additional information once it becomes available.

When I shared my teaching strategies at the 2016 Association for the Supervisors of Curriculum Development Conference on April 2-3, I met Vera Hendrix, Vice President of Instructional Programs, at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Ms. Hendrix invited me to do a training for her teachers at AISD in Talladega, Alabama on June 13th. It is important to note that I am also doing a state-wide training on July 22nd at AISD’s Summer Workshop.

Jamie Hall, West Virginia Instructional Resource Center’s Technical Specialist, and I have discussed my math manipulatives several times over the past 4-5 months. Ms. Hall requested information and images of my math manipulatives so that she could share with her West Virginia colleagues in WV IRC’s upcoming Spring newsletter. Due to the time and distance, I really appreciate Ms. Hall’s help!

I met Cecilia Robinson, Vision Specialist at the Region 4 Education Service Center in Houston, Texas, in June 2012 at the 2012 Texas Assistive Technology Network Conference. Over the past few years, Ms. Robinson and I have been corresponding back and forth and sharing information.

We were finally able to find a date for me to share my teaching strategies with her colleagues on December 2nd in Houston. I will be conducting a demonstration/ training with TVI in Region 4 at 1:00- 4:00. Ms. Robinson is also going to invite math specialists because my manipulatives are available for all students.

I want to thank Rudy Neufeld for allowing me to share his booth at ASCD in Atlanta on April 2-3. The conference was amazing! I had the opportunity to share my teaching strategies with educators and administrators from all over the US, Canada, Iceland, Hong Kong, France, Brazil, Jamaica, and Mexico. This was truly an international conference. Please follow my “Latest News” for updates regarding demonstrations and trainings that will follow in the next 2-3 months.