Just a reminder that I will be traveling this upcoming weekend to Ohio to present at the Ohio School for the Blind Assistive Technology Conference. I always enjoy sharing my manipulatives with people who can benefit from them.
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I would like to thank Helene Holman, Exceptional Teaching, Inc., for the opportunity to have my manipulatives featured in her 2013 catalog. After discussing and evaluating my low vision and braille manipulatives with several of her VI colleagues, they determined that my Made in the USA manipulatives would help students meet their academic standards.
Due to the positive response after my presentation at the Alabama CEC Conference on February 22nd, Dr. Theresa Gardner, President of the Alabama CEC, and Ms. Theresa Farmer, Education Specialist for the Alabama DOE, have invited me to share my ideas at the MEGA Conference in Mobile, Alabama on July 15-19. I am excited to demonstrate my math manipulatives and teaching strategies, especially adding/ subtracting mixed numbers without paper and pencil.
I met Fanchon Muhammad, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Brenda Hunter- Jones, Director of Special Education, and Remeka Little, School Improvement Specialist, with Bessemer City Schools in Bessemer, AL. They were very complimentary about the quality of my math manipulatives as well as how they meet the academic needs of visual learners. We are planning an in-service over the summer to introduce my math manipulatives to their teachers and how to use them effectively.
I received an exciting invitation to present my low vision and braille math manipulatives at the Ohio State School for the Blind’s Out of Sight: Assistive Technology Conference on Saturday, April 20th. Ms. Paula Mauro, Project Cordinator and Director for the Center for Instructional Supports and Accessible Materials (CISAM), also requested information for their March newsletter to share my new manipulatives with vision teachers throughout the state. I look forward to the conference!
I received an email from Robert McCulley, Director of the Northeast Regional Center for Vision Education. Mr. McCulley offered to share my information with his VI colleagues in all six states in New England. He also mentioned to me that he would be willing to spotlight my low vision math manipulatives in an article. I really appreciate his help sharing my ideas and am very excited with the opportunity to help his colleagues and students in New England.
David Derrick, Executive Director of MAIS, invited me to share my manipulatives at the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference for administrators. The conference will be May 29 & 30 in Orange Beach, Alabama. Please contact me if you are located near Orange Beach and are interested in scheduling a time for a demonstration with your teachers.
I would like to thank Brenda Lee ( Texas Region 14) for her invitation to present my Slide-A-Round Math Manipulatives on March 23rd at the Texas Association for Education and Rehab for Blind and Visually Impaired. I know that the TAER conference will be a great opportunity to share and hear other innovative ideas from those in attendance. However, because I am in the classroom and have a long distance to the conference, I will not be able to attend this year.
Dr. Teresa Gardner, President of the Alabama Council of Exceptional Children and JSU faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has invited me to present my math manipulatives to local and state math teachers and administrators at their Alabama Council of Exceptional Children Conference on February 22nd. As a former graduate (both 1992 and 2000) of JSU, I look forward to returning to my alma mater.
Mr. Lucky Palmer has invited me to share my ideas at the Hudson Mohawk Valley Area Mathematics Conference in Albany, New York in March. Although I am unable to attend the conference this year as I am still teaching, Mr. Palmer has offered to help me pass along information about my products to his colleagues at the conference by setting up my display table and product information. His help is greatly appreciated!