Have you ever heard of "region" (or "landmark") when navigating a website with a screen reader? If so, what are they, what do they do, and why are they important? These were some of the questions asked and answered when PRCVI did a group outreach visit near the end of the 2021-22 school year. Several TSVIs and visually impaired students came together to tackle some web navigat ...
Welcome to the #Outreaching Blog!
#Outreaching is a blog about all things outreach from the Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments at PRCVI.
We use this space to keep our community updated on what we've been doing around the province and to post interesting news and features. Please feel free to post in the comments - we would love to hear from you.
For more information on PRCVI outreach services, please see our main outreach page or contact an Outreach Coordinator.
Lower Mainland Sports Day 2022
On Friday, June 10, more than a hundred students with visual impairments and TSVIs, educational assistance, parents, siblings, and peers came out to participate in the Lower Mainland Sports Day for the first time in two years! The annual Sports Day, organized by local TSVIs, O&M specialists, and BC Blind Sports, with support provided by PRCVI, provides an accessible sports ...
GAAD Student Panel on Digital Accessibility - May 19, 2022
The third Thursday in May is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). In keeping with the spirit of GAAD in centering the perspectives of users and critically engaging users as co-designers of more accessible and equitable futures, our Outreach Team at PRCVI hosted a virtual panel of recent blind and low vision K-12 graduates. Participants are currently navigating post-second ...
Braille Games
When the COVID-19 pandemic first arrived in early 2020, educators everywhere found themselves pivoting to providing remote and online learning. The outreach team at PRCVI was asked to provide outreach and collaboration with a couple of British Columbia TSVIs in delivering virtual braille games. The PRCVI outreach team has continued to deliver this group outreach opportunities f ...
Teaching Digital File Organization Skills
Learning to stay organized is a crucial skill for visually impaired students to learn, and that doesn’t change just because students may be using more digital technology these days! Students need to be able to organize handouts, readings, research, and assignments, and be able to quickly find information during classes and group work. The topic of efficiently organizing and fin ...
CVI Literacy Collection at PRCVI
Students with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) may have some unique sensory access requirements to literacy experiences. For the past several years, PRCVI has been maintaining a collection of literacy materials that meet the access needs of students with CVI. Books within the CVI literacy collection feature simple, high-contrast illustrations and text. The books have ...
Using PowerPoint Books for Inclusive Literacy
When designing literacy activities, it is so important that they be inclusive to all students. Many of you know that ARC-BC provides an online repository of accessible digital materials to students with print disabilities in British Columbia. But did you know about ARC-BC materials available in PowerPoint format? PowerPoint books are available on ARC-BC as either .pps or .ppsx ...
A Guide to Braille ASCII (or "Computer Braille")
Are you and your students baffled by what to do when a braille device asks for computer braille input? (Or maybe you've wondered what the gibberish displayed when a braille device is not connected to anything means!) The PRCVI outreach team has created a guide for teachers on how to enter braille ASCII, otherwise known as "computer braille", into a braille device. We hope you ...
Using Jeopardy to Teach JAWS Skills
A frequent request the outreach team receives here at PRCVI focuses on strategies for teaching students to use screen reading software such as JAWS, NVDA, or VoiceOver. We are always looking for games or activities to teach skills, rather than just memorizing a list of keyboard commands. At the recent closing ceremonies of the 2021 BC Regional Braille Challenge, which was held ...
Braille Alphabet for the Classroom
Awareness of braille literacy is so important for students with visual impairments and their peers. It can not only help to demystify some of the tools students use, but can be a source of self-determination for our students as they teach their peers. We wanted to share a set of braille letters (one braille and print letter per page) that can be displayed in the classroom to s ...