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Maine121.org is dedicated to providing professional development support and resources to the teachers of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI.
The Maine 121 blog is organized into 5 lenses through which we will focus our postings, podcasts, and webcasts: 1) Making Meaning, 2) Writing Process, 3) Research Process, 4) UDL & Accessibility, and 5) Digital Storytelling and Media Production. Each week we will feature at least one of these lenses in a live webcast.
Recordings will be available for download from our iTunes U site, and webcast notes and additional information will be posted here at Maine121.org.
Here are upcoming events on Maine 121
AIM 101 - Accessible Instructional Materials
The Course will equip participants with an awareness of: the barriers presented by “traditional” print instructional materials; an understanding of the importance of flexible and accessible learning resources; pertinent Special Education and Civil Rights legislation; Copyright Law; national, state, and local systems of materials acquisition and classroom use.
AIM 102 - Preparing Accessible Instructional Materials for Students with Print Impairments
This course is designed to acquaint elementary and secondary stakeholders with an understanding of how to prepare AIM for students with print impairments.
More events will be posted soon. Please see the Archived webinars below for more information.
Bookshare has a new online learning module called "Bookshare: Providing Accessible Materials for Students with Print Disabilities," for people who want to learn more about digital accessible books and how to use them. This module was developed by the IRIS Center for Training Enhancements housed at Vanderbilt University to help others learn about the benefits and use of digital accessible books. While it's designed for pre-service and in-service teacher training, it has tremendous value for anyone unfamiliar with accessible books.
The easy-to-use module has simple definitions, audio clips, and short movies about accessible books, assistive technology, and Bookshare. It follows the story of a general education teacher who has students with disabilities needing accommodations in his classroom. From this practical introduction, the module progresses to topics from Bookshare membership to how to find books and how to download the free software tools.
Cambium Learning Technologies offer a series of Free Webinars, Regional Workshops, and OnLine Workshops on a variety of products including: Kurzweil 3000, Classroom Suite v.4, IntelliKeys and IntelliTools.
More information about Free Webinars.
More about Regional Workshops.
As more information about the archives of these webinars is made available, we will add that information here.
AIM BASICS: A General Introduction to Accessible Instructional Materials
Recorded: July 13, 2010.
Topic: In the AIM Basics webinar, those with varied AIM-related interests and responsibilities will learn about and discuss the legal and practical issues related to the provision of print-based instructional materials in specialized formats. Main topics include: NIMAS and AIM in federal education statutes, AIM and copyright legislation, a brief overview of decision-making around the selection, acquisition, and use of accessible materials, and information about useful resources. Participation in an AIM Basics session is considered to be a prerequisite for the other webinars on targeted topics of high interest to particular stakeholders.
Presenter: Joy Zabala
ARCHIVE: 
Session Recording of "AIM Basics"
MATERIALS: AIM Basics PPT - 
Consider the Possibilities: Ensuring the Provision of Accessible Materials to Students not Certified as Having a Print Disability under Copyright
Recorded: Tuesday, July 13, 2010.
Topic: The NIMAC, Accessible Media Producers (AMPs), and some local production provide an increasingly robust means to support timely provision of print-based instructional materials in specialized formats to students who are served under IDEA 2004 AND certified as having a print disability as defined in copyright legislation. These sources, for the most part, are not available to students served under IDEA 2004 who do NOT have certified print disabilities but have been determined to unable to use print-based materials effectively. In this session, current sources of AIM for these students will be discussed and promising future trends will be explored.
Presenters: Joy Zabala, Skip Stahl, Chuck Hitchcock
ARCHIVE: Session Recording of "Consider the Possibilities"
MATERIALS: Consider the Possibilities PPT -
What's Fair and Unfair about the Fair Use Provision in Copyright?
Recorded: August 10, 2010
Topic: Educators often refer to the "Fair Use" limitation in copyright statute as a means to provide materials to students who cannot use print-based materials effectively; however, the term and the exclusion are often used without sufficient knowledge of the elements upon which "Fair Use" is based. In this session, we will introduce the four elements of "Fair Use" included in Section 107 of U. S. Copyright Code and discuss how those elements inform the permissions and limitations of Fair Use. This session makes no attempt to provide legal interpretation or advice, but rather is designed to provide information that raises the awareness of educators and families about these elements and how the elements may logically apply to thinking about the provision of instructional materials.
Presenters: Joy Zabala, Chuck Hitchcock
ARCHIVE: Session Recording
MATERIALS: Fair Use PPT -
Accessible Instructional Materials: A Process for Collaborative Decision-Making
Recorded on: May 18, 2010
This webinar provides IEP team members—educators and families—with a process for decision-making about accessible instructional materials, including identification of need, selection of formats, and sources for obtaining materials. Free decision-guiding tools available on the AIM Center web site will also be highlighted.
PRESENTER(S): Joy Zabala, Diana Carl
Archived Recording of
"Accessible Instructional Materials: A Process for Collaborative Decision-Making"
What the National Center for Accessible Instructional Materials Can Do for Your State
Recorded on: May 18, 2010
This webinar, especially designed for leaders in state and local education agencies, is an introduction to the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials. The session includes an overview of technical assistance and services available to SEAs and LEAs, a guided tour of the Center’s web site, and information about the process for obtaining services from the Center.
PRESENTER(S): Chuck Hitchcock, Joy Zabala, Valerie Hendricks
Archived Recording of "What the National Center for Accessible Instructional Materials Can Do for Your State"
Recorded: March 11, 2010
Thanks to the folks who logged in Thursday afternoon or evening to participate in the webinar, Access to Learning by Students with Blindness and Low Vision. Our guest facilitator was Nancy Moulton of Educational Services for Blind & Visually Impaired Children (ESBVIC), a statewide service of Catholic Charities Maine. Nancy is a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and Regional Supervisor.
We set out with two essential questions:
Here is the link to the Maine 121 blog about this session.
Here are the archived versions of the presentations. Note: These archived presentations are not currently in accessible format. We will be posting a captioned/transcribed version soon. If your assistive technology equipment has difficulty accessing this archives, please contact the Maine DOE.
Recorded: December 10, 2009
VoiceOver is known as Apple’s built-in screen reader, but can be better described as an accessible interface for everyone. Not to be confused with text to speech, VoiceOver provides voice description of all onscreen elements, features a caption panel, and allows users to control their computer using only the keyboard. Our guest, Steve Sawczyn of AT Maine, demonstrated why VoiceOver is a tool that all educators should get to know. Most importantly, we discussed how we can improve our UDL practices by understanding the unique learning needs of students who are blind and have low vision.
Here is the archived webcast on iTunesU - Important Note: This recording requires the use of the free iTunes player to be installed on your computer and it is best to download the webcast first.
Duration: 1 hour
Learn more about Bookshare and how Parents and Parent Centers in Maine can help students with print disabilities get an equal chance at learning. In this webinar, the following was discussed:
Information about Archived version here - Please contact Bookshare at events@bookshare.org for an accessible version of this webinar.
Duration: 1 hour
Host(s): Mario Oliveros
Meeting Description: Bookshare's online library and free assistive reading tools for the students with print disabilities. Specific questions addressed:
Information about Archived version here - Please contact Bookshare at events@bookshare.org for an accessible version of this webinar.
The free presentations covered:
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Host(s): Kristina Cohen
Information about Archived version here - Please contact Bookshare at events@bookshare.org for an accessible version of this webinar.
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Access CITEd is offering FREE (archived) Webinar presentations from some of the nation's leaders in accessible instructional materials:
NIMAS 101: What You Need to Know
Presenter: Chuck Hitchcock, M.Ed., Director, NIMAS Technical Assistance Center
What is NIMAS? This presentation provides an overview of NIMAS language within IDEA 2004, the NIMAS regulations, policies related to implementation, TA and the role of the NIMAC (the national source file repository). (recorded November 2006)
NIMAS Implementation Issues and Solutions
Presenters: Chuck Hitchcock, M.Ed., Director, NIMAS Technical Assistance Center; and Ruth Ziolkowski, MBA, President of Don Johnston, Inc.
How does NIMAS affect you as an educator? What are the implementation issues schools and districts are facing and what solutions are being tried? Learn about solutions that are working around the country. (recorded October 2007)
Accessible Instructional Materials 101
Presenters: Joy Zabala, Project Manager, AIM Consortium; and Diana Foster Carl, Special Projects Coordinator, AIM Consortium
What are core-related instructional materials, specialized formats, and print disabilities? How do teams decide if specialized formats are needed? Explore the issues related to accessible instructional materials. (recorded February 2009)
Other Topics include:
To access these FREE webinars, go to the CITEd Webinar Archive
If you wish to be on our mailing list, please send an e-mail to: AIM@mainecite.org