All resources in Oregon Accessible Educational Materials

Advocating for my AEM Workbook

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Advocating For My Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) is a workbook designed for students to use as they begin to learn to advocate for the accommodations and accessibility features they need in their educational programs. It applies common self-advocacy principles to the needs of students who use AEM in their daily educational programs. Students and their support teams will find this guide useful when an assessment has been completed to establish the need for accessible educational materials, technology, and assistive technology. In creating this workbook, the authors have assumed that the student is already using their AEM in functional ways in their educational environments. Because students can start building self-advocacy skills as soon as they begin to use AEM, individual sections of the workbook may be useful as soon as students begin to learn to use AEM.

Material Type: Student Guide

Authors: OTAP-RSOI Programs, Oregon Open Learning

IEP Teams' Guide to AEM in Oregon

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Inclusion of all learners in classrooms begins with access to curriculum. Diverse learners include those who have a perceptual or reading disability, are blind, visually impaired or are unable to hold or manipulate a printed book. Federal and Oregon regulations require all materials for these eligible persons to be made available in alternative formats such as digital or recorded text, braille, or large print, captioning and video description to ensure Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) are provided in a timely manner and at the same time as non-disabled peers. Accessible versions of educational materials can turn learning barriers into learning opportunities. This guide was developed to assist IEP, 504 and other student support teams in Oregon to determine whether a student requires accessible formats of their educational materials, ways to acquire and provide them and strategies for their use across educational environments.

Material Type: Primary Source

Authors: OTAP-RSOI Programs, Gayl Bowser, Oregon Open Learning

Self-Advocacy: The Basics

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Self-advocacy is the ability to articulate one’s needs and make informed decisions about the support necessary to meet those needs. It includes four important elements: knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication skills, and leadership skills. For people with one or more disabilities, including those who are deaf, increases in self-advocacy skills contribute to increased quality of life, sense of agency, and overall well-being.1 Self-advocacy is a lifelong endeavor and can never be learned too early or too late in life. Practicing self-advocacy is a critical element of the self-advocacy developmental process, and people who practice are better prepared to self-advocate in the future.

Material Type: Reading

Author: National Deaf Center

Inclusive Education in Oregon: Exploring Resources to Empower Access for All Learners

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This eighth and final session takes a look at the materials developed by the Oregon AEM Cohort. We will dive into the archived resources in the cohort OER Commons communications page. Join us as we explore the IEP Teams’ Guide to Accessible Educational Materials in Oregon and Advocating for My Accessible Educational Materials: An AEM Guide for Students. You too can be an AEM evangelist as we partner to dismantle barriers and empower learners across the lifespan through access to their education and their dreams.

Material Type: Primary Source

Authors: OTAP-RSOI Programs, Debra Fitzgibbons, Toni Nickell

Access for All: Navigating Accessibility Supports on Oregon Statewide Assessments

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Join us for an insightful session on accessibility supports available on the Oregon Statewide Assessments. We will review 2022-23 assessment data, explore commonly used supports, and discuss integrating them into everyday instruction. Learn how to prepare students for success on statewide assessments and gain valuable insights into the accessibility process at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Join us to empower your students and enhance their assessment experiences!

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: OTAP-RSOI Programs

Determining the Need for AEM

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Who Needs AEM? If a student is... unable to read or use grade level materials at a sufficient rate and with adequate comprehension to complete academic tasks with success relative to same-age peers or cannot do this independently or across environments or tasks, then the student may need AEM. For example, students with visual impairments may not be able to see a textbook, students with physical disabilities may not be able to turn a page, and students with learning disabilities whose decoding abilities are significantly below grade level may require support - all these students may require AEM. Contact the AT & AEM Center to discuss your student's need

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: Assistive Technology and Accessible Educational Materials Center

Personalizing the Writing Experience

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Personalizing the Writing Experience A person using both a paper notebook and pen alongside a laptop computer We often take for granted just how complex the act of writing is, and the range of mental and motor skills it involves. While we each go about the process of writing in our own unique way, some distinct steps are typically involved: pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing. You may experience barriers in any of these steps of the writing process that can keep you from being a successful writer. Fortunately, the devices many of us already own have a range of built-in features to support you at each stage of the writing process, and many free or low-cost apps and extensions are also available.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: National Center on Accessible Educational Materials

Webinar: Consideration & Documentation of AEM in the IEP

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AEM for Inclusion Session #4, originally recorded 1.16.24Gayl Bowser, M.Ed | Independent Consultant | Assistive Technology CollaborationsSession Description: There are four main activities involved in IEP team consideration of a student's need for AEM. 1.)Determine the student’s need for AEM; 2.)Select the Accessible format(s) the student needs; 3.)Plan to acquire the Materials; 4.) Determine services and support that the student will need. In this AEM for Inclusion webinar, we will use the Oregon Standard IEP form to identify the ways that team decisions can be recorded in meaningful ways so that everyone on a student's educational team understands the plan for AEM.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: Chandra Pinnock, Gayl Bowser

Coordinating Early Childhood Systems

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Coordinating Early Childhood Systems Adults and a young child collaborating in an early learning classroom While early childhood providers and families prioritize activities that optimize interactivity with peers and the natural environment, print and digital materials and technologies are commonly present in early learning settings, including the home and community. If and when they are determined to be appropriate, interactive materials and technologies need to be accessible if children with disabilities are to benefit from inclusive settings. Examples of accessible materials and technologies in early learning settings can include: Tactile books that include a combination of print and braille Video that includes captioning of sounds and audio description of visual elements Mobile apps that are compatible with a child’s assistive technology (AT) Ensuring that children with disabilities in early childhood programs can participate in all range of activities in early childhood programs is effectively achieved through a coordinated approach requiring collaboration between a number of agencies, federal, state, and local service providers, and families and caregivers.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: National Center on Accessible Educational Materials

Assistive Technology Industry Association

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Learning Center ATIA Learning Center logo The new ATIA Learning Center is a user-friendly source of high-quality education, presented by leading AT professionals and designed for educators, consultants, and service professionals working at the local, state and national levels in government and private organizations. The Learning Center is the place to: Discover courses covering a wide variety of AT topics* Expand your knowledge and skills on your own time Download handouts for future use Earn CEU certificates immediately (upon completion of course assessments) Store your unfinished courses, completed assessments, and CEU certificates in one place – indefinitely! Complete feedback surveys to improve the user experiences

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: Assistive Technology Industry Association

Webinar: AEM and Universal Tools for Transition

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Sarah Statham, MEd Transition Network Facilitator (TNF) Multnomah, Washington, Columbia & Clatsop counties | Lon Thornberg, MEd Transition Network Facilitator (TNF) Eastern Oregon with InterMountain ESD |The Transition IEP contains post-secondary goals in education, training, employment, and independent living. This session will share universal tech tools for transition that support and accommodate transition age students on the journey to reaching their post-secondary goals. This session will also highlight collaborative and coordinated relationships between students, educators, specialist’s and outside agencies that can be enhanced by the understanding of student’s use and past history with AEM & AT. Use of tools and AEM strategies to access transition activities and resources will be shared.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: Chandra Pinnock, Debra Fitzgibbons, OTAP-RSOI Programs

Empowering Transitions: Accessible Educational Materials Paving the Way for Blind Students

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The transition from high school to higher education can be daunting, especially for blind and low vision students! In this session, professionals from K12 and higher education discuss what blind and low vision students need to know to make the transition process as smooth as possible. We'll discuss accessible materials, assistive technology, and the important differences between high school and higher education. We'll also discuss key support systems that students can access so they know who to turn to when they need a little help. This session is your roadmap to confident transition planning, helping teachers empower students as they get ready to embark on the next step of their educational journey.

Material Type: Primary Source

Authors: OTAP-RSOI Programs, Michael Cantino