On this episode of Change Makers, learn more about the Hive’s newest course on the topic of reading, designed for educators but also helpful for caregivers. The course was developed through a partnership with the state of Ohio and offers one of a kind learning with access to unique, accessible, resources. After that, hear about our recent event that announced a grant from PNC Foundation that will fund the delivery of the first official program of The Dot Experience, in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library.
On this podcast
Additional Links
Connect the Dots, powered by PNC Foundation schedule
On this episode of Change Makers, learn more about the Hive’s newest course on the topic of reading, designed for educators but also helpful for caregivers. The course was developed through a partnership with the state of Ohio and offers one of a kind learning with access to unique, accessible, resources. After that, hear about our recent event that announced a grant from PNC Foundation that will fund the delivery of the first official program of The Dot Experience, in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library.
On this podcast
Additional Links
Connect the Dots, powered by PNC Foundation schedule
<silence> Welcome to Change Makers , a podcast from a PH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown . And today we are learning more about the Hive's newest course on the topic of reading designed for educators, but also helpful for caregivers. The course was developed through a partnership with the State of Ohio and offers a one of a kind learning with access to unique accessible resources. After that, hear all about our recent event that announced a grant from PNC Foundation that will fund the delivery of the first official program of the DOT experience, all in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library. Up first, I have APH's Amy Campbell, along with OCALI's Shawna Benson, Angelica Gagaliardi, and Christine Croyle here. Hello everybody, and welcome to Change Makers.
Shawna Benson:Hello.
Angelica Gagaliardi:Hello.
Amy Campbell:Hi there.
Christine Croyle:Hello.
Sara Brown:Can I get everyone to just introduce themselves and share what it is that you do?
Amy Campbell:I'm Amy Campbell, director of APH's Learning Management system called The Hive, which is our free professional online learning community. It houses all of our asynchronous learning courses for vision educators and has an amazing repository of community resources.
Sara Brown:Shawna how about you? Okay ,
Shawna Benson:Yep . I will gladly go. Um, I'm Shawna Benson. I'm the Program Director for the Teaching Diverse Learners Center at OCALI. And , um, do a lot of support around low incidence disabilities, curriculum, instruction, and language and literacy access.
Angelica Gagaliardi:I'm Angelica Gagaliardi. I'm a teacher of the Deaf by trade, and now serve as an Outreach Specialist for the Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness at OCALI, which is located in Ohio.
Sara Brown:And last but not least, Ms . Christine
Christine Croyle:<laugh> . I'm Christine Croyle. I'm the Program Director at the Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness at OCALI. I'm also a Speech Language Pathologist who has provided direct service to learners who are deaf, hard of hearing , and blind facially impaired.
Sara Brown:So, for my next question as we get into this, we're talking about the Hive and all the wonderful things that it has and some new things. Can you talk about what you all have been working on and how it came to be from the beginning?
Amy Campbell:Absolutely. I'll jump in first. Um, only because talking about this joint project has almost been like a love language for me, so I have a lot of excitement for it. Uh, it's crazy to think that it's been almost two years since everything began. And , uh, you know, over two years ago, it was at the time that Christine reached out to me because , um, her team was hosting the unique webinar event called, "Unlocking the English Code." And it included really great content, not only on deaf and hard of hearing learners, but also , uh, you know, learners that were blind or low vision. And all of this came about because Christine and I had met previously at International Conference, and I'm just really fortunate that she remembered me as being a braille enthusiast because she contacted me about this webinar as a way to share the good news and say, "Hey, do you wanna come aboard and participate?" "Be a facilitator?" And it was like, from that conversation on, I was completely hooked, and our heads quickly came together and we started discussing how her team and my team could partner together to make something great. That was all related around literacy .
Christine Croyle:Literacy . This is Christine, Amy. Thank you. That's fantastic summary of how we came together. And I do think , um, it all begins with partnership, and that's the foundation of Ali's mission is partnership. So , um, pulling together the data, the research, the evidence-based strategies to shape the policy and practice. It's what we do. So I have thoroughly enjoyed , uh, working with , uh, Amy on this project, and Shawna and Angelica have the , uh, specific content expertise that, to talk about kind of what is this project all about?
Angelica Gagaliardi:This is Angelica. I can , um, talk a little bit about the inception of the deaf and hard of hearing side of things. Um, it's hard to do any literacy work at OCALI without pulling Shawna into that work. And so, as we were starting to kind of think about creating some of these reading modules for , uh, specifically for deaf and hard of hearing learners and the educators that serve them in , uh, reading , uh, Shawna was also working on a project that was , um, kind of looking at access to the general curriculum for all learners, and specifically going into , um, ways to access standards-based instruction for , uh, complex learners. And that project did have information about deaf and hard of hearing learners and about , um, learners with who were blind or low , uh, low vision. And then as Amy and I kind of reviewed some of that work , um, as it as it came out, we were like, yes. And like, let's also dive a little bit deeper into some of the more specific strategies and the more specific research that , um, builds off of the work that Shawna has already front loaded for folks on the literacy access for all site . Shawna, do you have anything to add there?
Shawna Benson:Yeah, I'll just give a little backstory, kind of connecting up with what everybody shared. Um, I know my first , uh, inlet I guess into this , um, work and conversation , um, happened . Christine mentioned we do a lot of collaborative , uh, partnerships cross centers at OCALI. Um, and so I remember having a conversation , um, with Christine , um, Angelica, I think it might've been prior to you coming on board , but then soon as you came on board , our conversations started up exactly as you described. But prior to that, I know Christine and I , um, talked about , um, some collaboration around the unlocking the English code , um, presentation and, and webinars. And so that was kind of my first inlet into this work. And , um, we do have content that that is a little bit more universal in the literacy access for all website. Um, but we knew, and it does have little snippets, like you said, of information that include learners who are blind, visually impaired or , uh, learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. But we knew that we also needed to take a deeper dive to really provide more explicit and direct , um, strategies and supports for access , um, for, for, you know, all, all variety of learner with , uh, a variety of different profiles. And so we wanted to make sure that we expanded, and this was such a fabulous opportunity when Amy , um, came on board . We, you know, talked a little bit about , um, the growth of the partnership outside of OCALI. I think it was just , um, an amazing opportunity where , um, every, at every checkpoint our team kind of grew and expanded. Um, and there's so much potential in all of these different , um, layers of connectedness where the content can really grow , um, deeper and be more specific to the groups of learners that we're we're talking about here today.
Amy Campbell:And I think I wanna just jump in , uh, maybe just rewind for a moment to kind of bring together what exactly, I think there's just a piece missing of what happened between Christine , you calling me and getting to participate and then unlocking the English code webinar and then this coming together. And so I wanna see if I can try to put some words to that. Um, after the webinar aired on unlocking the English code, it was like my brain was firing on all cylinders, thinking about all the possibilities , uh, of next steps for developing content. Um, specifically when I attended the webinar, it made me think so much of my teachers that work with individuals with visual impairments and blindness , um, oftentimes teachers are not trained in university programs to understand all the nuances and the sequences of teaching reading to all students , and then delving even deeper into the aspects of how low vision or blindness directly impacts the development of reading. So all of these things were surfacing in my mind, and then realizing that with managing, directing our learning management system here at a PH, what could be done to help equip specifically vision educators to navigate these waters? Um, if you have a student with a visual impairment and they're not reading well, there's difficulties. Oftentimes education teams point to say, oh, it's because of the visual impairment. Well, it's not always an access related issue. It can be content related issue. So "how do we equip teachers to manage those conversations, navigate those team meetings?" So Christine and I kept talking and thinking, "wow, what if we came together, worked smarter, not harder, jointly on creating content that would be focused for those vision educators or those educators who are working with learners that are deaf and hard of hearing, not reinventing the wheel, but giving those ideas and those next steps of how to equip those teachers in those circumstances." So those conversations then bloomed into, "Hey, let's share our resources." APH, the Hive, you create something for visual impairment. Um, Christine, your team at OCALI creates something that focuses on those learners that are deaf and hard of hearing. Let's , um, bring in Shawna, your expertise as that literacy expert. "How do we sequence the content, the flow, embed that research, and how do we create these two courses but near each other?" Mm-Hmm,
Sara Brown:And, and this content that you're, that we're discussing today, where can it be found? Where can one go to find that?
Angelica Gagaliardi:I can talk a little bit about that. This is Angelica. So , um, the , uh, VI Course and the DHH course, their , their names actually do mirror each other. Um , it is unlocking the foundations of reading for either , uh, blind, visually impaired learners or learners who are deaf and hard of hearing. Um , and those can be found. Amy , the, the Hive will host the BVI , um, course. Is that correct?
Amy Campbell:That is right. And you can find that just by going to the URL www.aphhive.org. That's where we'll be housing the content for VI.
Angelica Gagaliardi:And then the DHH , uh, course is housed in our learning hub at the outreach center. Um, and that can be found at deaf and blind outreach.org/login. You do have to create a free login , um, to access that. And then , uh, if you go under modules, it is listed there. Modules one and two are already out , um, three and four coming soon in the new year. Um , and then actually the webinar that kind of started everything and unlocking the English code, the recordings of those webinars can also be found in that learning hub. And then the literacy access site. Shawna, do you wanna talk about where that can be found?
Shawna Benson:Sure. So , um, as you go into some of the great modules that Angelica and Amy are mentioning, you may see some embedded content and if you , um, from the literacy access for all website, and if you want to dive deeper into that , um, the web address for that specific resource is www.literacyaccessforforall.org.
Amy Campbell:I love , uh, how Angelica and Shawna, you know, you're mentioning the sites that you have, I just gotta capitalize that this is all free. Even even the Hive, these are, it's a free service of online courses and resources. Um, you mentioned, Angelica, that you already have some pieces , uh, for those learners that are deaf and hard of hearing already up and launched on your site over here at the Hive, we will be launching hours sometime in the mid to later part of this month of January. So , uh, keep an eye, go back and visit the Hive and see if it's on there. But by mid to late January, we will have launched what we say is the first three modules of the course for visual impairment. And then in subsequent months, we will continue to release a new module each month until we pull it all together. And the last one is released in the month of May.
Sara Brown:My, my next question I wanna ask you all is who and how does this project benefit? It sounds like it benefits, obviously, you know, teachers and the students as well, but talk about more who benefits from these projects in these modules.
Amy Campbell:Well, I'll jump in , um, and start, and then just any of those loose ends, I know , uh, Christine, Angelica or Shawna, you can jump in , uh, with the benefiting overall, what we've worked on benefits all teachers working with any re learner, regardless of an area of specialty. And that is because half of the content in each of these courses is sharing current research of what we know about developing skilled readers in the classroom. Uh, so, but also teachers, you know, that are specifically working , uh, to some degree with any learner that is deaf and hard of hearing, or a learner with vision loss benefits from this content. Because after learning about what all students need to acquire to become a skilled reader each course, then it goes down and explores that impact of blindness or low vision on learning to read. And then that impact of deafness on learning to read.
Angelica Gagaliardi:This is Angelica, and I'll add on to that a little bit. Um, we were just talking before we, we jumped on this podcast recording about how sometimes our TVIs or TODs teacher of the visually impaired teachers of the deaf are left out of some district level pd, professional development opportunities. Sometimes just because they are , um, scheduling wise , right, that a lot of them are itinerant. And so they're hopping around to servicing students at the time that professional development is happening at another building. And sometimes it's because , um, they don't necessarily see that it's applicable or the district doesn't see that, you know, it's applicable for them, so they're not invited to that table. So , um, I do think for those students to, or for those teachers to know that this is available to them, it is directly applicable to them, and it still takes the learning that's happening , um, in those, those PDs right now, the most current research that is embedded throughout each of these courses. So they're not missing out on , um, some of the research that's being shared in those, those bigger group settings. Um, and also I would like to also mention the higher ed level. Um, I do think that, you know, colleges and universities who are, are preparing TVIs and TODs can really benefit from these courses being here, being asynchronous, having some learning checks along the way, having all the research , um, in kind of one, one area that is easily digestible , um, that is visually appealing, right? It's not just kind of the , uh, reading the research and then kind of trying to see what you take away from it. But some , someone that's syn synthesizing it for you. Um, so I do think some of our higher ed institutions can benefit from that as well.
Sara Brown:And my, my next question, and you just summed it up for me very well, and this whole podcast has, but in case there's anybody out there listening that's still missed it, would you, would someone like to explain why this is a vital resource <laugh> ?
Amy Campbell:Well, in my mind, I'm aware of a variety of existing online learning opportunities where people can go in professionals and take a deep dive into the science of reading and, and what that means. Uh, lots of places to get that universal content. But up until now, we haven't had access to this type of information delivered as a broad overview of video instruction within layers of that population specific impact. That's that information and those strategies. And so, in my mind, this is the first of its kind at least in the, you know, study of blindness and low vision, especially as it relates to helping educators discern the difference between access related issues to reading difficulties and then reading difficulties that are directly linked to content. And so for me, in a nutshell, we are helping to equip educators to identify the root cause of reading difficulties.
Angelica Gagaliardi:And just to add on to that, this is Angelica. Um, one thing we didn't necessarily mention when we were talking about where you can find the resources, I think it's also vital because teachers are looking for credit, right? They have to renew their licenses, and that's just a really practical thing that teachers have to do. Um, so these resources are free and you can get , uh, professional development certificates for all the hours that you're spending in this learning. Um, and then , uh, at least on the Learning Hub site, you can also earn CEUs from select providers for free as well. Um, and Shawna, I don't know if, if you're interested, but this might be an interesting time to talk about the heat map that was shared with you and how although our resources are coming out of Ohio, they are really spreading kind of nationwide.
Shawna Benson:Yeah, absolutely. So , um, as part of our , um, website analysis and usage analysis, we do collect data on , uh, where and by whom the resources are being utilized and , um, the literacy access for all , um, website. We do that kind of heat mapping across the nation on where the usage is , uh, most prevalent and where we're missing. So from a marketing standpoint, it also helps us to target areas where we need to , um, dig a little deeper and share the, share the resources that are free. So , um, definitely we have representation distributed widely across the U. S. On the literacy access site. And I think part of that is because , um, you know, like Amy and Angelica had mentioned, there aren't a lot of resources like this out there that really focus on , um, kind of general, you know, access to the general curriculum under IDEA for all individuals, all learners, but then also taking that deeper look into what does it take, how , what kinds of supports , um, services strategies can we infuse into that access, particularly for language and literacy acquisition , um, including, you know, building your language skills, your communication skills, building reading skills, building writing skills, all of those are so interconnected. And I also think that they're interconnected, not just from an ELA English language Arts standpoint, but also into other subject area learning as well, which I think , um, the literacy access site has a lot of, you know, really broad resources across content and subject areas in addition to language and literacy access. So I think this is a highly needed, all of these are highly needed resources and people are potentially looking for something that specifically speaks to them. We talked about , um, the target audiences for , um, teachers of the deaf or , um, those teachers who work with learners who are blind, visually impaired. So we wanna make sure that the resource gives really great overarching information, but also really specific information. And that's where I feel like these additional modules are really going to come in and build , um, additional layers of resources and information that is super targeted. Um , a lot of times when you go to professional development, and I am a , a teacher of students with complex and , um, low incidence based disabilities, and when you go to PD, sometimes , um, it feels like they're not always talking about your kids, your learners. And I think that these resources speak to , um, groups of teachers who often feel left out in that representation, like, these are our kids, and you will hear about your students and you'll see video clips that include them. So that's the exciting part, I think about all of these rich resources. We really are trying to represent everybody.
Amy Campbell:And you know, one thing that just , um, also surfaces into my mind as we are , are thinking about these particular resources , um, that, that we are now launching is that , um, as mentioned there more of an overview of the reading process, but we can direct those users to go into literacy access at all for all in order to have that deeper dive. But specifically, there's not a lot of resources targeted to those educators that are serving students that are deaf blind . And I think that by going into each course, it gives insight into that learner that has deaf blindness that can then be applied , um, to have a better understanding to give that access to reading. So I just wanted to throw that in. I think that that is an extra caveat to this, that it's a nice resource for serving the deaf-blind population to have a better understanding about access.
Sara Brown:So my next question I like to ask you all is what do you see for the future of this? Where would you like to see it? I always like to ask, you know, in one year, three years, five years, where would you like to see this, this program, this service in the next few years?
Angelica Gagaliardi:This is Angelica. I can start us off. I do definitely see us coming together for I know an OCALI Con session. Our agency hosts , uh, a virtual conference every year in November. I'd love to see us come together and present kind of on , um, what is available in each course, what has been utilized, and give teachers some time to give us feedback and , um, ask questions about each course there. Um, I know Amy had talked about a cohort, I'll let her go in, into the BVI course there, but I, I would also for the DHH side, like to develop some facilitation guides so that way districts can use this as , um, professional development resources for groups. Um, and not necessarily just , um, one educator sitting on their computer by themself taking this course, but really , um, kind of in a more community setting and learning from each other, asking questions to each other as they go throughout this. Um , and really just getting the, the word out that these things exist, because I know when you're working in low incidents , as Shawna had mentioned, you don't always see yourself, your students, your , um, situation, your, your students' communication needs reflected in some of that more district level , nation level , um, packaged PD all the time. So I, we want educators to know that this is there for them, that it's free for them, that , um, it was a coming together of many minds and many , uh, many years of work. Um, so that way they don't have to do that legwork of searching and finding for the thing, the , the thing is here for them. And that we're also here to, you know, answer any questions that they have as, as that come , as they come up throughout the course.
Amy Campbell:And I know I wanna jump in and just echo back to that teacher training at university programs aspect that there are opportunities , uh, for those university professors may find different parts of the video modules as being supplemental resources for what they're teaching , um, in their programs. Also , uh, thank you for mentioning to Angelica just about the , the vision that at least I have for the course unlocking the foundations of reading for students with visual impairments is creating a summer cohort learning experience. I have the desire of wanting to partner with residential programs across the nation, creating a cohort, giving access to this in information to those teachers who sometimes don't have the , um, the ability to access those larger scale trainings that are out there on , um, the science of reading. And maybe they just need some sort of an exposure to things that exist that then includes those layers of how the low vision and blindness can impact the access to reading. So I have a desire to, to be able to have those conversations with instructors that are working through university programs, but also creating that summer cohort that can get teachers talking and having that reciprocal communication and learning from one another.
Shawna Benson:So this is Shawna and I , um, want to chime in a little bit here too. As you've been talking about growing our partnerships and including university faculty and programs and educators and districts for professional development, it makes me also think about how we all came together and how our partnerships , um, established over time through these connections. And so future for me, I would love to see us grow our, our , um, group, grow our collaborative opportunities, you know, bring on , um, other people who are passionate also about this work. And , um, from a teacher perspective, potentially have examples and exemplars that are established through some of this work that people are willing to share back with us. Um, I went through this content, I learned this, you know, x, y, and Z and um, this is how I'm applying it in my classroom, and this is, these are the results that I'm seeing with my learners. Um, and I would love to hear those very specific examples over time. I think we can , um, anticipate that some of those stories will start to find us and , uh, hopefully people will connect with us over time to share those success stories.
Christine Croyle:No , Shawna, I love, love, love that you included that. This is an example of what we talk about when we talk about co-planning to coser, to co-teach. We are doing it here, so it's also an example for others to see. You can do it too. And I think when we share it, if we share , um, like the intentionality of seeking out partners, even asking what may not feel like the natural question to ask, like, who else needs to be at this table to make this the best possible , uh, resource that it can be? One simple question. So if you're listening to this podcast now and you're thinking, I have this great idea, before you go one step further , ask yourself the question, who else needs to be at the table to make this the best that it can? Um, 'cause together we can exponentially increase not only our product, but our reach, our content expertise, sharing it across multiple platforms. So while it may not be a natural inclination, go ahead and ask yourself that question. And this intentional partnering positively impacts the projects and the partners in ways that are like way beyond just this thing that sits on a website. Because of the partnership we have with a PH, I now know about additional , uh, experts in the field. I could reach out to Amy anytime through a text message, through an email, and she responds right away. I love having that connection with other professionals in the field. So , um, if you're thinking about something, you can do your all by yourself. You just might be thinking a little too small. So reconsider intentional partnership and think big.
Angelica Gagaliardi:And Christine, I love that this is Angelica. I think that can be applied in the classroom as well, right? This, this lesson plan. Who could be, how could we make greater access to this lesson plan for more kids if the SLP was at the table or if the TBI was at the table, or if the OT was at the table, right? So I think just thinking partnerships as far as content development and thinking partnerships as far as in our classrooms every day impacting our students, when more minds come together, right, the, the bigger the benefit for everybody involved and the more access that's created when more minds are kind of looking at , um, access needs from all perspectives.
Sara Brown:Amy, you mentioned that for APH all of this content's gonna be found through the Hive. Can you briefly explain what the Hive is for those who might not know? Um, we've had the Hive on the podcast before, but do you mind just giving a brief explanation of the Hive and what it provides?
Amy Campbell:Oh , absolutely. You know, the, the Hive has, you know, we've been in existence for about two and a half years, and it is our contribution to the field for online professional learning that really is aimed at helping to equip those educators that are serving students with visual impairments, but also professionalizing parenthood. Um, our families know our students best, and this is also a hub that they can go into and whether they want to enroll in a course for professional learning on various topics or if they want to enter into another pathway of learning that we have in the Hive that is called a professional communities, where it's a repository of just archived content that is really specific to all the different roles of individuals that are working with learners that have their visual impairments. And, you know, the, the last part of the hive that makes it unique is that we have incorporated discussion boards, so now people can go in and have that, that additional engagement, that reciprocal communication and collaboration where we can expand the conversation, expand the learning beyond just looking at a resource or taking a course and continuing to learn from one another. So the Hive is that place in my mind for visual impairment, but it's also not just something that is stamped with APH, it is a community place where you can find resources within our professional community , um, where we wanna house those things. We are working collaboratively on developing courses, just like there's been exemplified with this partnership between APH and OCALI. So we look at it as a place where everyone belongs and that everyone has a place for learning and , um, it's just a shared experience. So going into the APH Hive, all you need is a username and a password. That username is an email as simple as an email address. It's completely free and you have access at your fingertips of just many different opportunities to learn more.
Sara Brown:And then for the OCALI team, Christine, Angelica, Shawna , um, would you mind just to explain what OCALI does, the services that can be found on your website as well?
Christine Croyle:Sure. This is Christine, I'll, I'll start with the Learning Hub. As I was listening to Amy talk about the Hive. The Learning Hub sounds very much like the Hive along with Shawna's literacy , um, access for all site , tons of resources in print and video. Um, you can search those. It they require one ID to log in . So if you're logging into the literacy site, you can also log into the Learning Hub on the outreach center. And if you're in the Learning hub at the Outreach Center, all of the video-based resources that are offered there are offered in English and a SL with captions and audio description. So fully accessible. Shawna, did you wanna add anything or Angelica?
Shawna Benson:I think you did a great job of , um, sharing a , an overview of some of the resources that we have. Um, Ali is a broad reaching, as we said before, agency , um, national and, and worldwide. Um , we do have attendees who tend conferences and other , uh, events from across the globe. So , um, definitely a far reaching agency and resource. We do have multiple centers within ooc , Cali , um, and , um, I'll let Angelica maybe , uh, dive a little bit into some of those, those centers. But we do have , um, website, lots of additional resources that can be found there as well.
Angelica Gagaliardi:Thanks, Shawna. This is Angelica. Yeah, if you head to OCALI.org, you'll see a dropdown menu of all of the centers that are , um, kind of under the OCALI umbrella. Um, and each of those center websites hosts its own suite of resources as well. Um, so if you are an early childhood educator , uh, the Center for the Young Child is gonna be for you. The Autism Center has , um, a ton of modules that also give college credit, Ashland University credit as well. Um, so yes, we're here today to talk about specifically the unlocking the foundations and , uh, literacy access for all. But the OCALI a resources do not stop at those two websites. So if you're kind of in the rabbit hole or you're looking for additional credits and, and looking for , uh, new learning to happen, or you have that one specific kid in mind where you don't feel like some of the resources that you were learning from kind of met their needs , um, please feel free to head over to OCALI .org and , um, search the , um, numerous centers. Also Lifespan Transition Center has a , a lot that would, I think would be applicable to this audience as well.
Shawna Benson:And , and just keep in mind that at OCALI, we would call it a Birth to Earth agency, so not just school age , um, really, you know, infancy clear through adulthood. Um, so there are resources that span every age range , um, across the lifespan. So many, so many resources there. Um, I'm sure probably Angelica described it as a rabbit hole, but , um, you can definitely get lost in there. Lots of good content.
Angelica Gagaliardi:Awesome for educators and for families. I do wanna echo, echo Amy's , uh, sentiment with the Hive. Um, there is a lot of information for families on all ooc websites and uh, learning modules as well.
Sara Brown:And then my final question I always like to ask, is there anything else you all would like to say about the, the conversation we've just had?
Shawna Benson:This is Shawna. I'm just super excited about this partnership, about expanding this work and providing some additional resources that I think really have the potential to really help support people in the field , um, families around , um, you know, a variety of learners. So this has been a , a fabulous opportunity for all of us. I think ,
Sara Brown:Uh, this has been a project of passion for sure, and a labor of love, indeed. And I, I know I am so excited to see how this , uh, contribution to the professional field just to see what will happen next with it and how it can really help those educators and families. All right . Well thank you all so much for joining me today on Changemakers.
Shawna Benson:Thank you.
Christine Croyle:Thank you.
Sara Brown:Thank you, Sara. It's been a pleasure. Thank you. Up next I have APH's community relations and policy advisor, Erin Sigmund here to talk about the recent event that celebrated our grant from PNC Foundation to deliver the programs of the DOT experience. All of this is done in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library. She'll detail the very first event that was held a few days ago and what's coming in the next month. Hello Erin and welcome to Change Makers.
Erin Sigmund:Hi Sara, thanks for having me. Uh , my name is Erin and I'm the Community Relations and Policy Advisor at APH. So I get the fun job of connecting APH to our community and then to our constituents in , um, Washington, D. C.
Sara Brown:Cool, and welcome aboard. Welcome on to Change Makers. And you've been on , you've been on here a few times before, so it's always good to have you on now talk about the event we just had it turned out to be a really great well received event.
Erin Sigmund:Yes, it was so much fun. So on Saturday, January 6, just two days after World Braille Day, we opened up the Northeast Regional Library to families all across the Louisville region to come in and learn about all things braille with the dot experience staff and APH staff. So kiddos got to participate in activities like learning the braille, English braille alphabet, doing braille yoga and utilizing LEGO Braille Bricks. They got to be introduced to , um, new technologies like the Monarch and Poly in ways that APH is supporting kiddos all across the United States in learning braille. And we got to celebrate with some cupcakes on the end at the end because of course it was Louis Braille birthday. So it was a great introduction into braille and to tools and strategies that people who are blind or low vision utilize in everyday life to read, learn, have careers, and be successful.
Sara Brown:Thank you. And an event like this. And this event is going to be monthly throughout 2024 and 2025. And these events are such a good way to keep APH in the community. Main reason being is because we are in the process of building the brand new Dot Experience museum here. So this is a great way to just get out in the community and meet the people who hopefully will be coming to see us in the next year and , and some change <laugh> . So talk about the next event. So that was January's, these are events are gonna be monthly. So what's on the docket for February?
Erin Sigmund:Yeah, so I'm so excited about each event because these events every month are going to be glimpses into some of the stories that will be a part of the Dot Experience when we open in 2025. So we're focusing on career stories on demystifying blindness stories, on stories of history and social emotional learning, all of which are gonna be in the, in the new experience when it opens. So our next event is gonna be on Saturday, February 17 at the Main Library, 301 York Street from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM It is an exploration of all things light and shadow. So we're going to be , uh, have lots of interactive activities out there for kiddos to , uh, learn more about the spectrum of vision. It's a common misconception that people who are blind or low vision either have total sight or no sight , but people exist and thrive all along a spectrum. And so kiddos will get to get their hands on different activities to learn how all sorts of people live and, and see the world. This is in conjunction with a library event called Glow Party for our preschool students that they're gonna get a chance to explore all things light and shadow with a fun glow party. So you can find out more about that on APH's website or at uh , www.lfpl .org .
Sara Brown:Wonderful. And is there anything else you wanna share about Connect the Dots powered by PNC Foundation before I let you go?
Erin Sigmund:We are going all across the city, so if you are located in the Louisville region, chances are we are coming nearby to you. So check out that schedule on our website to find out where we're going. We'd love to see you. All of our events are going to be festival style , so you can come and go experience the activities that you connect with, walk on past the activities that maybe aren't your style, and they are free to the public. So we really want to share a message of inclusivity and equity with the community. Uh, so we're gonna come to you, so please come and find us.
Sara Brown:Wonderful. Erin , thank you so much again for joining me today on Change Makers.
Erin Sigmund:Yeah , thanks Sara.
Sara Brown:Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change Makers. I've put links to the Hive OCALI and Literacy Access for All in the show notes. I've also put links to the Dot Experience website and more information about Connect the Dots powered by PNC Foundation. So be sure to check those out as well. And as always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker this week.