Dear Colleague (with apologies for cross-posting),

In addition to our services designing and producing tactile
graphics for students in HE and FE, the National Centre for
Tactile Diagrams has listened to the concerns of disability
officers and other support staff in supporting blind and
partially sighted students, and in response we have
developed a 1-day course on 'Supporting Blind and Partially
Sighted Students in HE/FE' concentrating on accessible
materials and access technology.

The announcement for the course follows below, and if you
are interested please complete and return the reply form at
the end (you'll also find a formatted reply form on our web
site www.nctd.org.uk).  We look forward to hearing your
views as to any additional topics you'd like to hear about,
and your preferred date and location for such a course.

We look forward to hearing your views.
Best regards,

Professor Helen Petrie (Director), Dr. Sarah Morley
(Assistant Director)

National Centre for Tactile Diagrams
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB
Tel: 01707 286 348
Fax: 01707 285 059
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web-Site: http://www.nctd.org.uk

---------- Announcement Follows -------------

COMING SOON:

"Supporting Blind and Partially Sighted Students in FE and
HE"

A one-day course on access technology and accessible
materials
for disability officers, student advisors, and special needs
coordinators

We know how difficult it can be to keep abreast of
technology
and services to support blind and partially sighted
students.
This 1-day course has been specially designed to give
support
and advisory staff a hands-on knowledge of when and how to
provide accessible materials, and of the range of access
technology, products and services to support students in
studying effectively.

The National Centre for Tactile Diagrams at the University
of Hertfordshire is
planning a one-day course in conjunction with the Royal
National Institute for
the Blind to provide information on resources and technology
for those
supporting visually impaired students.

Content.  The course will concentrate on issues commonly
requested by staff
such as: access technology (including demonstrations of
scanners, CCTVs,
note-takers, screen-readers with braille and with speech,
web browsers,
personal organisers, digital talking books, braille
embossers etc); accessible
materials including tactile graphics - when and how to use
them; and general
products and services for blind or partially sighted
students.

Presenters. Staff from the National Centre for Tactile
Diagrams (Professor
Helen Petrie, Dr. Sarah Morley, Dave Gunn), and staff from
the Royal
National Institute for the Blind (from student services and
the high-tech team).

Cost and Duration. The cost of the course will be 95.00
pounds including
refreshments and lunch, and the course will run from 10:00
till 16:30.

Your Views Please. We would like your views on the
usefulness of such a
course, and suggestions for a good time for you to attend.
Please register
your interest (or why you are not interested) by completing
the attached form (see our web site for a formatted reply
form www.nctd.org.uk), and we will inform you of dates for
the next available course.

------ Reply Form -----

"Supporting Blind and Partially Sighted Students in FE and
HE"

Reply Form

Surname
First Name
Title

Job Title/Description

Mailing Address
Telephone
Fax
E-mail

1. I would like to attend the course - please advise me of
dates:	 Yes / No
If no, please state reasons.

2. These are the topics I would particularly like to see
covered on the course:

3. I would like to attend a course in the following
period(s) please tick any, or specify
particularly good weeks for attending a course:
o September to December 2000
o January to April 2001
o May to August 2001
o September to December 2001

4. I would / would not travel to London for the course

5. I would like to attend a course in:
o The North
o The Midlands
o The South

Please Return To:

Short Course Administrator
National Centre for Tactile Diagrams
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB
Tel: 01707 286 348
Fax: 01707 285 059
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web-Site: http://www.nctd.org.uk

--- End of Reply Form ---



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