News

Publications

Literary journal for students with disabilities

Infinite Difference is an online literary journal created for youths with disabilities by VSA Arts--the International Organization on Arts and Disability (previously known as Very Special Arts). The journal, which is available at <www.vsarts.org//prebuilt/showcase/openbook/onlinejournal/index.cfm>, presents pieces selected by a panel of professional writers and teachers from an annual, themed call for writing. The writing offers diverse perspectives and exemplifies the creative voices that emerge from experiences with disability. In addition to featuring the work of young people with disabilities, the journal's web site includes resources designed to help educators and parents gain more useful information on the relationship of arts, education, and disabilities, especially for children with disabilities. Among the writings currently available on the site are responses to the 2010 call for writing, "EsSense," which invited students to write a short story or poem about a moment evoked through one of their senses or to transform an ordinary situation into something extraordinary. One of the stories, "To Feel is to See," written by Amber Arbsland, age 16, describes how a girl who has lost her sight experiences the beach on a cold day with her father. For more information, contact: VSA Arts, 818 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006; phone: 800-933-8721 or 202-628-2800; e-mail: <info@vsarts.org>; web site: <www.vsarts.org>.

Resources

News service offers job listings

A free news service for individuals with visual impairments recently began offering searchable job listings that include positions from the hundreds of thousands of employment classified advertisements published across the United States. NFB-Newsline (<www.nfbnewsline.org>) is a free service of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) that provides individuals who are blind with access to over 300 publications in English and Spanish, including national and local newspapers, magazines, and information from state agencies and organizations. Originally available only by telephone, Newsline is now available online, and subscribers can choose to read publications on the web or with a digital Talking Book player. For more information, contact: NFB-Newsline, National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells Street, at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230; phone: 866-504-7300; e-mail: <nfbnewsline@nfb.org>.

Update to the Computer Braille Code

The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) recently released an update to the Computer Braille Code: 2000 Revision (CBC), Rule 3.3, Symbols. One reason for the update is that standard CBC symbols, including any symbols that have been devised by the transcriber, are meant to be listed on a "special symbols" page and transcribed in accordance with the rules of the braille format. In CBC, there are often paired symbols, such as the symbols that begin and end the code. To make the CBC section of the special symbols page more user-friendly, the BANA CBC Technical Committee devised an order in which these symbols should appear on the page. The update to CBC, including the newly devised ordering for CBC symbols, is posted on the web site of BANA at <www.brailleauthority.org>. For more information, contact: Judith Dixon, chairperson, BANA; phone: 202-707-0722; e-mail: <jdix@loc.gov>.

Download braille-ready file

Download ASCII text file (ASCII files are for download only)

Previous Article | Next Article | Table of Contents

There are 0 comments on this article.

Post a Comment

JVIB, Copyright © 2012 American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved.

If you would like to give us feedback, please contact us at jvib@afb.net.