Georgia AER TVI Huddle

August 11, 2020 TVI Huddle Summary

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 from 6:30-7:30 Georgia AER hosted our first TVI Huddle, an opportunity for TVI’s to get together, share openly and safely their successes and frustrations with virtual instruction and social distancing. The meeting was NOT recorded as we wanted attendees to feel comfortable having open and honest discussions in a safe place. The first meeting was open to all TVI’s. Subsequent meetings will be closed meetings to Georgia AER members. Below you will find a summary from the discussions.

Common areas of concern that were identified that we will continue to collaborate, and brainstorm solutions include:

• Working virtually with students who have severe and profound disabilities in addition to being blind or visually impaired.

• Creating schedules that align with parent availability that don’t conflict with virtual classroom instruction.

• Support and collaboration with teachers and parents.

• Conducting Functional Vision Evaluations (virtual & social distancing).

• Safety concerns with face to face instruction and the unknowns of service delivery models.

Success and strategies shared included the following:

• Joining classroom teachers and therapists and co-teaching – pushing into virtual class instruction; working with the Speech & Language Pathologist on partner assisted communication, interactive sensory stories, etc.

• Braille instruction virtually via conference calls, material packets, student assisting in production, screen sharing.

• Technology – utilizing online videos/tutorials. Utilizing this time to make sure student knows how to use technology and accessibility settings.

• Including conferencing links in outlook calendar for quick access.

• Collaborate with classroom teachers on lesson plans and classroom platforms & apps used.

• Strategies for supporting students with CVI were discussed.

• Using this opportunity to collaborate with parents and model instructional techniques.

• Using this opportunity to address areas of the ECC that can otherwise be challenging including instruction in daily living, responsibility, and skills for college and career success related to technology and time management.

• When seeking to collaborate with team members - determine if you are using the preferred communication mode (e.g. email, phone, text, conference call, etc.) This can be a helpful strategy when there is difficulty connecting with families or teachers.

• Holding office hours for parents to connect with you.

• Resources were shared: Perkins eLearning, Tools for Life, and Braille institute

Thank you to everyone who attended! We hope to see you at subsequent meetings. We will meet on the second Tuesday of every month. During these meetings we will continue to support each other and collaborate on strategies and activities to meet instructional needs. TVI Huddles are closed meetings open to Georgia AER members who are TVI’s, or taking coursework to become a TVI. If you aren't yet a member, please consider joining the Georgia chapter of AER today! :)