The PATINS Project provides a range of support services for impacting both the organizational capacity and the professional capabilities of Indiana’s local educational agencies in serving students with unique learning needs.  These services include:

• Operation of the Indiana Center for Accessible Instructional Materials (ICAM) www.icam.k12.in.us 
• Regional Lending Libraries 
• Technical Assistance and Training 
• Vendor Offered Discounts  
• PATINS Rapid Fire Blog 
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Blog 
• PATINS Refurbished Computer Program 
• Family Resources

Please visit this website for Call for Proposals information

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PATINS TV

PATINS TV IS HERE! On March 20th, 2012, PATINS began a new online video series on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM), Assistive Technology (AT), UDL and other collaborations with Indiana service providers.  Many of these videos will be LIVE broadcasts and they'll always be during lunch at 11:45am EST! They will all be short (15-minutes) and practical/applicable to your districts, schools, and classrooms right away.   The image above is a preview of what aired in the first (March 20th) episode.  On March 20th, Daniel McNulty and Jeff Bond provided a very short introduction followed by a demonstration of iBooks for your iPads, iTouches, iPhones and the start of a discussion on portable AIM tools which looked at comparing E-Ink Devices to LCD Devices and will be continued in future episodes.  Here's some additional info you'll need!

• PATINS TV Episodes will always the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month.  We will be on hiatus until August 7th!
• 11:45 - 12:00 EST  (lunch time learning)
• Plan to join 5 minutes early if you can.  You'll be prompted to install an optional piece of software the first time, which will make the video run smoother.
• We welcome questions, concerns, comments, AND SUGGESTIONS for future PATINS TV Topics that YOU want to have us cover!   Email:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• At the scheduled times, the PATINS TV Videos should start playing automatically with the link below.  Alternatively, you can click "View Live Schedule" on that web page.
• To View PATINS TV, simply visit the PATINS Project Video Collection webpage.
  
  

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DAISY NEWS

Make Images Accessible - Make Them Speak: Tobi Version 1.7 Has Been Released 04-28-2012

Technology for accessible publishing has gone through several phases of evolution since the birth of DAISY Consortium in 1996 enabling the print-disabled to achieve educational and professional goals that were considered nearly impossible for decades. The burden of accessible image preparation typically falls on educators who have limited time and tools for creating meaningful descriptions or accessible graphics. Students using text-based digital instructional materials are often presented with only the words "image" or "graphic" when the devices they use encounter illustrations, equations, graphics, photos or diagrams in textbooks.

In order to tackle one of the biggest obstacles for the visually challenged students pursuing studies in the field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), DIAGRAM Center was established by the U.S. Department of Education (Office of Special Education Programs).

The research conducted by DIAGRAM Center resulted in the development of a rich content model. In collaboration with the DIAGRAM Center, the DAISY Consortium developed image description workflow for Tobi, an open source multimedia production tool for creating accessible e-books. Tobi is the first production tool to support the full DIAGRAM content model. Image description workflow enables authors and publishers to describe diagrams in various ways. Descriptions can be long, succinct, simplified or alternative graphics. Besides the textual content describing the image, descriptions can be equipped with audio to make the images actually speak using either human voice recording or synthetic voice generated by text to speech engines.

Tobi also supports the insertion of alternative representations of images, including tactile graphics and/or simplified or high contrast versions, substituting the original image to accommodate readers with special needs. Users can embed image descriptions in new and existing DAISY books using the latest new feature and play them with their DAISY 3 supported player.

Tobi is designed to ease the process of synchronizing a text document with audio narration. "The greatest potential of Tobi is its simplicity – to be able to create synchronized content quickly and easily from a Word document and some handy tools for recording voice or importing audio files", says Craig Mill, Assistive Technology Advisor at CALL Scotland (Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning).

Please visit the Tobi project site (http://www.daisy.org/tobi) to download Tobi 1.7.2.0 with image description workflow. Existing users will receive the update automatically. Here you will also find the image description reference manual (http://www.daisy.org/tobi/image-description-manual) and quick start instructions (http://www.daisy.org/tobi/ImageDescriptionWorkflow) to get acquainted with the image description feature and watch the video tutorial.

Tobi development will now be focused on providing support for EPUB 3 specification in the release scheduled later this year.

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DAISY to EPUB Converter 2.0

The PATINS Indiana Center for Accessible Instructional Materials (ICAM) is pleased to announce that as of December 22, 2011, Daisy to ePub Converter version 2.0 is available for download.

Here are the Key Changes:

• Supports Microsoft Word (docx), txt, and html in addition to DAISY and NIMAS
• Accessibility interface enhancements to support users with visual and physical challenges
• Simple way to view and add alt text for images when converting
• Batch Processing (converts multiple files at once)

With DAISYtoEPUB, it’s easy to convert files in a three-step process:

1. Select the file and choose a location to save the converted file
2. Click convert
3. Transfer the EPUB file to the portable device or computer

To obtain your Software, please visit the ICAM web page.

 The DAISYtoEPUB software works on Mac 10.4, Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

For more information, please visit the Don Johnston web page or contact your PATINS Regional Site Coordinator.

Other information

• To obtain your Software, please visit the ICAM web page.
• Please visit the ICAM webpage for detailed instructions on installing an ePub on your iPad
  
  

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AIM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN SERIES

The PATINS Project hosted a three-part series on AIM to Start Early: Implementing Accessible Materials with Young Children with national presenters Kelly Fonner, Scott Marfilius and Donna McNear.

Feb. 6, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST - The first event in the series was a webinar with Scott and Donna that covered the current educational contexts for using AIM with young children, as well as foundational concepts, research implications, developmentally appropriate practices and the instructional framework.  You will need to visit this web page to fill out the follow-up survey for the first event.

Mar. 5, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST - The second event in the series were videos with Kelly, Scott and Donna that encompassed implementation with demonstration of appropriate technology tools and software and instructional supports.  You will need to visit this web page to fill out the follow-up survey for the second event.

April 2, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST -The final event was a follow-up webinar with Kelly and Scott that focused on developing a plan for implementation and program development/improvement.  You will need to visit this web page to fill out the follow-up survey for the third event.

Visit the PATINS Video Collection Library Channel web page for viewing these archived videos.  Click on the AIM for Young Children Channel using the dropdown arrow in the All Channels box in the middle of the page.   Please note viewing these videos on a Mac computer requires the Chrome browser.  If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Stabenfeldt at 812-490-7927.

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ISTEP+/End of Course Assessments: Computer-Based or Paper Pencil Mode?

This document will assist with the challenge educators face when deciding whether a student should be taking the computer-based ISTEP+/End of Course Assessments or if there should be a request submitted to the Indiana Department of Education, Office of Student Assessment, to allow a student to take the state assessment in a pencil-paper format.

Have you seen our video which tells about PATINS? We are pleased to announce our new video channel!  It can be accessed here!  You can find this video as well as many other videos on our new page.