Please see the email below from the director of the Indiana Educational Resource Center and have your voice heard in via the survey. Share with colleagues in your state or region. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Leslie Durst Good morning: As many of you know, I have been communicating our growing concerns over the past few years to my national contacts regarding the increasing amount of educational content that is being presented to our braille reading students in a digital and online format. Not only does the digital format and technology present challenges for our braille students and direct service providers, but so does the various platforms the content is being provided on, i.e. Learning Management Systems such as Canvas, etc. What makes this even more challenging is the lack of access to NIMAS publisher files to expedite braille conversion of publisher created content as the NIMAS legislation does not cover “born-digital content” (no print equivalent), only print instructional materials. I believe our concerns are being heard by those in a position to make a difference. A subcommittee from the National AEM Center and NIMAC are now addressing this specific issue. This is really great news!! Now we need your help please! The subcommittee has developed a survey to gather feedback regarding the experiences and challenges you are facing as you provide direct services to our students related to the use of born digital instructional materials. It is a joint effort by the National Instructional Materials Access Center at APH (NIMAC) and the National AEM Center, and is designed to help them better understand how digital material is affecting braille reading students in K-12, so that they and other stakeholders can formulate strategies going forward. Please help them by completing the survey and telling them what you know and what you are experiencing. This is an opportunity for us to help guide change at a national level for the students we serve! You can complete the survey using the link below. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/braille If the email is printed out, the survey can also be accessed by mobile devices using the QR code found at the bottom of this message. Please feel free to share this survey with other colleagues you feel could provide input. *The survey will close on October 21, 2018. * [image: cid:image001.jpg@01D45CA7.20010AA0] <https://maps.google.com/?q=7725+N.+College+Avenue+%0D%0A+Indianapolis+IN+46240&entry=gmail&source=g> Thank you for your time to complete the survey! Leslie C. Durst, Director Indiana Educational Resource Center Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired 7725 N. College Avenue <https://maps.google.com/?q=7725+N.+College+Avenue+%0D%0A+Indianapolis+IN+46240&entry=gmail&source=g> Indianapolis IN 46240 <https://maps.google.com/?q=7725+N.+College+Avenue+%0D%0A+Indianapolis+IN+46240&entry=gmail&source=g> P: 317-554-2740 Toll-Free: 800-833-2198 Fax: 317-475-9181 -- Katie Crawford Teacher/Consultant for Students who are Blind or Low Vision Orientation and Mobility Specialist