Seasons Greetings! The AIM Center team wishes you a lively and bright holiday season filled with many opportunities to enjoy family and friends!
December can be a crazy time with many priorities vying for your attention, yet we encourage you to take advantage of this month's free and readily available learning opportunities highlighted below. The AIM Center webinars are an hour well spent - especially since they are targeted directly to specific audiences: state leaders, local leaders, AIM implementers. And, we've made it easier to stay current with what's happening in the fast-moving world of digital technology, instructional materials and learning with links to AIM-vetted newsworthy articles and briefs, posted below and on our AIM Center homepage. As always, we are here to answer your questions. Give us a call at (781) 245-2212 or email us at aim@cast.org. We are here to support you and your good work!
With warm wishes for an enjoyable holiday season,
The AIM Center Team
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What Works in Open Territory States: Developing and Maintaining a System that Ensures Timely Delivery of AIM in Open Territory States
DATE: December 6, 2011
TIME: 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EST
This webinar brings together state leaders to discuss key issues and actions related to the timely provision of accessible instructional materials in states in which materials are selected and acquired by individual districts, schools, and/or classrooms.
AUDIENCE: SEA and LEA leaders involved in system development
PRESENTER(S): State AIM Coordinators with Joy Zabala
What Works in Textbook Adoption States: Developing and Maintaining a System that Ensures Timely Delivery of AIM
DATE: December 8, 2011
TIME: 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. EST
This webinar brings together state leaders to discuss key issues and actions related to the timely provision of accessible instructional materials in states in which materials are acquired primarily by state-level adoption.
AUDIENCE: SEA and LEA leaders involved in system development
PRESENTER(S): State AIM Coordinators with Joy Zabala
Implementing AIM at the Local Level: Practical Applications and Supportive Resources
DATE: December 14, 2011
TIME: 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EST
This webinar provides highlights of the online, downloadable AIM Implementation Guide and accompanying video followed by a discussion of challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned by successful implementers of AIM at district and school levels.
PRESENTER(S): District and school implementers with Joy Zabala
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AIM Center Selects Top 3 Newsworthy Articles on AIM Issues
Helping you stay current on news from the field
National Federation of the Blind Condemns Lack of Access to New Kindle Fire
10 Sites Where You Can Read Books Online
Digital Book-Sharing Unlocks Print for Students
Be sure to visit the AIM Center homepage for near-daily postings of articles on trends in e-books and publishing, accessibility issues in education, and assistive technology tools. All articles are archived.
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Annual AIM Center Advisory Committee to Meet in January
The public is encouraged to attend and observe
The annual AIM Advisory Committee meeting will be held January 23-24, 2012 just prior to the ATIA Conference at the Caribe Royale Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. We will be using a "structured dialogic design" approach to address issues regarding the barriers to providing accessible instructional materials (AIM) via commercial and open education resource markets. Dr. Aleco Cristakis, CEO of the management consultancy firm, CWA Ltd., has been engaged as the facilitator.
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Winter NIMAS Standards Board Meeting
The public is encouraged to attend and observe
The NIMAS Standards Board will hold its winter meeting to coincide with the ATIA Conference at the Caribe Royale Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
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STAY CONNECTED
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Meet the AIM Center Team
|   Joanne Karger, AIM Center Team |
Joanne Karger, J.D., Ed.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in Universal Design for Learning at CAST and Boston College Lynch School of Education. She previously worked as an attorney at the Center for Law and Education, where she represented low-income students and provided technical assistance to other attorneys in education cases involving IDEA, Section 504, and Title I/NCLB. Dr. Karger has also served as a consultant to the AIM Center, analyzing legal and policy issues associated with the provision of AIM to students with print disabilities. As part of her fellowship this year, she is continuing to work on AIM-related issues, including an analysis of the relationship between AIM and UDL.
Fran Smith, AIM Center Team
Fran Smith, Ed.D, CVE, is a postdoctoral UDL Fellow in residence at CAST and Boston College Lynch School of Education. As part of the AIM team she brings expertise in the development of universally designed technologies and instructional materials in postsecondary and transition environments. Dr. Smith has worked in the collective fields of assistive technology, instructional technology, distance learning, and career assessment for over 30 years. Her current research focuses on UDL in postsecondary classrooms and the use of social media in education.
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COMING SOON From the AIM Center!
| AIM Implementation Stories - In the months ahead, the AIM Center will be developing what we hope will become a dynamic series of AIM Implemention Stories to be featured and disseminated in the AIM Connector e-newsletter, on the AIM Center website, in online forum discussions, and other mechanisms for sharing.
In essence we want to support and maximize your opportunities for learning from each other by bringing to light common challenges, strategies that have worked (or not), resources you have developed and believe might be helpful to others, AIM-related news from your state - all in the service of improving the timely delivery of high-quality accessible educational materials to students with disabilities.
if you are interested in learning more about this project and becoming involved please contact us at aim@cast.org.
TA Tips
AIM Center staff will be at the ATIA Orlando Conference in late January. We hope to see many of you there and have an opportunity to talk with you about the challenges and successes you have experienced with accessible instructional materials at both systemic and student levels.
Between now and the, we wish you an enjoyable and revitalizing holiday season.
Joy Zabala
Director of Technical Assistance
CAST and AIM Center
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