We hope you had a wonderful summer and that you are settling into the new school year. We have a lot of great information for you in our first Tech Notes in the 2016-2017 school year. We hope you find it useful.

In addition, we've recently undergone a transition. The Outreach Services for the Blind/Visually Impaired and Deaf/Hard of Hearing (OSBD) project has been combined with RMTC-D/HH project. RMTC-D/HH will continue its vision of working collaboratively with school districts and other discretionary projects to support the education of students who are deaf/hard of hearing throughout Florida. RMTC-D/HH will continue to serve as an information and referral resource for school districts serving students who are blind/visually impaired, as well as remain the lead in the provision of How to Screen for Usher Syndrome training. Referrals for vision-related support will be made to the following agencies and discretionary projects as appropriate: Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI), Critical Initiatives in Visual Impairment Project (CIVI) and the Florida Low Vision Initiative (FLVI), Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB), and the Florida and Virgin Islands Deaf-Blind Collaborative (FAVI).

There are many great resources in Florida dedicated to assisting you in your work with students who have sensory loss. Please continue to reach out to RMTC-D/HH with your questions. If we aren't the best resource for your specific request, we will make sure to connect you to the project with the expertise in providing the support you need.

Cara is the newest member of the RMTC-D/HH team, serving as the Deaf Education and Transition Coordinator, providing training and technical assistance to support teachers and other professionals working with students who are deaf/hard of hearing statewide. Cara is passionate about assisting teachers in the development of educational curriculum/ assessment, accommodations and assistive technologies specific to transition-aged students. She brings considerable experience, working most recently as the District Specialist for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program in Duval County. Cara has expertise in Transition, Itinerant Services, and Expanded Skills. She is also a member of the National Deaf Agenda Florida Team who participated in the National Summit Transition Project. She graduated from Flagler College with her BA in Deaf Education and Elementary Education, and she graduated with her Masters from the University of North Florida. 

The Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing is pleased to announce registration is now open for "Assessing Language Skills in Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing" presented by Mandy Longo and Katherine Robinson. This professional development opportunity will be held on October 17, 2016 in Kissimmee, Florida at the Osceola County School District Transportation Building.

For questions, contact Laura McDonald at laura.mcdonald@rmtcdhh.org or 800-356-6731

Welcome back, Florida! I hope all of you had an amazing Summer! We sure did at RMTC-D/HH! I am excited to get back on the road to visit with you and see what new and exciting things you are doing in your classroom.

Note: Students who are 18 can register and vote. Civics and other classrooms will be talking about politics. Captions level the playing field by providing information for students who cannot hear, as well as provide an additional modality for students with learning disabilities.

The 2016 U.S. general election will be held on Tuesday, the 8th of November 2016. This election year will feature the competitive Presidential election and elections to the United States Congress. There will also be municipal, school board, and other local office, gubernatorial, and state legislative elections in many states. Finally, there will be votes on numerous citizen initiatives.

Informed voting is crucial, and captions are vital for citizens who are deaf and hard of hearing. The campaign called "Captions Capture the Votes" was initiated by the Collaborative for Communication Access Via Captioning (CCAC). This campaign educates, raises awareness, and advocates for access to candidate messages on all media and during live events with quality captioning. Visit the CCAC Facebook page for more information.

Use DCMP media to teach your kids about America's democratic process. Younger kids learn about the power and privilege of voting in Ameriquest Kids: Your Right to Vote, and then are taught what it takes to become president of the United States in How to Elect a President. Older kids learn from an academy award winning filmmaker when they view A Time for Justice: America's Civil Rights Movement, along with the Film Ideas, Inc. production Guerrilla Guide to Politics. More accessible media on the topic can be found by browsing the DCMP catalog under subjects such as "government" and "political science."