AfB Accessible Education Resources

For Parents Who Are Suddenly Homeschooling

• #AtHomeWithAPH Resources: APH is putting together a list of activities for you to do at home including experiments, lessons, and art. Also, stay tuned for a series of free webinars on some of their favorite products.

• Virtual Expanded Core Education Learning (ExCEL) Academy for Students with Visual Impairments offers free daily lessons for students with visual impairments. Paths to Literacy is collaborating with APH (American Printing House for the Blind) and CalState University to present this programming. Qualified teachers of students with visual impairments from around the country will be presenting a range of lessons. You can call in via Zoom or connect via the Internet.

• VISTAS Education Partners Inc is offering a National Homework Hotline for Blind/Visually Impaired Students (NHH-BVI): In response to the wave of K-12 school closures across the United States due to COVID-19, a few concerned teachers of students with visual impairments and advocates got together to organize a free, homework help hotline for blind/visually impaired students.

• Breezy Special Ed offers distance special education materials. This site has materials for students with a variety of disabilities. Several are specifically designed or blind students and some others are good for any student (such as the independent living skills/chore chart).

• Accessibyte Online is offering free access to its entire cloud platform of apps for blind, low vision, deaf and reading impaired students. Highly visual and fully audible typing tutor, games, flash cards.

• Working Together to Support Students with Visual Impairments to Access Curriculum: AFB's Director of Research, Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum, has launched a volunteer project to support our pre-K through high school students with visual impairments in gaining access to materials. We know that there are students with visual impairments who do not have full access to online curriculum, supplemental activities, or resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea of this project is to connect students and their families to volunteers who want to provide support during this unprecedented time of need. We're working to locate volunteers who can support students with needs. Update: Thank you so much to the 48 teachers who have signed up to volunteer! Families, let us know if you need support. Learn how you can provide or request support.

• Each Thursday at 11 am, NFB is offering interactive lessons for blind children and their families on Zoom. They are also developing online educational activities and lessons, including a braille story time. NFB is also collecting information on the needs of their members in order to more effectively serve them and direct NFB’s advocacy.