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Welcome Back!

 
Welcome back written on a chalkboard next to an owl with glasses and RMTC logo

Welcome back to school! We are so excited to collaborate with you! We hope that you have soaked up the sun (with sunscreen) and enjoyed some well-deserved relaxation! RMTC-D/HH has been hard at work this summer getting ready for the 2022-2023 school year. Keep reading to see all that we have in store!

 

Florida in the F.A.S.T. Lane

Florida is the first in the nation to fully transition to progress monitoring

New changes are happening for educators in Florida. On March 15, 2022, Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1048 into law. This law replaces the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) with Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.), a state standards-aligned progress monitoring protocol. Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, Florida students will take three F.A.S.T. progress monitoring check-ins in the fall, winter, and spring.


As a project, RMTC-D/HH will support educators working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing through the transition from FSA to F.A.S.T. by providing technical assistance regarding progress monitoring and accessible progress monitoring procedures specifically for students who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH).

Read more about F.A.S.T.

Still Need to Get Away? Join Passport to Learning

Passport to Learning with a map a camera and a passport

RMTC-D/HH is proud to be a collaborative partner with the Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention Technology and Learning Connections (TLC) Passport to Learning micro-credential professional learning system. 


Check out this information from the TLC Passport to Learning website: 


You, the "traveler," can apply for a "passport" (an online account) and then sign up for one or more pre-planned travel packages. Each travel package includes a number of competency-based "destinations." Your "passport" receives a stamp (badge) for each completed travel package and you will receive a certificate of inservice hours earned. You will also have the option of earning CEUs.

 

Participants will have the opportunity this fall to increase their knowledge on many assistive technology topics. These topics are important to teachers specializing in the field of deafness because assistive technology is more than amplification. Students who are DHH may need a plethora of assistive technologies in order to access their environment.


RMTC-D/HH will not be taking a journey this fall. We will begin the next sensory strand in the Spring of 2023. Be sure to check out the other strands available. Come on a journey with us. 

Learn more about Passport to Learning

News from RMTC-D/HH

TA-Live!

TA Live High Leverage Practices in Special Education with RMTC logo in top right corner and first page of HLP publication in bottom right

RMTC-D/HH is excited to be continuing the Technical Assistance Live (TA-Live!) series on the High-Leverage Practices in Special Education from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). For the 2022-2023 school year, RMTC-D/HH will be focusing on HLPs 7-10. Previously posted videos of each of the HLPs can be viewed on the HLP TA-Live! Archive.


RMTC-D/HH will be continuing the “flipped” model of this TA-Live! professional development series. “Flipped” learning is basically these easy steps:

  • Complete the homework RMTC-D/HH posts which consists of watching a video and reading the associated HLP. The homework takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
  • Come to the technical assistance live (TA-Live!) discussion session. RMTC-D/HH will open the Zoom room early for participants to do the homework if they prefer to join a watch party.
  • Join the conversation during TA-Live! to share your ideas and solicit ideas from your colleagues.


For more information on the TA-Live! series, please visit the TA-Live! page.

When?

Were you unable to participate in previous TA-Live! discussion sessions? Never fear! RMTC-D/HH will be holding a review session August 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT).


Suggested Homework:

Register

Working with the Experts (WWE) - Watch Your Students Grow: Progress Monitoring

Avenue PM

Many teachers struggle to find adequate and appropriate tools developed for students who are DHH for monitoring progress of academic and linguistic skills. This fall, RMTC-D/HH will be hosting Working with the Experts - Watch Your Students Grow: Progress Monitoring featuring Sue Rose. This two-part professional development seminar reviews assessment principles, practices, and challenges experienced by teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (ToDHHs). The primary focus of the first seminar will be on valid and reliable strategies that can be used to monitor students’ progress in language, reading, and written expression. In the second session, professionals will be provided with hands-on practice using the avenuePM website as a tool for monitoring students’ progress, IEP data application, problem-solving, and instructional decision-making. But that’s not all! Participants will also receive individual coaching from RMTC-D/HH staff under the direction of Sue Rose as part of the activity. This opportunity is possible through RMTC-D/HH’s work as a Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) discretionary project in collaboration with Sue Rose, who is delivering content designed and developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota and Penn State University (v.3.8.3) in collaboration with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Ideas That Work.

When?

  • August 31, 2022, 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET (1:00-2:30 p.m. CT)
  • September 21, 2022, 12:30-3:30 p.m. ET (11:30-2:30 p.m. CT)
Register

Expanded Skills Community of Practice

This community of practice (CoP) professional development opportunity will allow Florida ToDHHs to collaboratively investigate a variety of resources to teach Expanded Skills standards to students who are DHH on their caseload. It will be a forum to learn more about the Expanded Skills Standards, recommended curricula, how to utilize the standards for specially designed instruction, and how to progress monitor the skills taught. Through this study, the team will collaborate to make the RMTC-D/HH Expanded Skills Year-Long Course Map a robust interactive resource for Florida teachers to use when planning instruction for students who are D/HH. In addition, teachers will create model lesson plans to be shared with Florida teachers. Upon completion of this CoP, teachers will have a bank of lesson plans organized by standard on the course map.


When?

The first Thursday of each month from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. ET (7:00 - 8:00 a.m. CT), via Zoom, from September 2022 through April 2023. Participants will also network on a discussion board in between virtual meetings.

Register

New Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (ToDHH) Professional Learning Community (PLC)

RMTC-D/HH is excited to announce the project will be hosting its fourth year of the New ToDHH Professional Learning Community. This PLC is designed to support new teachers entering the field of deaf education in the state of Florida either through a teacher prep program, completion of licensure, or transferring from out of state. Through this year-long collaboration stakeholders will learn about instructional practices, interventions, and evidence-based resources specific to the field of deaf education used to drive student academic growth.

Register

Get Your Sign On

Get Your Sign On with RMTC logo and a hand

RMTC-D/HH will be offering a new professional development opportunity called Get Your Sign On for the 2022-2023 school year. This hands-on immersive experience will provide an opportunity for educators to roll their sleeves up and dive into the world of American Sign Language by collaborating with others to develop and sharpen their skills in expressive and receptive communication in ASL. We encourage you to join us on this journey and welcome signers of any ability.


When?

Each event will take place virtually and be conducted solely in ASL. This monthly event will take place on the second Friday of each month from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET (2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CT).

Register

RMTC-D/HH Teacher Spotlight

RMTC-D/HH is looking for a few great teachers and YOU CAN HELP! The theme for September 2022 is based on the seventh high-leverage practice (HLP) from the CEC and CEEDAR Center's publication High-Leverage Practices in Special Education. The HLP7 states, "Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment." RMTC-D/HH is looking for teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing (ToDHHs) to show off their classrooms (or cars, closets, resource rooms, etc., if you are an itinerant) to demonstrate how you organize a learning environment specifically for students who are DHH. Fill out the form with your ideas!

Resources:


In order to keep all the resources in one place, RMTC-D/HH has created a LiveBinder that is categorized by the twenty-two “High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities” from the CEEDAR Center and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). To see the resources available by each category, check out the LiveBinder!

NEW Resources from the RMTC-D/HH Media and Materials Loan Library*:


*Florida stakeholders can borrow these and many other resources from RMTC-D/HH's Media and Materials Loan Library, for FREE. Each material comes with a return label, making even the shipping at no charge to the borrower.


New items have been added to the Media and Materials Loan Library. Check out some of the new items below!

 
TAPS4 A Language Processing Skills Assessment

TAPS-4 : A Language Processing Skills Assessment (Catalog # 1971)


The TAPS-4 provides information about language processing and comprehension skills across three intersecting areas: phonological processing, auditory memory and listening comprehension. These areas underpin the development of effective listening and communication skills, and are critical to the development of higher order language skills, including literacy skills.

 
The Listening Comprehension Test 2

The Listening Comprehension Test 2 (Catalog # 1972)


The Listening Comprehension Test 2 assesses listening through natural classroom situations rather than evaluating listening through simple repetition or discrimination subtests. The tasks reveal students' strengths and weaknesses in integrated language, problem solving, reasoning, and comprehension of material presented auditorily.

 
Listening Comprehension Test - Adolescent Normative Update

Listening Comprehension Test - Adolescent: Normative Update (LCT-A: NU)

(Catalog # 1973)


The LCT-A: NU evaluates a student's abilities in listening comprehension skills. Teachers can use the results to help students improve their skills and behaviors in both the classroom and in everyday listening situations. There are five subtests: Main Idea, Details, Reasoning, Vocabulary and Semantics, and Understanding Messages.

Signing with Khy
 

Signing with Khy

(Catalog # 1974)


An ABC sign language book with real live representation of the black and brown community. In this book, readers will learn the beginning steps to teaching themselves the alphabet in American Sign Language.

Kid Power - Confident Kids 10 Assignments

Kid Power - Confident Kids 10 Assignments: Creating A Common Understanding About People Safety

(Catalog # 1975)


In this book, readers will find short, cartoon-illustrated assignments that can be used in a classroom, youth group, or family to introduce and reinforce these Kidpower “People Safety” Skills.

DID YOU KNOW?

Polk County Color Guard


Did you know that three of the six members of the the Lakeland High School Color Guard Team in Polk County are deaf/hard of hearing? Read more about their success in this article.

 
Lakeland High School Color Guard with deaf student signing

SERID 2022


Did you know that the Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness (SERID) will be hosted in Florida this year? The conference is to be held October 13-16, 2022 at the Hilton Orlando in Altamonte Springs.

SERID Save the Date

ASL Vocabulary Test (ASL-VT)


The ASL Vocabulary Test (ASL-VT) from Sign Measures is currently free. The vocabulary test is for elementary students who are DHH to assess understanding of vocabulary in four ways: form recall, form recognition, meaning recall, and meaning recognition. Students’ responses can be spoken, written, signed, fingerspelled, or a combination. It takes approximately 70 minutes to complete the entire test but students can take breaks and return to the saved spot on the test. Sign up for your free account today.


Check out the RMTC-D/HH assessment page to see more ASL assessments.

IXL


The NTID Regional STEM Center (NRSC) provides STEM educational initiatives and career awareness for students who are DHH in twelve southern states (including Florida) at no cost to educators or districts. One of the initiatives is providing IXL as a free resource for ToDHHs to use as a progress monitoring tool and intervention. NRSC IXL Elevate Learning Training is available in ASL, spoken English, and is captioned.

First page of IXL flyer

Summit on Childhood Deafness


Did you know that the Florida Educators of Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (FEDHH) Conference is not happening this year? It’s only because this year will be a Summit on Childhood Deafness! FEDHH is in the planning stages of getting the summit ready for a wide variety of professionals in the field of deaf education. In addition to the content for teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing, there will be presentations appropriate for SLPs, educational audiologists, administrators, and interpreters. Save the date for the summit which will be held November 10-12, 2022, with pre-conference options available for November 9, 2022.

 
FEDHH logo

Florida Hands & Voices


Florida Hands & Voices (FL H&V) has new leadership! FL H&V will be hosting a state-wide virtual open forum to discover how they can best serve families with children who are DHH on Thursday August 4, 2022 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00-10:00 a.m. CT). For more information, please email the executive director, Camille Smith, at executivedirector@flhv.org

Florida Hands and Voices flyer for event in Aug 2022

FSDB’s Fun Things Going On

Do More. Be More. Achieve More.

The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) invites role models who are deaf to come and share with students on campus. FSDB archives videos of the visits on the FSDB Vimeo channel


Here are a few samplings of past role models:


Upcoming Events: Save the Date!



Check out the RMTC-D/HH 2022-2023 Calendar for more upcoming events!

 

Quick Links

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DeafTEC Information

RMTC-D/HH Team

Carmelina Hollingsworth

Sherry Conrad

Mark Keith

Laura McDonald

Nancy McFalls

Candace McIntire

Scott Walsh

Cara Wilmot

RMTC-D/HH provides Tech Notes as a free resource to teachers, professionals, and parents around the state in order to pass along potentially useful information and expand the knowledge and opportunities available to educators and families of children who are deaf/hard of hearing. This email was funded by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Part B funds. The information included does not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved.

Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Florida School for the

Deaf and the Blind

 
 
 

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Suggested Citation:

Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf/Hard [RMTC-D/HH]. (2022, August). Back to school. Tech Notes. https://www.rmtcdhh.org/tech-notes-archive/