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Summary of NBA Fall Professional Development Conference
In Minneapolis, the host city for the NBA Fall Professional Development Conference, 107 transcribers, teachers and school personnel participated in training courses October 24-27. The conference began with a session about NIMAS and the impact of the new file format on materials for students who read braille.
On Thursday-Saturday, two unique courses focused on specific topics: Braille Formats and the NBA Formats certification test, and the challenges and solutions for providing quality braille to students on a day-to-day basis in school settings. Sessions also included software training, Promising Practices for Early Literacy, Nemeth challenges, Music Braille and Tactile Graphics.
Special evening activities included a trip to the Mall of America, hosted by Volunteer Braille Services, and a tour of State Services for the Blind followed by dinner and excellent entertainment.
Evaluations and participant feedback indicate that the meeting format offering intensive focus on one topic was appreciated. A teacher commented that implementing some of the ideas presented during the course would enhance service to all of his students who are braille readers. A transcriber commented that she was more ready to take the certification test for Braille Formats because of the focused training.
NBA offers a big thank you to all of the guest presenters, Board members and transcribers from the Minneapolis area who worked so hard to make this event a success. NBA also thanks all who attended the courses for trying out a new conference format, for sharing your ideas, and for making it a successful professional development experience.
The next conference will be in Dallas, and the details will be posted here soon. The NBA is looking forward to seeing you there!