De Witt & Associates to help organize the AccessAbilities 2006 Conference at William Paterson University

De Witt & Associates has been asked by William Paterson University to help organize the AccessAbilities 2006 Conference at the University in Wayne, NJ on March 16 and 17, 2006. The conference will focus on implementing assistive technology and augmentative/alternative communication in the classroom, and is especially designed for special education and regular teachers; teachers of the visually impaired; speech and language, occupational and physical therapists; assistive technology specialists; school administrators and child study team members.

This will be the first year that the AccessAbilities Conference will offer a significant emphasis on technology for students who are blind or visually impaired. By calling on resources throughout the industry, the Conference will provide a wide variety of presentations. Especially noteworthy will be the opportunity to receive hands-on training in William Paterson's state-of-the-art computer labs.

Classes will include such topics as Mac Screen Reader, Math Tools, How to Find and Download Classroom Materials from the Internet, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Integrating Notetakers into the classroom and much more.

For further information contact Stephanie Bassler at De Witt & Associates at stephanie@4dewitt.com or Christine Besko at WPU at beskoc@wpunj.edu. For registration details, visit www.wpunj.edu/AT.

What Our Clients Say:
“De Witt Courseware Enhances Training for Blind and Low Vision Students in all Walks of Life”
Laura Minicucci, Trainer, In-Sight.

The course of education has changed greatly over the years, both in traditional as well as specialized teaching methods. As a society, we have come to recognize that not everyone learns in the same fashion or at the same rate. The use of different tools and techniques can help to achieve positive results for different populations of students.

The same certainly holds true for students who are blind or visually impaired. Just ask Laura Minicucci, a trainer at In-Sight, a non-profit agency serving people who are blind or visually impaired, located in Warwick, Rhode Island. “We work with adult students who have different needs and are at different stages of their life.” states Minicucci. “Through the use of Courseware and software provided by De Witt & Associates, we are able to meet those needs effectively.”

As a trainer at In-Sight, Laura works primarily with adults ages 35 to 55, who often have different objectives. She uses ZoomText and JAWS in her classes and believes that the beauty of the Courseware is that it is easy to implement with students who need a lot of instruction as well as with those who require little or no support.

Minicucci's classes have had a variety of students. One student was a businessman who runs his own company and felt he needed to learn JAWS in order to be a better manager and to record his business ventures and activities. Another wanted to publish a book, and one elderly woman simply wanted to learn how to use e-mail so she could communicate with her family.

“The De Witt Courseware curriculum and lesson planning allows me to meet the varied needs of these students,” Minicucci notes.

“One of the biggest challenges in training has been the ability to keep computer learning from being boring,” she continues. “Computers can be frustrating and the trick is to keep the learning process entertaining and allow students to be successful. Once they are able to feel that, they get the bug and want to keep coming back for more.”

“ZoomText and JAWS have something for everyone,” Minicucci concludes, “whether the student is there for, business or personal goals, the Courseware keeps interest going in the classroom, which in turn helps students to keep on going.”

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Meet the Staff at De Witt & Associates
Del Basha, Supervisor, Field Operations

Del Basha joined De Witt & Associates in 1999 serving in dual roles: as an Associate in Computer Proficiency for Students, a program that provides visually impaired middle/high school students with computer training, and as an Instructor in the AccessTech program.

In 2003, Del was promoted to Coordinator of Field Operations, becoming directly responsible for four separate programs, the Education Regional Technology Assistance Center, Vocational Rehabilitation Regional Technology Assistance Center, AccessTech and Computer Proficiency for Students Programs. In 2005 alone, Del has been responsible for supervising the training and evaluation of more than 500 clients.

Del graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Biology and History and furthered his education by receiving extensive training in computer programming, language, Novell Networking, and PC troubleshooting. He is also certified in CPR and has served as a volunteer in the Emergency Room at JFK Hospital in Edison, New Jersey .

Del and his wife enjoy traveling and have visited Asia and the Middle East and are planning a tour of Europe in the near future.

When asked what the most gratifying part of his work is, Del replies, “You know your training is appreciated and making a difference when you receive an e-mail from a visually impaired client who tells you they didn't think they could ever use a computer and now they have become proficient. In so many cases it has opened up a whole new world for them and it's so rewarding to know I was able to make a contribution.”

Upcoming Events:

De Witt & Associates will be presenting at these upcoming conferences:

• ATIA, Orlando, Florida: January 18th through 21st

• CSUN, Los Angeles, California: March 22nd through 25th

We'll be sending out more details about our participation soon!