Virtual Community Paper Abstract:

Issue:

- Within the next five years, the New York State School for the Blind (NYSSB) will witness the retirement of nearly two-thirds of the schools teachers certified as teachers of the visually impaired (TVI).

Virtual community Proposal:

- The intent of the community is to design a process for staff to access instructional modules, resources, teaching techniques, topic information related to the educational needs of students who are blind, multiply impaired and accumulated tips and knowledge of seasoned professional teachers.

Members:

- The site would initially be for teachers, instructor assistants, residential aides, and related service staff who provide direct service to the children at the school. In time, the site could be made available for others to use.

Instructional Format:

- To ensure all learners will successfully acquire knowledge, the instructional modules will attempt to encompass these factors, and incorporate the theory of constructivism and the principles of Information Processing.

Community Design:

- Initially, the project would involve development of the web design, layout, and instructional format, and then tested for ease of use, accessibility, and standardization.

- This proposal entails using a preconfigured web-hosting site that packages a number of script handling options, such as MySiteSpace.com, to act as a server for the proposal.

- Content information needs to be presented as HTML documents with PHP data to create interactivity within the pages. In addition, JavaScript provides a useful tool for creating multimedia elements, such as moving text, sound, plugins, or open new windows for improved site navigation.

Communication:

- Communication features will include options for creating chat rooms, email accounts, and weblogs, per course.

Sample lesson:

- A sample lesson will be added demonstrating activities for transference of information from short-term to long-term memory.