A Step Forward

Most of you have probably adapted to online teaching while some of you might still be struggling to adapt well. This week, we will be bringing back our best of episode where we will be talking about how we can make distance teaching easier with Jennifer Reeder. Jennifer is a teacher of the visually-impaired and an ACVREP-certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist. She will be sharing tips on...

It has been forever since I first started teaching yoga online to busy moms as my first side gig where I got to be at home with my own children during that time, and I also get to learn about all the backend of a business. I am so excited to be sharing this week’s podcast with you about how you can teach yoga virtually to your students. Yoga has tons of benefits where in this case, by practicing y...

The grind culture is no longer a culture that’s unfamiliar to us. We are actually rather involved in it by being a part of the society. In this week’s episode, we are talking all about the grind culture and how it affects the education system. You will get to understand how the culture actually affects students and also how it affects us, their teachers. You will also get to learn how you can actu...

It’s so exciting to know that we are entering the Blind Awareness and White Cane Day month which is my second favorite month in the entire year! This is the month to celebrate what it means to be a person with a visual impairment and letting them feel successful and independent as someone they’re capable of being. In this week’s podcast, you will get ideas on what you can do in order to let your s...

It has been quite a challenge adapting from teaching in person to teaching remotely especially when it comes to teaching Assistive Technology. We have had a few guests who came in, provided tips and shared their experiences on teaching remotely. However, this week’s podcast will be a little different from usual where we will be learning from Tim Richard. Tim Richard is a certified O&M Speciali...

Have you ever felt like you are stuck in a hamster wheel, spinning out of control and feeling scattered while your friends and colleagues seem to get a hang of things? My friend, don’t you worry as we will dive into what we can do in order to find a solution out of that situation. In this week’s podcast, we will be talking about tips on narrowing our focus in order to avoid feeling scattered. Thes...

The advancement of technology has provided access to more and more assistive techs that can help people who are visually impaired to lead a better life. However, the resources on how to properly operate the technologies are limited. In this week’s podcast, we are joined by yet another Youtuber, Carrie Morales of Live Accessible. Carrie shares her knowledge on assistive technologies on Youtube to h...

A lot has happened this year but it doesn’t stop us, everyone in Allied Independence, to continue to share information about what’s happening in the O&M world every week. This week, we are talking about fear. Fear is one of the reasons why we tend to get stuck in a situation where we can’t move forward but there is always a way to solve that problem. We will also be providing an update on all...

Technologies are everywhere in this day and time but how do we know which types of technology works best for, specifically, people who are visually impaired? In this week’s podcast, we welcome Sam Seavey who is well-known for his Youtube channel, The Blind Life, where he shares tips & tricks and information emphasizing on assistive technologies for people who are visually impaired. You will ge...

Are you looking to create a more engaging lesson plans? There are endless resources online that makes teaching virtually much more efficient and I’m sure most of you have heard of Google Slides. I have to say, they have a lot of mind blowing features that are not really out there. This week, you'll get to take away extra tips on how you can actually utilize Google Slides in order to engage with yo...

How can O&M Specialists support the special education teachers we work with? During the pandemic and beyond, collaborating with our students’ team members is the most efficient way to increase their skills when we aren’t there with them in person. We spend 1% of our students’ waking lives with them. The other 99% is with other people. And those people need to know how to do what we need them t...

Curious about how to approach the topic of racial inclusion, antiracism, and the Black Lives Matter movement with your students? Join Kassy and Sidnaya as they break down how to approach this subject with your students.  Links:  Kendi, I. How to Be an Antiracist DiAngelo, R. White Fragility

Teaching young children with visual impairments in a preschool setting is quite a unique situation in our field. This week, we welcome Katie Armstrong, M.S., CTVI, COMS, and Doctoral Candidate, who specializes in teaching young children with visual and multiple impairments to talk about her experiences leading a preschool classroom for children with visual and multiple impairments. 

I’ve been thinking and talking about remote learning a lot lately. With schools all over the country announcing that they will not be not be holding in-person classes this fall, it looks like the virtual classroom is here to stay — at least for a while. As with any change, this shift is going to bring about plenty of new challenges. Yes, there will be growing pains. But we have the choice to focus...

Now more than ever, with teaching moving further and further into a virtual space, it is imperative that we keep in mind our primary goal — improving the lives of our students. Orientation and Mobility is already a field that specializes in catering to a person’s specific needs, and the COVID-induced shift to online learning has certainly added another layer to that task. But instead of looking at...

We all love our students, that is why we chose this path. But as all teachers eventually discover, passion and long hours alone don’t get the job done. As a professional in the ever-changing educational system, it is all too easy to feel like you must sacrifice your personal life in order to be an effective teacher. We stay in the classroom as the parking lot empties, we bring our work home with u...

How do you practice guide technique during a pandemic? We have the responsibility to keep ourselves and our students safe right now. In this episode, we dive into four options for safely practicing guide technique during a pandemic. Find the rest of the show notes at https://astepforwardpodcast.com

So, you’ve just got thrown a curveball of a lifetime, just a few months ago. We've all had to relearn our jobs, and figure out how to do everything in a new way. With that in mind, I have some really good nuggets of information that are going to help bring your teaching and your association to the next level. This will take you step-by-step in this scientific approach to teaching online that I've...

The truth of the matter is that you can plan your lesson plans, all you want, they can be as detailed as you want them to be but when your students are not physically with you, things can be a little bit more difficult. The goal is to keep your lessons and lesson plans exciting enough that your students can tune out all of the distractions of their lives and actually pay attention and learn from y...

Peak behind the curtains of what it takes to bring an in-person conference online in 30 days. We will bring you the good, the bad, and the ugly as no truth is off limits in this episode.  Find the rest of the show notes on our Allied Independence blog page .

Internships are a great way to gain valuable hands-on, professional experience of your chosen profession. But is this practical to do while the quarantine is in full swing? Is the process mutually beneficial for both the mentor and the intern? I am happy to say that yes, both are possible my friends! My guests today are the amazing  Anna Peskin, who is a certified O&M specialist and her i...

Dona Sauerburger joins A Step Forward in a replay episode where she talks about her collaboration with APH. Their new product allows you to learn how to recognize when a car is too close for you to cross an uncontrolled intersection. The thing is, it can be taught remotely!  See Dona's webinar on their new product at : https://www.sauerburger.org/dona/Remote.html  

Versatility is one of humanity’s greatest strengths. We have always done our best to move on and continue on with our lives despite uncertain times. One great example of this is our initiative to transition to online platform to continue with our educational process now that schools have been paused. It has been challenging for both the teachers and the students but we’re thankful for trailblazers...

Things keep changing so fast! And it can get chaotic for sure! I know a lot of us are now working from home and are probably still trying to figure out how to do all of these things in your normal work description. You might also have your own children there and you might have to juggle what that looks like and how to figure it all out. It can get overwhelming and at this challenging time, it is v...

Have you always wanted to have your own profitable online event? But you have very limited experience with marketing? And don’t have a degree in business as well? Fear not, my friends, today, I am opening up the curtains so that I can show you a little bit of behind the scenes of how we've been able to create a very successful, complete business basically, out of nowhere! We will talk about the th...