FIMC-VI Moodle Courses
Course Descriptions
Courses in the FIMC-VI Moodle site are intended for all stakeholders involved in the education of students with a visual impairment and who reside in Florida. After you submit the registration form, an email will be sent to you with self-enrollment links for FIMC-VI's Moodle courses. Click on those links to set up an account or log-in. You will have the opportunity to reset your password if necessary. To log in to your selected courses after you have self-enrolled, visit Moodle and log in using the information you used to set up an account. If you need assistance or have questions about any of the courses, please contact information@fimcvi.org.
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FIMC-VI Moodle Courses
What to Do if You Are Working with a Student Who is Blind or Visually Impaired
Dates: Ongoing and Year-Round | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course That You Can Start at Any Time
Description: Designed for teachers (classroom, P.E., music, art, etc.) therapists, and paraprofessionals that are new to the needs of students with visual impairments. However, any school-based personnel working with students with visual impairments would benefit from completing these modules.
The course includes 5 modules, each containing videos and activities. Participants may earn up to 5 inservice credit hours, subject to district approval. To be eligible for inservice credit, participants must complete Modules 1–4, which are worth 2.5 inservice credit hours. Participants who complete any of the five quizzes in Module 5 may earn an additional 0.5 credit hours per quiz, for a maximum of 2.5 additional credit hours total.
The Impact of Deafblindness on Learning and Development
Dates: Ongoing and Year-Round | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course That You Can Start at Any Time
Description: The Florida and Virgin Islands Deafblind Collaborative (FAVI) and the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI) have collaborated to create this new learning opportunity using materials developed by the National Center on Deafblindness. These are professional learning modules for practitioners who want to improve their knowledge of deafblindness and gain practical skills that are essential for working with students who are deafblind. The intended audience is teachers from a variety of areas (e.g., special education, visual impairment, deaf/hard of hearing, severe/multiple disabilities), related service providers, and administrators. Participants may earn up to 14 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.
Early Intervention for Children Who Are Deafblind
Dates: Ongoing and Year-Round | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course That You Can Start at Any Time
Description: Early intervention providers working with infants and toddlers who are deafblind and their families need to have a clear understanding of how deafblindness impacts learning and development. They also require knowledge of practical strategies that can be used to support a child and family during these critical early years. This course explores the foundations of early intervention with children who are deafblind and how providers can best encourage their communication and concept development. Lessons include ways of expanding a child’s world to more people, places, and things as well as important strategies for supporting the transition to preschool. Participants may earn 14 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.
Communicating with Children Who Are Deafblind
Dates: Ongoing and Year-Round | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course That You Can Start at Any Time
Description: Children who are deafblind must have communication options that make it possible for them to access and understand messages from others. And they must have ways to express their wants, needs, choices, thoughts, and feelings in ways others will understand. For children with typical hearing and vision, communication develops naturally as they see, hear, and interact with others. But children who are deafblind don’t have those same opportunities. They require intensive, individualized instruction from knowledgeable educators who understand their unique ways of communicating. This module examines the many ways children who are deafblind communicate. It offers essential information, strategies, and detailed examples of how to
- Develop and expand communication skills at all levels
- Provide effective access to the general education curriculum
- Create stronger connections with others
- Because the content in each lesson builds on that of prior lessons, module participants are encouraged to complete the lessons in order.
Just Keep Swimming with JAWS
Dates: Ongoing | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course — Flexible Start Time
Description: This course will cover basic computer concepts, Windows and JAWS keyboard commands, and the use of Microsoft 365 applications with a screen reader. There will be tips and suggestions throughout the course of how to teach these concepts to students. Participants may earn up to 10 inservice credit hours for completion of Modules 1-8, if approved by your district.
Staying Afloat on the Internet with JAWS
Dates: Ongoing | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course — Flexible Start Time
Description: This course will cover basic internet concepts, navigation skills, and strategies using JAWS. Navigating Google Workspace with JAWS is included. Participants may earn up to 5 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.
By the end of this course, participants will:
- Learn at least 5 web navigation commands and hotkeys for efficient internet navigation and exploration.
- Learn 2-3 web navigation strategies and instructional techniques.
- Learn about and utilize 3-5 resources for teaching web navigation.
Accessibility Considerations and Implementation for Students with Visual Impairments
Dates: Ongoing and Year-Round | Coming Soon
Type: Independent, Self-Paced Course That You Can Start at Any Time
Description: Participants will learn accessibility principles and best practices in popular platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. This content primarily focuses on strategies and tips for creating accessible documents for people with visual impairments but benefit everyone. Participants can earn 2.5 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.
By the end of this course, participants will:
- Learn how to create born accessible materials through Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
- Learn about and utilize built-in accessibility checkers to popular platforms.
- Learn 2-3 strategies to ensure content is readable to a screen reader user.
Psychoeducational Assessment for School Psychologists and TSVIs
Dates: Ongoing | Coming Soon
Type: Year-Round Course That You Can Join at Any Time
Description: School psychologists and teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs) are invited to join this course where they will have access to resources related to psychoeducational assessment of students with visual impairments. This course includes a list of cognitive and processing subtests to consider when assessing students with visual impairments, a risk list for combined vision and hearing loss, relevant webinars from the American Printing House for the Blind, and a discussion board to post questions to the group. Upon completing an optional quiz, participants may earn 3 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.
Braille Learning Community
Dates: Ongoing | Coming Soon
Type: Year-Round Resource Site That You Can Join at Any Time
Description: This course is intended for individuals who wish to learn braille or improve their braille skills in order to better serve students with visual impairments in Florida. This course includes a variety of literary and math braille resources to support and extend participants' knowledge of braille codes, including both UEB Math/Science and UEB with Nemeth. A discussion board for participants to post related questions as well as a board for sharing braille files are both available. Seasoned and certified braille transcribers are welcome to join and help others become more proficient. FIMC-VI staff and a learning community of peers will support those completing literary and math Unified English Braille (UEB) modules at UEBonline.org. Participants may earn up to 50 inservice credit hours, if approved by your district.