PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Special Meeting

The Board of Commissioners to the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired will hold a special meeting on Friday, June 4, 2021, beginning at 10:30 A.M.  The nature of the meeting is the approval of a Final Order in the Peterson-Wendt vs. Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired case. 

The meeting will be held via videoconferencing (Zoom). 

Should any member of the public or media desire to join the video conference, please email Kathy Stephens at the Nebraska Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired at kathy.stephens@nebraska.gov prior to 9:00 a.m. Friday, June 4, 2021.  You may also call Kathy Stephens at 402-471-8101 to request instructions on how to join the video conference and to receive an agenda. 

The Board of Commissioners to the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired will meet Friday, July 30, 2021, beginning at 9:00 A.M.  The Focus Topic will be an update on the Robotics training.

The meeting will be held at 530 North 17^th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska in the Red Cloud Suite within Willa Cather Dining Hall on the main floor.

If reasonable accommodations are needed, please contact NCBVI at 402-471-2891 as soon as possible.  Every effort will be made to arrange the needed accommodation.  An agenda may be obtained after July 26 by calling 877-809-2419 during regular business hours.

Since its inception in 1974, the Nebraska Center for the Blind has been transforming the lives of blind Nebraskans, helping them to be productive, contributing members of society. Students not only learn the skills necessary for independence and employment, but they also learn the importance of accepting challenges, setting goals, holding high expectations, and having a true understanding of blindness.  Classes at the Center include instruction in Cane Travel, Braille, Home Management, Computers, and Woodshop.  

The Center uses a method of training called Structured Discovery. This method of instruction has become nationally recognized as one of the most effective models for providing rehabilitation training, and is now being adopted by other Centers for the blind around the country. Read the Article Understanding Structured Discovery for an explanation of this teaching methodology.

• In Braille class, students learn to read and write effectively using the Braille code making it possible for them to access books and other written materials.  Using the Braille code, students take notes, label items, organize appointments and schedules, and maintain records and files.  They can also use the Braille code to use iOS devices like the iPhone and assistive devices for the blind.  
• In Home Management, students learn how to select recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and label and organize food and household items.  Students develop alternative techniques for cooking, cleaning, and crafts, and they learn skills such as budgeting, using a talking calculator, handwriting, and other activities of daily living.
• In Computers, students learn to use the keyboard non-visually to navigate programs without using a mouse.  Using alternatives, students gain experience with word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, and social media.  They learn to use adaptive software promoting maximum productivity and efficiency on the job.  
• In Woodshop, students learn alternative skills for operating power tools and equipment found in a typical woodworking shop.  Non-visual techniques are used to design and build a project.  Students also work on essential home maintenance and repairs.  Woodshop helps students understand that blindness need not be a barrier to learning new skills.
• In Travel, students learn to navigate safely and independently using the long white cane and environmental information and cues to go wherever they want.  Students learn how to cross busy streets, access public transportation, locate addresses, and solve problems along the way.

During Center training, students live in separate apartments in downtown Lincoln, providing opportunities for incorporating the non-visual skills they’ve learned into everyday life.

In addition to skills training, students participate in weekly seminars promoting a more positive understanding of blindness and self-awareness.  Seminars focused on blindness raise personal expectations and self-confidence in preparation for later employment and full participation in community life.  Students also explore possible career choices, learn how to write resumes and cover letters, and practice and refine their interviewing and employment-related skills.

Greater use of community resources is fostered through participation in a wide range of activities within the community to demonstrate that the world is accessible to blind people. Activities provide opportunities to plan events, interact with the public, and pursue a variety of exciting challenges.  Students are pushed beyond their comfort zone, educating themselves and the general public about the true abilities of blind people.

QUOTES from past students:

• "My Center training has given me the confidence to fulfill my dreams and live my life to the fullest.”  Staci Cloyd
• “Center training helped me learn the foundational skills for using the computer nonvisually. It provided me with problem-solving skills and techniques to learn new technologies.”  Wes Majerus

To learn more about our program, please call the Nebraska Commission for the Blind at (877) 809-2419.  

Live the life you choose!

NBPCB Code of Conduct:  https://www.nbpcb.org/pages/code-of-conduct.php

Spanish Translation:  Centro para ciegos de Nebraska

French Translation:  Centre du Nebraska pour les aveugles

More Resources

Living the Dream of Independence

Puttin’ It All Together: Robotics STEM Academy

The first ever Puttin’ It All Together: Robotics STEM Academy is being held from Sunday July 25 through Friday July 30, 2021, in the Red Cloud Suite within the Willa Cather Dining Center on UNL’s main Lincoln campus. Dr. Chuck Gardner, Director of Curriculum at CYBER.ORG along with CYBER.ORG Curriculum Development Specialist Jon Ownby, have traveled to Nebraska from Louisiana to share their expertise and enhance the overall capacity for completing STEM tasks for 15 of our NCBVI transition-aged clients. These clients come from all corners of the state and span the entire length of our coverage area. Four of them have also participated in WAGES this summer and another four are currently enrolled at the Nebraska Center for the Blind.

The entire Puttin’ It All Together: Robotics STEM Academy is taking place on UNL’s campus as participants are staying in the University Suites Residence Hall and eating meals in Willa Cather Dining Center, which adds a college preparatory aspect to the program. The basic structure of the Robotics STEM Academy consists of participants spending Monday through Thursday in training for 8 hours each day, concentrating on the Robotics and STEM skills development and then spending the evenings engaged in seminars and other community outing activities, which continue the learning and create a bit of fun in the process. JB&K Services out of Colorado is providing the evening activity oversight and overnight dorm coverage. They are a Pre-ETS provider partner who has contracted with NCBVI in the past to enhance our client’s leadership and work readiness skills development. They are leading STEM Academy specific activities but are also inviting and sometimes joining the WAGES group for joint experiences, such as the indoor climbing wall at UNL.

Now, about the main training. CYBER.ORG’s robotics curriculum has been designed with accessibility for the blind in mind from the ground up. All participants are receiving, assembling, and programming their own BOE-Bot robots. These bots are rover-like vehicles with two front rubber wheels and one rear wheel, kind of reverse tricycle style. They can be assembled independently by blind persons with very little to no adaptation to how sighted folks would assemble them. Once together, they are programmed in the BASIC programming language in software that is both low vision and text to speech compatible. Lines of code can even be written and imported from Microsoft Word. Each of the participants is also receiving a new Windows-based PC to complete the coding and to use throughout the remainder of their school or beginning work journey’s. Once the participants construct more complex circuits various sensors and components, the bots can be programmed to perform a variety of tasks. There are sensors to measure distances, measure gravity and acceleration, create led lights, output speech through a synthesized voice and speaker and much more. I believe the Board of Commissioners and other interested parties will be seeing this first hand at the culminating showcase we like to call the Robot Rally. We also have a BOE-Bot on hand for folks to check out during the focus topic session.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Blind Licensee’s Committee Meeting

The Nebraska Business Enterprise (NBE) Program’s Blind Licensee Committee meeting originally scheduled for Saturday, September 11, 2021, has been re-scheduled to meet on Friday, September 17, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. c.s.t.

Meeting location is the Nebraska Commission for The Blind & Visually Impaired – 4600 Valley Road, Suite 100 – Lincoln District conference room.

Because of the fluidity of COVID 19 & the Delta Variant, unvaccinated individuals will be required to wear a mask.  Masks for vaccinated individuals are optional, but encouraged. Social distancing will be observed during the meeting.

If any reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact us prior to September 14, 2021 by calling NCBVI at 402-471-2891 or 877-809-2419.  We will make every effort to arrange the accommodation. An agenda may be obtained by calling 877-809-2419 during regular business hours.

Minutes (3-5-2021)

Minutes (5-14-2021)

Minutes (9-17-2021)

Minutes (Special Meeting 9-28-2021)

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Meeting

The Board of Commissioners to the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired will meet Friday, July 29, 2022, beginning at 9:00 A.M.  The Focus Topic will be “Transition”.

The meeting will be held at the Graduate Lincoln, 141 N. 9^th Street, Legends Ballroom-Devaney Room, Lincoln, Nebraska. 

If reasonable accommodations are needed, please contact NCBVI at 402-471-8101 as soon as possible.  Every effort will be made to arrange the needed accommodation.  An agenda can be obtained by calling 402-471-8101 during regular business hours.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Meeting

The Board of Commissioners to the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired will meet Saturday, November 6, 2021, beginning at 9:00 A.M.  The Focus Topic will be “Job Duties of the Deputy Director of Finance and the Business Office”. 

The meeting will be held via video conference. 

Should any member of the public or media desire to join the video conference, please email Kathy Stephens at the Nebraska Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired at kathy.stephens@nebraska.gov prior to Thursday, November 4, 2021.  You may also call Kathy Stephens at 402-471-8101 to request instructions on how to join the video conference and to receive an agenda.  In order to receive the instructions and agenda in a timely manner, an email address is preferred.

If reasonable accommodations are needed, please contact NCBVI at 402-471-8101 as soon as possible.  Every effort will be made to arrange the needed accommodation.  An agenda can be obtained by calling 402-471-8101 during regular business hours.