Resources
Quick Links
o AIM Implementation Guide: http://aim.cast.org/experience/training/aim_implementation_guide
o AIM Navigator - http://aim.cast.org/experience/decision-making_tools/aim_navigator
The AIM Navigator is an interactive tool that facilitates the process of decision-making around accessible instructional materials for an individual student. The AIM Navigator is NOT a screening or diagnostic tool that results in a prescriptive report. Rather, it is a process facilitator that guides the work of a collaborative team as they work through the AIM-related needs of individual students.
o AIM Explorer - http://aim.cast.org/experience/decision-making_tools/aim_explorer
The AIM Explorer is a free simulation that combines grade-leveled digital text with access features common to most text readers and other supported reading software. The AIM Explorer is designed to be used by a reader working collaboratively with an educator, tutor, parent, or assistive technology specialist as a guide.
o Eligibility, Acquistion, and Sample Language Chart from Michigan: http://aimconsortium.cast.org/sites/aimconsortium.cast.org/files/AIM_NIMAS_MI_Ed_v4.6.pdf
o National AIM Consortium Website http://aimconsortium.cast.org/
o AIM and NIMAS – http://nimas.cast.org/center/consortium/index.html
o Bookshare.org - http://www.bookshare.org
o LA Department of Education Assistive Technology Initiative-http://www.doe.state.la.us/divisions/specialp/assistive_technology.html
o LA Department of Education Textbook Adoption Policy -http://www.doe.state.la.us/curriculum/textbooks.html
o LA Instructional Materials Resource Center-http://www.lsvi.org/content.cfm?id=59
o AIM Resource Blog www.aimcast.blogspot.com
o This website provides an online professional development opportunity related to AIM: http://teachweb.cast.org/moodle/
o References to Research on the Use of Digital Text and Text-to-Speech:
Accessible Textbooks in the Classroom http://nimas.cast.org/about/resources/accessible_textbooks
Accessbile Textbooks in the Classroom II http://nimas.cast.org/about/resources/accessible_textbooks_ii
National Instructional Materials Access Center
The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) reauthorized legislation on how and when blind and other print disabled students throughout the country receive their textbooks in the accessible formats they need, including braille and large print. A benefit of this legislation is that it will reduce the duplication of effort by educators or accessible media producers (AMPS) to create accessible materials for students.
The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) located in Louisville, Kentucky receives and catalogs publishers' electronic files of print instructional materials in a standard format: the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). Authorized users are assigned by each state to obtain the files from the NIMAC for eligible students with blindness, low-vision or other print disabilities. The NIMAC file sets require conversion, typically through software or hardware before the files are usable by the end user, the student. The combination of a standard format and a central repository should significantly expedite the time frame in which instructional materials are delivered to students who need them in the classroom.
SEARCH THE NIMAC - http://nimac.privatereserve.com/Search.aspx
What is Louisiana’s policy for National Instructional Materials
http://www.louisianaschools.net/bese/policies.html
Who are Louisiana’s NIMAS Authorized Users (AU)?
The Louisiana Instructional Materials Center
Regional 6 Assistive Technology Center
RFB&D
RFB&D Individual Membership is now FREE. http://www.learningally.org/
Thanks to major funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Grant #H327D090001 and support of private donors, RFB&D Individual Membership is now free to individuals with proper certification*.
Member benefits include:
- FREE access to the nation's largest audiobook library of textbooks and literature titles
- Human-narrated audiobooks with descriptions of images, tables and graphs
- Easy-to-use online catalog
- 24/7 online member services and phone support
- Various audiobook downloadable formats, including DAISY and WMA (Windows Media Audio
Just For Families
AIM in LA Flyer for Parents.pdf
AIM for Families at the National Center on AIM
National Center On AIM
AIM Connector Newsletter
AIM: A Technical Guide for Families and Advocates
Tumblebooks: http://www.livingston.lib.la.us
Tar Heel Reader: tarheelreader.org