December 17, 2007

PSAP III

A third major PSAP initiative will be officially launched in mid January 2008 and run to the end of March.  It will include a 15% incentive rebate on all orders received between now and March 31st. The cost of virtually every software title has also been reduced due the impact of the Canadian dollar and the fact that we have reached new lower pricing plateaus for some of our titles.

The highlight of PSAP III is the addition of Classroom Suite 4 and Kurzweil 3000 USB version for Windows.  In addition, there will be some adjustments to the existing list…

• Some older titles will be discontinued -  2+2, Food for Thought, Functionally Speaking, and Boardmaker with SDpro (Mac & Win) will no longer be available.
• Intellimathics will also be discontinued as it is no longer available and it is essentially built into Classroom Suite 4.
• WordQ and the WordQ speakQ bundles will be discontinued after March 31st or as soon as our current stock is sold.  Both these applications are currently available through ERAC Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium - ERAC.
• The upgrade path from Kurzweil 3000 Mac v. 2 to v. 4 will be closed at the end of March.  The upgrade path from Kurzweil  3000 Win version 8 to version 10 will also be closed at the end of March. Districts/ schools who want to upgrade these older versions of Kurzweil  3000 after March will have to pay the full cost of a user license.

If you have any questions or need more information about PSAP, please view the PSAP area of the website or contact John Drescher (jdrescher@setbc.org).

Exciting Professional Development Opportunity!

After a very successful and well received workshop last year, Linda Burkhart is returning in January to facilitate a session titled “Supporting Literacy Development in Students with Significant Disabilities Focusing on Child Centred Team”.  This one or two day session will be of interest to anyone supporting this student population in a classroom setting.

Date: January 16th or January 16th and 17th, 2008
Location: Sunnyhill Hospital, Vancouver
Registration: $30 (Day 1 only) Register  $45 (Day 1 and 2) Register
For more information: View Upcoming Events

This Week in SET-BC

Interested in the latest news from SET-BC? Check out This Week in SET-BC – a weekly e-newsletter that contains up-to-the-minute information and news on upcoming events, new resources, and general information on our program.  You can find it by clicking My SET-BC on our website and registering for a free My SET-BC account.

Cycle 1 Equipment Shipping Before Christmas

As a result of our very hard working “elves” (aka technicians), over 85% of Cycle 1 equipment has already been shipped out to school based teams.  The remaining equipment, on backorder, will ship as soon as available.  School teams should note, however, that shipping will suspend over the Christmas break and then resume after January 8th. 

ARC-BC Pilot Project Successfully Launched

Eight school district teams were invited to attend a two day planning meeting in Vancouver on December 5th and 6th.  Teams from Southeast Kootenay, Boundary, Okanagan-Skaha, Quesnel, Langley, Surrey, Parksville-Qualicum, and Comox Valley discussed many aspects of the project, giving valuable information and feedback to the provincial ARC-BC group. 

The district teams’ hard work over the two days was greatly appreciated and, as a result of their efforts, the provincial ARC-BC group can now move forward designing the repository incorporating their helpful ideas and suggestions.

The pilot project will continue into next year, with online follow up meetings scheduled in February and a trial phase set for September 2008. 

For more information on ARC-BC, please visit the ARC-BC area of the website or contact Kerry Randle (krandle@setbc.org) or Anne Wadsworth (awadsworth@prcvi.org).

FNESC Project Off to a Great Start

It’s been a busy and exciting start up for the FNESC project this fall.  Students and teams from First Nations schools all around the province have been receiving equipment and training in our first cycle of service and teams are now planning for Cycle 2.  Most teams are new to assistive technology but are already committing to developing Clicker 5 activities, Boardmaker communication boards, and accessible books with culturally appropriate content including some in their own First Nations languages.  These will be shared through PictureSET and curriculumSET as soon as they are available.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the FNESC project, please contact Carol Graham (cgraham@setbc.org).  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and hope you have a great start to 2008!

SET-BC is a Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program. We assist school districts in British Columbia in meeting the technology needs of students with physical disabilities, visual impairments, and autism.