Coffee Hour Archive
View past recordings of our weekly webinar series, Coffee Hour. This free, award-winning webinar series supports educators, service providers, and families of students who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision. Join us on Mondays from 3:00–4:00 PM CT for strategies you can use right away! TSBVI Outreach Coffee Hour recordings are not eligible for delayed viewing credits. To earn CEUs for participating in upcoming sessions, please visit the current events page.
Ask an Adult with Albinism
Open captioned. An unscripted panel of adults with albinism as they share their unique experiences growing up with albinism. Panelists will share about their education, upbringing, involvement in the albinism community, and their journeys into adulthood and the working world.
Pathways to Family Leadership: Turning Lived Experience into Collective Impact
Open captioned. Family leaders share how lived experience empowers others. Educators learn how supporting family leadership builds stronger schools and partnerships.
Virtual Reality for Visual Impairments: A Study of Object Perception
Open captioned. A review of research that explored the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) technology to enhance the perception of objects among students with Visual Impairments (VI).
Calm Together – Co-Regulation in Practice
Open captioned. Join us for a discussion on co-regulation—what it means, why it matters, and how we can use it to support students with complex needs. We’ll look at practical strategies for guiding students through moments of distress, while also building routines and tools that help us as educators stay grounded and responsive.
Standardized Infant Functional Vision Screening Using NAVEG
Open captioned. This training provides an overview of the processes and guidelines for requesting American Printing House (APH) products using Federal Quota Funds in the state of Texas. Participants will learn how to navigate the ordering system, understand eligibility requirements, and learn new procedures for product returns. The session is designed for educators, administrators, and staff responsible for managing or supporting services for students who are blind or visually impaired.
Requesting American Printing House (APH) Products In Texas Using Federal Quota Funds
Open captioned. This training provides an overview of the processes and guidelines for requesting American Printing House (APH) products using Federal Quota Funds in the state of Texas. Participants will learn how to navigate the ordering system, understand eligibility requirements, and learn new procedures for product returns. The session is designed for educators, administrators, and staff responsible for managing or supporting services for students who are blind or visually impaired.
Communication and Complex Learners: Before the Device
Open captioned. Infants learn to communicate with adults first through body to body contact, movement and facial expressions. Through experience, children learn to use signaling and objects to communicate to more people. Direct, person-to-person interactions are foundational and show that a child understands that communication happens between people. Once these skills are mastered, an electronic device can be introduced to make communication more efficient and effective.
Calendars in Action
Open captioned. This interactive, one-hour session will guide participants through the essential steps of designing and implementing effective calendar systems for students with deafblindness and other complex needs. We will begin by exploring key considerations before getting started, including assessing student readiness and identifying team priorities. Using the Guide to Selecting Time Frames for Calendar Systems, we’ll discuss how to select an appropriate timepiece tailored to each student’s developmental level. Participants will also learn important factors to consider when choosing symbols to represent activities in the calendar system. Finally, we will watch video examples that demonstrate how “calendar conversations” can promote communication, support transitions, and foster independence.
Supporting Symbol Use Through Symbols & Meaning (SAM)
Open captioned. This Coffee Hour introduces Symbols and Meaning (SAM), an instructional and game-based approach designed to support students with visual and multiple impairments who are beginning to explore and use symbols. The program emphasizes building a robust sensory foundation for concepts related to people, objects, actions, and places, ensuring that the symbols used become truly meaningful and functional for students. (Note: Due to a software update, captions aren't formatted as they normally are on this episode.)
Assistive Technology Assessment to Implementation
Open captioned. Have you ever asked, "What do I do when addressing Assistive Technology (AT) in an assessment?" If so, this session is for you! Join Coffee Hour for an introductory look at the AT assessment process—from first steps to full implementation. We’ll explore resources for conducting assessments, discuss documentation and data collection strategies, and examine the process of feature matching for effective device selection. We’ll conclude by bridging assessment data into meaningful Present Levels and IEP goals and objectives, ensuring a smooth transition from evaluation to implementation.