Welcome to A Sense of Texas!
Authors: Emily Coleman, TSBVI Outreach Director
Keywords: podcast, episodes, blindness, visual impairment, DeafBlind
When I arrived in August, I was desperate for information about TSBVI and about Texas in general. While simply learning through conversations, I wondered how I could share the useful information I was gathering. I knew I wasn’t the only person new to Texas, and I also knew there were many people around the state and nationally that could benefit from learning more about services for our students. This inspired me to suggest a TSBVI Outreach podcast.
Those I’ve worked with know this is not a new idea for me. As an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired, I had been a podcast fan for years. It’s the perfect way to pass time in the car. I also had sought out podcasts specific to our work and found few to fill the space during the long drives I was making every day. Like many of you, I was a busy parent of a blind child and a professional in our field, and I was desperate for new ways to fit more information gathering into my day.
Some of you may be asking, what IS a podcast anyway? Podcasts are simply audio files that often run as episodes within a series, and a user can subscribe if they want to be notified when new episodes are released. They are available for free through platforms like iTunes, Google Play, and on our website where the transcripts can also be found at https://www.tsbvi.edu/podcasts. You can find podcasts online about any topic related to your own hobbies and interests and now you can subscribe to a great one related to blindness, visual impairment, and DeafBlindness through A Sense of Texas. (Yes, I’m biased.)
I encourage you to subscribe and join me as I interview individuals about programs at TSBVI and around the country that are relevant to me, and I’m sure would be interesting to you. There are so many passionate professionals working with our kids, parents with vast expertise, and students with profound insight. I’m grateful every time I get to sit down with one of them. Really listening to others and reflecting on my own work and life through the lens of their experiences has helped me to become a better educator and a better parent.