Take a Media Minute—Spring 2026
Authors: Suzanne Becker, Archivist, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, TSBVI
Family Engagement Media Minute
TSBVI offers a continuum of services in a student’s educational journey, with their family being a constant. Family Engagement was the theme of the November 2025 Media Minute, which coincided with National Family Engagement Month! The post features media across TSBVI departments that demonstrate TSBVI’s deep commitment to the families they serve. A toddler attending a “Baby’s Day Out” Outreach event with their family may have returned in Middle School for the Short Term Programs class, “Game of Life.” That same student could then return to Comprehensive Programs for their high-school years. The “Family Wisdom” section in each TX SenseAbilities issue features articles written by individuals who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision and their family members. See the “Pathways to Family Leadership” article from Fall 2025, and the article about Family Organizations.
Following Summer Programs 2025, a caregiver shared about her daughter’s experience:
After just a few initial calls, her check-ins home became very sporadic (which we were thrilled about!). She told us she was ‘too busy being independent to call us every day!’ We know this program helped give our student the important building blocks to achieve maximum levels of independence in the future. Thank you so much!
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Families and educational professionals attend an Outreach “Literacy for Little Ones” workshop. -
A family reflects during the closing of "Game of Life" 2025. -
A student and her family talk about industrial arts/embroidery in the Vocational Building during Family Day. -
Family Leader Christine Givens, receives the 2025 Trailblazer Award at the 2025 Symposium on Deafblind Education Outreach Conference
STEM Media Minute Topics
What is TSBVI doing to ensure students who are blind, deafblind or have low vision unlock their full potential in lifelong engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)? There are several Media Minute posts addressing STEM areas. Check out the Science Media Minute, the MakerSpace Media Minute, and the Low Vision Awareness Media Minute for training, curriculum, and lesson ideas.
Please register for the upcoming Low Vision Conference on Friday, May 15, 2026. This annual, day-long event hosted by the TSBVI Outreach Programs will focus on “STEM In-sight: Building Skills, Curiosity, and Confidence.” Participants will explore practical classroom strategies, hands-on lesson ideas, and real-world scenarios that boost students’ self-identity as STEM learners.
A former Comprehensive Programs graduate elaborated on the STEM programming she received as a student in the TSBVI MakerSpace:
I love getting to learn how to unscrew and rescrew a doorknob in two different ways. I love making synthesizers and making pretty cool noises with them. Some other things that I love about the MakerSpace is how it has a 3D printer. I actually have two keychains made from the 3D printer, and I get asked about them a lot. I feel like you can learn a lot of different things in the MakerSpace.
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Dismantling a 3D printer in the MakerSpace using different tools to take each piece apart -
Sharing S’mores with a peer made on the solar oven constructed for the 2025 Elementary Science Fair -
Reading about the American Black Bear using monoculars during Low Vision on the Road -
EmmaGrace and her peer read tactile graphic plates of molecules during the STP class “In Your Element: Access to Chemistry.” -
TSBVI Life Science Instructor and TVI, Laura Hospitál, exploring a model of the Sun-Earth-Moon System with her student in the science lab on campus at TSBVI -
Students build a model of the eye using household objects during STP High School Access to Academics.
Fine Arts Media Minute
The Fine Arts Media Minute post highlights how all TSBVI departments recognize the importance of arts education for students on campus and across the state. Artful Instruction: Making Art Accessible for Individuals who are Blind or Have Low Vision is a recent publication from the TSBVI Curriculum Department. This book is intended for students who are blind, deafblind or have low vision, including those with complex access needs, and their educators and families. TSBVI student artwork is well represented in the local Austin art scene, as students have many opportunities for their art to be exhibited. Comprehensive Programs students, along with Almost Real Things Gallery and professional artists, collaborate each spring for “Touch the Art,” a sensory group exhibition! Save the date for the Fourth Annual Touch the Art Experience on display at the Almost Real Things Gallery at Canopy in Austin from Thursday, May 7, through Sunday, July 5, 2026.
Gretchen Bettes, TVI and TSBVI Fine Arts teacher, asked her students, “What does art mean to you?” A Comprehensive Programs senior shared, “Art class helps me bring out who I really am inside. Gives me space to be who I am.” A junior said, “I like doing art for entertainment. Art makes me feel calm.” A sophomore added, “Art class makes me happy. It feels good to make art. I like art because it makes me feel relaxed. It feels good to think about my art.”
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A student stands with his ceramic crown on display at the Almost Real Things "Touch the Art" Gallery show. -
Dripping liquid solution into felt fiber art during the Secondary Enrichment Summer Programs class -
Painting a bat-shaped paper during Residential Hobby Hour -
Selling homemade beaded bracelets at the monthly Farmer's Market on campus -
Exploring various tactile graphic lines before drawing them on a tactile drawing board during the Magical World of STEAM STP class
Media Minute posts will continue to highlight TSBVI stories by giving in-depth information about campus and state-wide activities, links to related TSBVI projects (webinars, Coffee Hours, publications), galleries of images, and accessible videos. Posts will also be announced in Outreach newsletters, on TSBVI Facebook, Instagram, and in future issues of TX SenseAbilities. Be sure to check back frequently for new features!