Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Education: Digital Badges

Campus Technology's December Issue ran an article on digital badges. While not replacing the degree a student receives for completing a college program, digital badges may be a valuable means for students to showcase certain credentials they acquire over the course of program completion. As the learning environment changes where students may take longer to complete programs due to financial or life constraints, digital badges may be a way to mark skill sets acquired that potential employers can view if students need to pause and work between their degree programs.

For more information, read: Show me Your Badge, by Audrey Watters

Friday, December 14, 2012

USA.gov - Help for Difficult Financial Times

If you're looking for resources regarding financial challenges that you or your family may be experiencing, be sure to check USA.gov's site entitled: Help for Difficult Financial Times

The site offers links in the following:


  • Unemployment, Jobs, and Training
  • Family Support
  • Housing
  • Health Care and Insurance
  • Debt and Credit


E-book: Six Easy Pieces

If you're looking for a book that introduces you to physics in a witty way, Six Easy Pieces, by Richard  P. Feynman  may be the book for you. In 1961-1963, at the California Institute of Technology,  Feynman  made a series of lectures, Six Easy Pieces, embodies these lectures in an enjoyable and approachable way.

For more information:



On Amazon: Six Easy Pieces, by Richard  P. Feynman

Looking for other books or textbooks for mobile devices, search iBooks, Google eBook, and Amazon for other titles. Search by author, title, or ISBN numbers.

Enjoy!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Celebrities with Dyslexia

ABC News brings a list of 8 familiar faces you might recognize when reading their article: Celebrities with Dyslexia Who Made It Big - check it out.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Save the Date: Veteran's Appreciation Days @ RCC

Looking for a way to honor and thank the men and women who serve our country? Well, look no further, take out those red pens and mark your calendar folks. RCC's Diversity Programming Board invites everyone to come on down and participate in a letter writing campaign for those currently serving in the military.

Redwood Campus

Tuesday, November 13th from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm in the Student Center

Riverside Campus

Wednesday, November 14th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in Room 127/129 in Higher Education Center

Table Rock Campus

Wednesday, November 14th from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm in the Student Commons

Writing supplies and refreshments will be provided!

Netflix: Subtitles coming to movies near you!

Netflix, an online video streaming giant who's service can be viewed over a multitude of devices, is looking to have 100% of their library captioned by 2014. Currently, the video streaming company has about 82% of their video collection captioned, by 2013 their goal is set for 90%. By 2014, the company hopes to caption all new content within 30 days, 14 days by 2015, and within 7 days by 2016. Their ultimate goal...to have captions provided simultaneously with new video launches.

Full article can be viewed and read here: Netflix agrees to subtitle all films by 2014

Documentaries: The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia

Have an interest in dyslexia? Have HBO? On Monday, October 29th at 7pm, HBO will be showing James Redford's film The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia.

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia world premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and takes a look at the developmental reading disorder in a way that hopes to provide a clearer view of the minds of people who live with it. This topic is close to the director's heart, as James Redford's own son, Dylan, was diagnosed at an early age. Among those filmed, interviews with Charles Schwab, Richard Branson, David Boles, and California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, which gives insight into how some individuals develop their own unique strategies for coping that helped lead them to paths of success.

Tune in or jot down for viewing at a later date - enjoy!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Partners in Education: Service Dogs on Campus


On March 15, 2011, the Department of Justice’s revisions to the Regulation Implementing Title II of the ADA took effect. Part of these amendments and revisions regarded the definition of a service animal which is now defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform a task for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The rule states that other animals, whether wild or domestic, do not qualify as service animals. Dogs that are not trained to perform tasks that mitigate the effects of a disability, including dogs that are used purely for emotional support, are not service animals.

At Rogue Community College a service animal is considered an accommodation issue and requires an individual to have a valid accommodation plan in place if they expect to have their service animal on campus on a regular basis. The first step in implementing this plan is to contact the Disability Services office and setup an appointment to meet with the Disability Services Coordinator. Examples of work or tasks that a service dog may be seen providing, but not limited to: assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual with a seizure, retrieving items, assist with balance and stability, and alerting an individual to the presence of allergens to name a few.

When you meet a person on campus with a service dog please remember that the dog is working. The Delta Society has five rules of interaction:

1) Speak to the person first. Do not aim distracting or rude noises at the dog.

2) Do not touch the service dog without asking for, and receiving permission.

3) Do not offer food to the service dog.

4) Do not ask personal questions about the handler’s disability, or otherwise intrude on his or her privacy.

5) Don’t be offended if the handler does not wish to chat about the service dog.

Rogue Community College’s current ADA policy for service animals can be found here . If you have any questions regarding service dogs on campus, please direct them to the Disability Services staff on either campus.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Back Pain, Conditions, and Treatments—Oh my!


According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the U.S.  Almost every man and woman will suffer from some kind of back pain during their life.

As the body ages, our bone strength, muscle elasticity and tone begins to decrease. The duration of this pain will vary. For some, acute pain may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. For others, the condition may become chronic, which is measured when pain persists for more than 3 months.

Some conditions commonly associated with back pain are: bulging disc, sciatica, spinal degeneration, spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, skeletal irregularities, fibromyalgia and spondylitis. These conditions can be uncovered in a variety of methods such as: X-ray, discography, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electrodiagnostic procedures, bone scans, thermography, and ultrasound imaging.

Treatments that aren’t surgically related are used to restore proper function and strength to ones back and prevent recurrence of the injury. Some treatments may include the use of cold and hot compresses, bed rest, exercise, medications, chiropractic care, acupuncture, biofeedback and traction.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Fonts: Free Download for Open-Dyslexic Font

Open-Dyslexic is a font created by Abelardo Gonzales to help dyslexic readers. To download this font for your computer, it can be found here on dafont.com

Online Communities: Friends of Quinn

If you're a person living with learning differences or a family/friend of someone and looking for resources and support, Quinn Bradlee, author of, A Different Life has founded a great site online. What you'll find:


  • Blog
  • Place to ask questions,
  • LD Facts
  • Life with LDs
  • Forums 
  • Videos


There's a little bit of something for everyone, visit Friends of Quinn online today.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Adaptive Tech: Text to Speech & Zoom in iPad

Own an iPad? Or looking to invest in one? Students who benefit from having things read aloud can go into settings and access the Text to Speech feature under Accessibility. There's also a handy Zoom feature on iPad that allows users to get a closer look at something that otherwise may be too difficult to see.

Want to learn how to access these features on your iPad? Check out the youtube.com video below.


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Webinars: PTSD 101

The Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) will be holding a webinar on August 23, 2012 from 1-2:30 p.m. (EDT) on PTSD 101: Education for the Civilian Health Care Providers Treating Service Members.

Presenters will include:


Terence Keane, Ph.D.
Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development, VA Boston Healthcare System Director, Behavioral Science Division, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Maj. Jeff Hall
Operations Training Officer, First Army Headquarters, Rock Island, Ill.

An overview, registration, and education credit information can be found on DCoE's Monthly Webinar Page


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Mobility: Mobility Unlimited

Mobility Unlimited is an organization founded in April of 2001 that helps fund mobility equipment for working Oregonians. Their mission, as stated on their site:
We exist to provide a "hand-up" to employment success for physically disabled adults. Mobility Unlimited breaks down the financial obstacles to gaining mobility, thus opening the doors to career success.
For more information regarding client criteria, contact information, and examples of the kinds of mobility equipment please visit their Apply Page.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

PTSD: Revised Info on Medications for PTSD Treatment

The National Center for PTSD  recently updated information regarding medications used for treating PTSD. For more information regarding their current findings, please read the Clinician's Guide to Medications for PTSD.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Technology: Campus Technology Magazine is...

...going digital on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012.

If you're a subscriber, be sure to check out their website for more information on a digital subscription or keep an eye out on your mailbox.

Visit  Campus Technology to fill out their FREE digital subscription form.

LD News: Captioned Media

An article released by the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTi) and Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITeD) discuss how captioned or subtitled media can help students who struggle with LD or reading issues to increase their:
  • reading speed,
  • word knowledge,
  • decoding,
  • vocabulary acquisition,
  • word recognition,
  • reading comprehension, and
  • oral reading rates.
For more information regarding their research findings, please read the article: Captioned Media: Literacy Support for Diverse Learners

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Transportation in your state

Life happens and sometimes we find ourselves without transportation and in a bind. The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Foundation's (TLPF) has issued a site to help site visitors arrange transportation to get where they need to go. The site can perform searches both nationally and internationally; however, I noticed that on a local scale (Josephine/Jackson Counties) companies have yet to register or put up listings for sites.

You can check out TLPF's site Find a Ride.

Connecting with Community Resources

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Medications and Sun/Heat Sensitivity

Summer is a time when people do a lot of outdoor living. We check the SPF number on our sunscreen, but there's one other place we might want to check before we head off to soak up some rays - our medicine cabinets. Life Lines Online has published a list of medications that can increase ones sensitivity to both sun and heat. To learn more about it, read Life Lines Article: Medications Can Make You More Sun and Heat Sensitive for more information.

Have a Safe and Happy Summer!