On Line With ISVI

By Reggie Clinton-Superintendent ISVI
July 21, 2008

We recently wrapped up our June Summer Camp at ISVI. I am sharing with you in this edition of "On Line With ISVI" the write-up that was done by one of our co-directors Todd Williams. I also want to say thank you to everyone who made this year’s camp a great success!

The ISVI 2008 Summer Camp program was a HUGE success. ISVI hosted a summer camp for children who are blind or visually impaired from all over the state of Illinois. Camp dates ran from June 15 - June 21 with this year's theme being "Touch of Nature." ISVI had a total of 54 campers! There were three camps available to choose from: Young Explorers (ages 7-10), Fine Arts Camp and Technology for Today Camp (ages 11-18). Below is a list of highlights from the week's events.

During the morning, the campers went on 4 Trails: cooking class or Chow Time; Story time or Campfire Tales; crafts or Make and Take with Nature ; and music time, or Wilderness Jamboree.

Daily Sessions for Technology Today and Fine Arts

Computerized Information Processing
Students covered lots of terminology in which we hear when using computers and all the functions of those "hot keys". Quizzes were given each day to review this information. Games were also provided to help the students remember all these terms.

Computerized Engraving
Campers were exposed to a computer controlled industrial engraver. The computer program downloads into a module that directs the machine to automatically cut Braille, symbols, various fonts, and cuts out shapes

Assistive Devices-Hardware & Software
Throughout this week campers were shown and used a wide range of cutting edge assistive technology that can significantly enhance independence.
 

A day by day explanation of activities is below.

Devices used include: the Milestone, Victor Reader Stream, Victor Classic, Bookport and Icon Mobile Manager.
 

Fine Arts Camp
Fine Arts Camp 2008 had twelve eager campers. The group was excited about performing, creating arts and crafts projects, writing the "show," singing, and just having fun. Everyone worked very hard, doing their best every day.

The Saturday performance encompassed much more than singing and speaking on stage. It was the culmination of a week of team work, sincere effort, and creativity.

The campers from the older two camps-Fine Arts and Technology were divided up into four groups. Each night of the week-Monday through Thursday, campers rotated each night between four different recreational activities; bowling, games, a campus-wide scavenger hunt and swimming in ISVI's swimming pool.
 

Friday Trips
On Friday all campers were treated to an off campus field trip. The Young Explorers went to Springfield to visit the Lincoln Memorial Gardens and ended up having dinner at the Pizza Machine. The older two camps went to Knights Action Park (water park) and then had dinner at Diamond's Buffet.

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