Podcast: Download
Show Summary:
(Full Transcript below)
Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success.
Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. And Simon Bonenfant and John Dowling just got a sneak peak at what the transitioning to college is all about.
Simon and John share their experience of attending a summer program which included college classes, Blindness skills training, life skills, career exploration. and a STEM based program as well as rock climbing, rope courses and more.
They mention an IOS app called Notebooks That was used for taking notes with the iPad Pro that each Summer Academy attendee was given to use during the 3-week program.
The Summer Academy experience has given Simon and John the confidence in moving forward with their education and the career choice they want to pursue. Join Simon and John with Jeff Thompson from Blind Abilities in this Summer Academy edition of the TVI Toolbox podcast on Blind Abilities.
From the TVI’s to the Agency counselor’s and program specialist, working together along with parents as well, is creating more opportunities and successes for Transition age students.
Sharing experiences through Success Stories, sharing programs that make a positive impact, sharing ideas, findings, upcoming events and the Tools for Success all play a part in making the transition process a natural progression and better understood by all.
Check out your State Services by searching the Services Directory on the AFB.orgweb site.
https://www.afb.org/default.aspx
State Services for the Blind of Minnesota
We offer tools and training for employment and for helping seniors remain independent and active. As Minnesota’s accessible reading source we also transcribe books and other materials into alternative formats, including audio and braille. We assist Minnesotans who are blind, DeafBlind, losing vision, or who have another disability that makes it difficult to read print.
If you’d like to apply for services, learn more, or have more questions, just give us a call. You’ll find contact information for all of our offices on our contact page, or you can call our main office at 651-539-2300.
Contact:
Thank you for listening!
You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com
Send us an email
Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.
Full Transcript:
TVI Toolbox: Summer Academy, Total Transition to College Experience – Welcome Back Simon Bonenfant and Meet Fellow Student, John Dowling
{Music}
Simon Bonenfant:
Mainly it was a blindness training program where they taught different blindness skills, but it was also about college lifestyles. We actually had a college class that we took. They had a college professor from Penn State. Actually it was one of our teachers while we were there.
Recording:
Welcome to TVI Toolbox.
Simon Bonenfant:
One of the classes that we had in the Summer Academy was actually a vocational development class. It was all about studying and learning about the jobs that we wanted to do for after college.
Recording:
Success stories of students on their journey to the transition process from high school, to college, to the workplace. With agency professionals, teachers of the vision-impaired, parents of students, and the students themselves.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s called Notebooks, and it’s a really good app because you can separate your classes into different virtual notebooks and then you can put the notes inside those books. Say you had a class for Geometry or Spanish and then you can write down notes inside those different classes.
Simon Bonenfant:
One thing I know was good for me in particular was they had dedicated AT-Assistance Technology staff there that were teaching the class.
John:
I made a grilled cheese and aw man, it tasted really awesome.
Simon Bonenfant:
We had to do a STEM weekend where they, there were some people from Penn State and other science organizations and universities… and actually it was kinda neat.
Simon Bonenfant:
The experience I refer, kind of the first time actually, because I never really used it before, because I didn’t really find a need to, because I had other people to rely on if I ever needed help with something, so I thought that was really empowering, and I felt very independent.
John:
And we did canoeing, we did rock-climbing, and we need a high ropes course the next day.
Recording:
TVI Toolbox. What’s in your Toolbox?
Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson. Today we’re talking to two students who spent their summer at summer academy in Pennsylvania. One of them is Simon Bonenfant, who we had on at the NFB convention talking about his school, and everything that’s going on, and, what was coming up ahead of him for the summer. Now they’re back and he brought on a friend of his, John Dowling.
Jeff Thompson:
How are you doing Simon?
Simon Bonenfant:
I’m doing very good, Jeff. How are you?
Jeff Thompson:
I’m doing great! Thanks for taking the time to come on here and bring on John.
Jeff Thompson:
How are you doing John?
John:
I’m doing good, Jeff. How about you?
Jeff Thompson:
Great!
Jeff Thompson:
It’s just so exciting to get both of you on here to talk about the experience because some people, camps are camps, right, but summer academy? It’s like a camp, but you guys did in a unique setting, and each situation you did it right at Penn State campus.
Jeff Thompson:
How was it for you John?
John:
It was good. I found out that getting around was pretty easy, and I thought it was going to be pretty challenging, but it was relatively easy. The staff was really cool too. I really enjoyed their hospitality, and that was really nice.
Jeff Thompson:
Little daunting at first thinking how massive it is, but once, after a couple of weeks you probably own the place.
Jeff Thompson:
So, Simon how did you find Penn State and summer academy?
Simon Bonenfant:
Well, I thought it was good, a very good experience overall. The campus was a big campus. We got to stay in the dorm facilities and go to all the difference buildings of the classes that we had, and it was a very big campus. We didn’t even get to go to the whole campus, but-
John:
Nope.
Simon Bonenfant:
But the parts that we went to, it was pretty good, it was pretty close together so it was easy to get around.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s probably a great experience, because in a couple of years you guys will be really locking in on which campus you wanna go if you’re entertaining going to college, so having that experience of overcoming the fear of a massive campus like that, and what the dorms would be like, it’s something you can put in your back pocket right now.
Simon Bonenfant:
That’s right. The program was centered around college life and college experiences as well. Mainly it was a blindness training program where they taught different blindness skills, [inaudible], cooking, technology. They had a very big emphasis in technology. It was also about college lifestyle. They had different classes on managing money. We actually had a college class that we took so they had a college professor from Penn State. Actually it was one of our teachers over there, and that teacher had us reading a book called “College Bound”. It was written for a blind high school students to prepare for college or blind college students to read it. It was all about being blind and going into college and the college setting. We learned that with the professor and the professor had us do weekly quizzes and weekly discussions about it. So it was really like a college simulation about time management and planning. It was sort of trying to model college life. That was very good to prepare.
Jeff Thompson:
What kind of networking was there? How many students were there? Were they all from just the Penn State area or Pennsylvania?
John:
Let’s see. There were supposed to be thirty students there, but at the end we only had about twenty-eight or twenty-seven. We originally had twenty-nine, then one person went home because she was homesick, and then one person went home because of a family complication. They were all from the Pennsylvania area.
Simon Bonenfant:
They were all different people from all over the state of Pennsylvania that came.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s really neat. You probably met some people and started networking. Someone you’ll probably run into later in college.
John:
I mean, that would be cool.
Jeff Thompson:
I think things like what you did was kind of immersion right into college setting and stuff, is the networks that you build from there really extend out, especially if you have common interest. So, what kind of interest in college career or goal you have, John? Let’s start with you.
John:
Well, my goal after high school is supposed to college is to possibly again to music a lot more because I have a large passion for music. I’ve been into music since I was about five years old. I started learning piano at five. My passion for music just continued to grow until about four years ago when I got my first Mac in 2014. Then I started using Garage Band a little bit and then after Garage Band, I upgraded to LogicPro and I’m using LogicPro now to do all of my musical stuff. I play keyboard. I play a little bit of drums and I’m starting to do guitar a little bit too. I’m starting to learn the mandolin, and I hope to either become a music teacher maybe, or maybe to just hopefully get a deal with a record label and start producing music.
Jeff Thompson:
There you go. One-man band with all those instruments.
Jeff Thompson:
And Simon, before we started this podcast I was talking to John, you did a little music at the academy yourself.
Simon Bonenfant:
Yeah. I did some of that. What I would like to study in college is technology and then for a career it’s going to teach people how to use technology, and it actually kind of brings me to the next point about this is one of the classes that we had in the summer academy was actually a vocational developmental class. So, it was all about studying and learning about the jobs we wanted to do for after college and make sure our paths wanted to do. You picked a career path and for me it was technology, and John did music for his, and for me I researched all the things about my job, like where I would go to school, how much money I would be getting paid for the job, and location of the job. All the kinds of things like that. I researched that, and then at the end of the program, everyone did a presentation on their jobs and what they researched and what they found out.
Simon Bonenfant:
So I was very realistic. It was very good thing to do to think about, because it was something I had never really had thought about was, I had a goal for myself and I still have a goal for myself but it was really neat. We drill down into the lifestyle and the decisions I’m gonna have to make because it’s something I never really had thought about in a close way.
Jeff Thompson:
In your research, was there anything that surprised you or caught you off guard? Or found very interesting?
John:
There was one thing that surprised me. When I was doing my research for my college and for what I was doing. I unfortunately found that I would only be making about twenty-six dollars an hour, but I mean, you know, for a certain amount of time, you know, if I were to work on something for maybe about five to six hours, I think I would make pretty good money. So, I mean, that’s one thing that really surprised me, like I thought that musicians made a lot more than they did.
Jeff Thompson:
Hmm. How about you, Simon?
Simon Bonenfant:
Well, for me, I don’t think there was nothing that really surprised me that much. It was what I kinda had expected, what it basically said was, that I could get an undergraduate degree in any kind of field I wanted to get in, and then there’s actually a Masters degree that I would be getting that would get me a certification, and to teaching technology, it would get me a Masters certification of all the things I needed to know, and then I’d be qualified to teach a different technology and I’d be teaching, so it was a pretty straightforward process, it seems like.
Jeff Thompson:
So while you guys attended the classes and stuff, you had to take notes, I imagine?
Simon Bonenfant:
Yes.
Jeff Thompson:
John, let’s start with you, how did you attack the class in being prepared for it?
John:
Well, in our assisted technology class, all of us got iPad Pros. We were taught how to use different note-taking apps, and I think my favorite app, and given the opportunity like at my high school, I would definitely use it. It’s called “Notebooks.” And, it’s a really good app because you can separate your classes into different virtual notebooks, and then you can put the notes inside those books. So, say you had a class for Geometry or Spanish, and then you could write down notes inside those different classes. If I had to choose, I probably would choose a Braille note taker, just because I’m so familiar with Braille and I feel like I type way faster in Braille. I mean I use Braille screen input on my iPhone, all the time. But we all use [inaudible].
Jeff Thompson:
Oh that’s great. How about you, Simon?
Simon Bonenfant:
Well, when I was there, yes I did use the iPad for some things. I also used the computer. They had desktop computers there, in the technology room we were in, so I used those computers. They had Microsoft Word on them, they had Jaws on them, things like that. And I used that to write my assignments because every day we had assignments that we have to do. There were vocational development, or the AT class, the technology class that we did.
Simon Bonenfant:
They also had there what’s called a learning management system which is, a lot of colleges are using them now, it’s an online platform for teachers and students to submit work, and collaborate on work, called “Canvas.” That was what they used there at Penn State, so they gave us all accounts for that, and for the professors, we would have to submit our work through Canvas, and that was all accessible through the iOS application. You had a computer application, it was very accessible.
Simon Bonenfant:
One thing that was good for me in particular was, they had dedicated AT assisted technology staff there that were teaching the class and they were actually teachers of the technology, and they were doing what my work is, what I want to do, so I actually got to talk to them a bit and get some insight, get some information from them and network with them, and learn about their paths and things, so that was real direct research, just from talking to people and networking with them and asking them questions. It was very good for me that I was able to do that.
Jeff Thompson:
Well it seems like this program really thought it through. I mean it seems like you were actually attending college and going through everything from sun-up to sundown. I don’t know what went on totally after classes, but it just sounds like a real live situation as you guys mentioned, so good for Pennsylvania for putting that together. That’s done through your state agency, in coordination with Penn State?
Simon Bonenfant:
Yes, it’s done through the Blind and Visual Services, that’s the state agency that we are a part of. You mentioned about the college, it actually was like college, and we actually got college credits, too.
John:
Yes, we got three, three credits.
Simon Bonenfant:
Three credits to participate in Penn State or any other college we want to attend for the program, so that was already good, because I could transfer those credits over to, if I go to Penn State, they’re already there, or I could transfer them over to another school, whatever me and John attend. So it was very good in that way.
Jeff Thompson:
John, what is your biggest takeaway from attending summer academy in Pennsylvania?
John:
That’s a hard one. I can’t decide on either the AT classes or- Yeah I’m gonna have to go with the AT classes just because the staff was, they were amazing. I think that they had to be my favorite teachers out of the whole program, just because I could ask them questions and they talked about things that not a lot of the kids knew that me and Simon knew more about. That was kinda cool.
John:
We got to, me and Simon, we also got to teach a lot of the kids how to use some of the stuff because, the teachers recognized how good me and Simon were with technology, so they told us that if students had any questions,[inaudible] or anything like that, they could ask us, and we could help them. We did, we helped them, and it was a really cool experience because we could also help students with stuff we loved to do best, helping people with AT stuff so that was really cool.
Jeff Thompson:
How about yourself, Simon?
Simon Bonenfant:
Well, I would say- myself would be, I liked the AT classes as well. I also just liked in general the variety of things that we did. We did a lot of different activities and things that were there. For five days a week, we had Monday through Friday, we had classes, all the same classes that we do, which were technology, mobility, we did cooking and laundry, we did all those kinds of things, and we did the vocational development as I mentioned before, but then we also did things on the weekends.
Simon Bonenfant:
We did different activities on the weekends. We actually got to do a STEM, a science, technology, engineering, and math- that’s what STEM stands for- we had to do a STEM weekend where they were some people from Penn State and from other science organizations and universities. They actually came to us and did the activities with us relating to STEM, and we were there for three weeks, so two weekends.
Simon Bonenfant:
The next weekend we actually got to go to this area, and it was like a nature area, and we did canoeing, we did rock-climbing, and we did a high ropes course the next day. So it was very adventurous things, like the high ropes course, I had never done that before. I did it, I was fifty feet up in the air on these high ropes, so it was very adventurous, they really tried to push us to do something that we never done before. The staff were there, they were very supportive, they didn’t let us fall into a ditch or nothing, they were helpful there. They really pushed us to test our limits and do it in a safe environment. So I say, I liked AT the best, but I also liked variety of activities and things you were exposed to.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, it really is interesting that they would include the laundry part of it. You talk about high ropes, rock-climbing, canoeing. Everyone has to do laundry though, and that’s really neat that they were that eclectic, that encompassing of everything. It seems like they covered just about everything.
Simon Bonenfant:
Yeah they did. They had us doing the laundry too. We did it at the dorm facility, they had washers and dryers and things there. Another thing we also did was we got debit cards, they gave us that for the program, they taught us about managing money. For the mobility classes, the cane-travel classes, they took us out on different outings and trips. They would have us use our debit cards to pay for the things.
Simon Bonenfant:
For example, the laundry, the washer and dryer machines, they needed money to use, so they had us take our debit cards and use an ATM, before, an accessible ATM. I had never used that before, I was very excited about that. They taught me how to use it, and you got the headphones in there, I used the ATM and it was very easy, it was very straightforward to use. It was a touchscreen but they showed us where to press the buttons and all that.
Simon Bonenfant:
We got to go out to a restaurant and use our money for that. So it was really nice because we actually got to go out in the public and we got to go to the restaurant, we got to go to the shopping mall one time, we got to go to the supermarket, and we all did that with our canes and we took buses, we really traveled, and a lot of it was up to us. We did our route planning, they taught us about that. They taught us about some GPS applications to use, we were able to get into public. We were able to use our debit cards and learn our cane skills.
Simon Bonenfant:
Another thing that was very good about the program I thought was very good was, everyone at the program used canes because they were low-vision, vision impaired persons to the program as well, some of them had not used a cane before, and the program made them use a cane, because they wanted to expose them to every option they had. Some of them I could tell were a bit apprehensive at first. They didn’t know how it was going to work.
Simon Bonenfant:
It was very nice to see how some kids who had never used a cane before, by the first day they were scared of it. And then the last week I saw them change and they really liked them and felt a lot confident about getting around. It was good, it was a real transformation for them. Some of them had never even thought about using a cane and they really changed their expectations about it. I think it was very good because everyone was equally experiencing it and even if they had vision they were still expected to use a cane, and were still expected to learn nonvisual techniques the same as totally blind people. So it was a very equal playing field.
Jeff Thompson:
John? Did you do any cooking?
John:
Yeah I did, I made a grilled cheese, and aw man, it tasted really awesome.
Jeff Thompson:
So basically the colleges were teaching you life skills, cooking skills, so you can be self-sufficient while you break away from home and attend a college?
John:
Yeah, and one of the things that I just want to point out about summer academy, kinda speaking on behalf of the money and the debit cards. I brought my Aira glasses there, because I thought I might be able to use them. I was actually able to do a demonstration in front of my peers about Aira and how it works. I went to a vending machine, and I asked the agent. I talked to a nice man, he was an agent, and I asked him where the drink button was, because I wanted to get some apple juice.
John:
So I asked him, “Hey can you help me find the apple juice?” And he said sure. So then, he even directed me where the slot was for my card, and he told me, your card’s facing the wrong way, turn it around. I was able to put the card in, swipe it, push the apple juice button, got my drink. Then I thanked him, entered the app, and I gave him a good rating. I thought that was really cool because I was able to experience Aira for the first time actually, because I had never really used it before, because I didn’t really find the need to because I had other people to rely on if I needed help with something. So I thought that was really empowering. I felt really independent.
Simon Bonenfant:
My Penn State is actually a free access point of Aira, so they were able to use that. Aira is a very good system, very good there.
Jeff Thompson:
So when you’re using that, since it’s a free point you could use your phone’s camera and just download the app, and there you were.
Simon Bonenfant:
Yep.
Jeff Thompson:
They got the Back to School program for when you’re first attending college, you can sign up for that, and I think they’re doing nearly four hundred, five hundred students this year.
John:
Wow.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s a good program.
Jeff Thompson:
What advice would you guys give for people who are approaching next summer when they want to do summer camps or academy, what advice would you give them?
John:
I would say, if you were approached by your state agency or your state counselor, and you were given the opportunity to join a camp sort of like this camp we were talking about, I would say, one hundred percent, definitely go for it, because if you don’t know much about cooking or doing laundry. I don’t know much about cooking or doing the laundry, well I didn’t know before I did the summer academy, but I definitely say, definitely go for it. You will be learning a lot, and it will really good for the future because then you know how to approach college life when you go to attend college.
Jeff Thompson:
How about you, Simon?
Simon Bonenfant:
Well, to just second what John said, I would say take a leap of faith and keep an open mind about it. I would say go for any program you can. Network with people. I think it’s very good because you may think you really know a bunch of stuff, you may think you might not a program like that, but sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. Sometimes you get there and network with people and you find that it really makes a difference for you, really helps you.
Simon Bonenfant:
I would just recommend that people go to their agencies or their summer academies, or whatever. They would do that, and the summer academy is actually only a one-time thing, so people can only go one time there, because they need to have other people get a chance to go.
Simon Bonenfant:
There is an organization that me and John are both a part of there, that is involved with the summer academy-
John:
It’s called SASA
Simon Bonenfant:
Yeah it’s called SASA, and I think it’s an acronym for something?
John:
Yeah I believe it’s Summer Academy Seniors… I don’t know.
Simon Bonenfant:
Yeah I’m not exactly sure what the acronym is, but it’s actually a program for after the summer academy. They do fundraising for the program, they work on different projects to keep the program going. Actually after the program, people who are involved in the SASA, so next year me and John will be able to actually do this, we’ll be able to go back to summer academy for a weekend and mentor the people that are going through the summer academy for the full thing.
Simon Bonenfant:
Actually it was kind of neat, because me and John actually have a friend who went through the summer academy last year, and he’s part of the SASA group, and he was able to come this year for the weekend with the SASA group. We were actually able to meet him and get a chance to meet him in person. So that was very nice. That’s what I’m going to be doing next year, is going back and also working with them throughout the year to advance summer academy programs. So that’s very nice.
John:
Another thing you can do is, I believe if you’re at least one year in college, you can attend summer academy as what’s called an RA, which stands for Residential Assistant.
Simon Bonenfant:
Resident Assistant, yes.
John:
There were actually a few visually-impaired people, blind and visually-impaired people, who are in college and who have attended summer academy before. They became RAs.
Simon Bonenfant:
Yes, an RA, they actually have a big role in there. They’re Residence Assistants, and they have them at college for the dorms. They were the ones that really helped the students, helped us with certain things, help us learning the campus, getting around the campus, they helped us with doing the laundry, they were just there to help wherever someone needed support with something.
Simon Bonenfant:
Me and John have a friend who is an RA there, she actually went to the same school we did for grade school. She actually went to my same high school that I’m going to now. So that’s something me and John do, after our first year of college, we go and give back.
Simon Bonenfant:
That’s one thing I like doing, is giving back to the community, giving back to the blind people that were before me and helping, and showing what I learned.
Jeff Thompson:
And become role models?
Simon Bonenfant:
Yes.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, that seems like what both people like to do. I could hear your passion, when if you were given the opportunity by the instructors in the AT class to help teach others, and you kind of thrive in it that way.
John:
Oh yeah.
Simon Bonenfant:
Definitely.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, John, Simon, I really want to thank you for taking the time out of your summer, what you got left of it before you go back to high school-
John:
Yes, thank you.
Jeff Thompson:
And come on to Blind Abilities, and we’ll have to get back together with you, make this a routine, getting back together, checking out where you guys are with your technology.
John:
Oh yeah, that would be amazing.
Simon Bonenfant:
Oh yeah, definitely. Thank you Jeff.
Jeff Thompson:
You bet.
Jeff Thompson:
And yes they will be back. You can find more TVI ToolBox podcasts on the Blind Abilities network, as well as the Job Insights podcast with Serena Gilbert and myself.
Jeff Thompson:
I want to thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed. And until next time, bye bye.