Two Great Online Projects from the Dan Marino Foundation

AuTube - www.autube.tv
AuTube is an issue-based social networking site created for anyone either on the autism spectrum or in the autism community. This new idea is meant to facilitate online discussions that focus on a single rotating topic. The current topic for discussion is: How does being on the spectrum shape personal relationships?

Childnett.tv® - www.childnett.tv
The mission of Childnett.tv® is to reach out globally to families, clinicians, and educators through the internet to provide information related to autism and other neurological disorders. Viewers can watch personal stories, therapies, and the latest medical research 24 hours a day from home, work, or wherever high-speed internet access is available - all for free. Check out the featured video - www.childnett.tv/videos/services/gifts. It is very uplifting!

Training News: What to Expect in the Year to Come

By Cathy Zenko, CARD UF/Gainesville Training Coordinator

At the end of each CARD workshop, we ask the participants to fill out an evaluation form. These forms allow us to gather feedback regarding what people enjoyed and what they would like to change. We value this feedback and would like to take this opportunity to address the most common responses.

1.) Copies of Handouts: In an effort to be a more “green” organization, we are taking every opportunity to reduce the amount of paper we consume. Therefore, for most of our workshops, we will try to email the registered participants a copy of the handouts and only print a few back up copies. This ‘paperless’ trend is nationwide and we are doing our part to be environmentally friendly. This also reduces our overhead costs which is an overriding concern in this year of budget cutbacks. We want to acknowledge your concerns about not having the printed handouts. We realize this will take some time to get used to, however we must continue to move in the paperless direction for the reasons listed above.

2.) Refreshments: CARD would love to provide refreshments at all of our workshops, however, we cannot use state funds to pay for food or beverages. Unfortunately, we do not have any extra funds available to provide them. If you know of a company who might want to sponsor any of our events and provide refreshments, we are always open to community support.

3.) Technology: For the past year, CARD staff has been testing several web technologies so we can offer trainings both live (in person) and online. We will try our first online “broadcast” on August 11, 2009. See our CARD calendar for details. Even with high quality programs, web conferencing is technically complex and may not provide the best learning experience for some users. High-speed internet access and a modern computer are required. We are learning how to use this technology, so we anticipate some bumps along the road. However, we see this being an effective and efficient way to spread knowledge to more people despite our shrinking budget.