Hi @Valarie_Day - glad to have you in the RISE Rabble! I haven’t made it to Upstate NY yet but I’d love to travel there at some point. I love hiking next to flowing bodies of water (babbling brooks and rain through woods are two of my very favorite sounds) and I’ve heard Upstate NY has some amazing hiking.
Hello All,
I’m a little late getting to this as I’ve recently returned from training with a new guide dog. It was tough knowing my Monarch was shipped, delivered and waiting on my desk for a week before I could get back home and get my hands on it. I am Rachel Schroeder, an Assistive Technology Specialist with the Illinois Assistive Technology Program in Springfield Illinois. I work with adults on the VR track to go to college, obtain employment or maintain employment. I help to determine appropriate assistive technology for my customers to successfully meet their goals and also provide training. As a life-long Braille reader and one who definitely sees the value and application in so many areas for myself and my customers, I am so very looking forward to how the Monarch will be a game-changer. I have had customers in school who used Braille for programming courses and others who needed to access lots of charts and graphs for their course work. The use of multiple lines of Braille would have been amazing for these customers. Having also worked with deaf/blind customers in the past who only had Braile as a means of access to run their self-owned businesses, I can only imagine how use of the Monarch would have made such a difference for them. In addition to using the Monarch for my own daily tasks including some broadcasting things on the side, I’m interested in learning all I can here so that I broaden my knowledge as to what could truly level the playing field in the way of access. I have to say I thought it was so cool to do the tutorial on the Monarch itself and see below several lines of Braille instructions, tactile representations of buttons to look for on the Monarch. This was such a small thing but it was the first thing I saw upon opening the box that made me realize all the possibilities this tool can bring. Then I went looking for all kinds of graphics and had lots of fun with those including Chess which I’ll have to play with my 10 year old daughter who was amazed by the Monarch. I guess now one of the next things I need to try is reading the book series from which my new guide dog got his name. His name is Bilbo but that name was completely lost on me as I admittedly have never read the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. So now you know the first books I’ll have to try on the Monarch so I can come to fully appreciate where my dog’s name comes from. I look forward to chatting with all of you through this journey together with the Monarch. All the best.
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Congrats @Rachel_Schroeder ! So glad to have you as part of Monarch RISE. If you’ve liked playing Chess - and exciting update was announced this past April! Making More Out of Chess with the Monarch Online Article
I haven’t read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings either, but some friends used to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday with a big party and lots of snacks every year - I believe its September 22nd if you ever want to celebrate!
Hello! My name is Erin Palmer. I’m an itinerant TVI in Maine and I work for Catholic Charities in the statewide Education Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Students program. I serve students from birth through graduation age, in schools, home settings, and sometimes in the community. Currently I have 4 braille students, all in middle school and high school, and one of my high schoolers has been part of the Monarch student pilot project since last fall, so I’ve had a bit of an introduction. Although since my student was already familiar with the KeySoft applications, so once we got his settings all taken care of, he was off and running and didn’t really need me for much! I’ve seen how beneficial the Monarch is in the educational setting, and I’m looking forward to finding ways for it to benefit my transition ages students as they begin to enter college and/or the workforce. I’m especially looking forward to expanding my knowledge of KeyMath and the graphing calculator since math accessibility tends to be a challenge for my students.
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We’re so glad to have you, @Erin_Palmer! My background is in youth ministry and it was always so fun when you just got to sit back and experience students thriving without need for intervention. Glad to hear your student went flying and know you will too during your RISE project! <3
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Hello everyone! Trying this again because while I posted about two weeks ago, I just realized I was on the wrong thread!
My name is Vicky, originally from Paraguay but living in the US for 8 years, though I first came here for grad school in 2010. I have a BA in Education and a MA in Special Education. I’ve been a high school Literature and Music teacher, a TVI (I still do independent tutoring on braille literacy and assistive technology), and I am currently Assistant Director of Disability Support and Assistive Technology at American University in DC. In my role I review the accommodation process for undergrad and grad students with sensory and upper mobility disabilities, and provide assistive technology training to all students approved for accommodations involving such technology 8beyond the scope of blindness), as well as overseeing the Accommodated Testing Center and the implementation of accommodations in general.
Happy to be here and share experiences throughout the project!
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Hey @Vicky_Codas - glad you were able to find the thread! So much great information in the Hive Discussion boards; I’ve found it easy to get lost among the threads. Looking forward to learning about how the Monarch might help your university students seek employment during or after their education!
Hello all!
My name is JUdy Kilian, and I am a Teacher of the Visually Impaired working in Portage WI for a Cooperative Education Service Agency called CESA 5. There are 12 CESA’s or Cooperative Education Service Agencies in the state of Wisconsin. I am located in the south central part of the state.
I am also visually impaired with some limited vision, and use Braille as my primary mode of literacy.
I have some experience using the Braille Note Touch Plus, and am excited to learn more about the Monarch this summer.
Let’s go!
Judy
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Hi @Judy_Kilian - so glad you’re a part of our Monarch RISE Rabble! Have you been over the Dells? Ever since I learned about it, I want to travel and go swimming in the cold winter months. 
Yes, we live about 20 minutes from Wisconsin Dells. My children worked at Noah’s Ark during their teen and young adult years. There are lots of indoor water parks now as well. Come and have fun! Let me know, and we can share a snack or meal together. 
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Hello New Friends!
I am Danielle Jensen and this is my second year as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments. I am located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. My students range from birth to 21, and I am lucky enough to teach students and parents a huge variety of things including but not limited to accessing the world, ECC, and braille. I have a couple bright high school braille readers who are headed towards college and careers. I am excited to learn all the magic that can happen with the monarch but mostly how to use it in higher math classes for my students. Graphs and charts, here we come!!!
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Hi Danielle! Glad to see you on the board and glad to have you a part of RISE! Graphs and charts is definitely something that our Experience Exchange curriculum and content team has been thinking about based on my emails - so we’ll be looking forward to hearing your insights in our synchronous experiences this school year! Happy learning!
Hello, I am Tim Elder, the Managing Attorney at TRE Legal Practice, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. I look forward to figuring out how this interesting tool can be maximized for a blind trial attorney. I share a strong interest in getting access to tabular formats, including Excel spreadsheets. Access to GIS mapping data is another application of interest.
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So glad you’re here, @Tim_Elder ! I’m so interested to learn how JAWS and Monarch might support your work as a trial attorney after its launch! Hope trials are going well and weather in San Fran is staying cool!
Hello, my name is Brandon Biggs and I am the CEO and co-founder of XR Navigation. I am also a PhD candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. I am currently based out of Atlanta Georgia. My current research and work is on non-visual digital maps and spatial diagrams. My eventual goal is to support Monarch viewing of our maps. Currently, we support single-line braille displays, audio and text, and visual output. Although the audio experience of our maps is pretty good, the braille display experience is lackluster, and I think the Monarch will allow a much richer tactile experience of the maps and diagrams. If you would like to hear some maps, please visit:
https://audiom.net
I am excited to use the monarch for maps and spatial diagrams. I like trying new technology, although I lack time to do it as much as I would like. This project gives me an excuse to spend time with a new device, and I am very excited. The first thing I did after charging up my device was go through the chess tutorial. Now I am going to review the trainings and hope I did not mess anything up!
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My name is Kelly Bond
I am an instructor for the blind for the TN Department of Human Services, more specifically, Vocational Rehabilitation.
I am located in Middle Tennessee- A small town by the name of Smyrna, TN.
I serve clients in all ages and stages of vision loss. Students that have just graduated high school or are looking to brush up later on in life. The area that I focus on is Transitional and Career Skills. I also work in Community Reintegration, and assist in Grade one Braille.
I’m excited to learn new skills this summer 
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I noticed that there is a current beta program for the JAWS Monarch integration. Are we able to participate in that with these Monarchs?
Sorry, maybe the beta is not live yet. The Humanware announcement made it sound as if it was already live in beta.
Hi everyone,
My name is Pablo Rodríguez and I’m the Braille and Accessibility Specialist at the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School in New York City.
Our school serves blind and low-vision students of all ages through comprehensive music instruction, including performance, theory, and music braille literacy. I work directly with students, teachers, and staff to transcribe music into braille, train students and faculty on braille music reading and assistive tech, and develop accessible workflows and resources for both instruction and performance.
I’m excited to explore the Monarch’s full potential—particularly how it can support advanced braille music reading and notation for our young and adult musicians alike. I’m also looking forward to connecting with others doing this important work across the country!
Best,
Pablo
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Hi @kelly_bond - so glad to have you as part of our RISE Rabble! Can you believe that I’ve been to Smyrna, Tennessee! It’s a lovely small tall and we were there in mid-September so just beautiful weather that time of year. Excited to learn new skills with you!