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AT technology helps children with many disabilities. This article focuses on children with learning disabilities. Through AT children can focus on and celebrate their strengths. AT technology helps them "bypass" their challenges. AT can assist in all areas of school and life. Reading, Writing, Math, Organization, Etc... There are so many ways to assist students with AT such as alternative key boards, audio books, electronic worksheets, calculators that verbalize what you are typing, etc... I knew about some of these items but I have not had the oppurtunitity to work with any of them. At least now i have some background knowledge so if I ever need them or have the oppurtunitity to implement them into my classroom I will at least know a little. I also have this great resource to go to now if the situtation arises where I am looking for answers on AT.

How can educators align transition goals with standards-based education? Addressing the individual needs of students with disabilities and successfully meeting academic standards for all students is challenging. Therefore, it is critical that innovative curricula emerge that combine standards-based academics with transition planning to facilitate access to general education, including multiple-outcome measures and learning supports (Kochhar-Bryant & Bassett, 2002). This website is all about enhancing transition outcomes by using technology. The Ohio State University developed a standards-driven computer-based curriculum for students with disabilities in grade 8-10. They emphasized 3 skills: reading competencies, information literacy skills, and career planning. This would be great for a special educator to read and adopt the standards that OSU developed. It is interesting to see what different states are doing in the field as we at times tend to stay in our own little bubbles.

The access information is as follows: Username: USATEACHER Password: FEBFREE Future Forward, created by USA TODAY Education, offers real-world support for course content through a library of industry-focused articles and RSS feeds, simple and effective vocabulary and reading guides, and mini-assessments categorized by career cluster.

"Every teacher wants and expects his or her students to be reading increasingly complex texts, yet sometimes the gap between our expectations and our students' abilities seems wide and deep. It's tempting to look at that gap and step in to fill it for them, but then we'd be doing most of the "heavy lifting" - the understanding, analysis, and interpretation that our students should be learning for themselves."

This article describes the need for parents to be equal partners in the transition programming of their disabled child. Even after a student has transitioned from high school, their parents often remain a very strong and important part of their life. The article explores reasons that some parents may be less inclined to participate in the transition planning for their child. The authors then go on to suggest ways include parents more in the process. Professional Practice: It is very easy for us educators to get frustrated when parents aren't as involved in important processes for their children such as IEP planning and Transition planning. This article does a good job a explaining the different reasons that parents might not be as involved. This article will remind me of the unique perspective that parents have, and will help me in my effort to get parents more involved.

Excellent choice on this article Krystin! I find that the role of parents in the transition processes is very important and I think that it would be beneficial for parents to read.

Nice article. I like that there is a resource that discusses advocacy for the students. I feel that much of the time we talk about self-advocacy, which is extremely important, but I feel that it is equally important to have family support and involvement.

This website resource provides transition resources for parents, teachers and professionals. Throughout the website, there are headings for specific disabilities such as ADHD, autism and visual impairment. Each of these disabilities is provided with a brief summary and link which discusses success stories, suggestions and tips about transitions with those particular disabilities. The website is broken down into grade level options which make the search more specific. At the top of the page, there are headings related to worksheets, videos and colleges. This website will be useful to any student at any age that is transitioning either into a higher grade or new school. It will be important for parents of children who are going through the transition process to check out this website and read about what parents can do to help. I would highly recommend this to families who I speak to about this process.

I like how this article discusses success stories instead of negative views. The suggestions and tips for each disability is helpful to. What i really like is how it is broken up into grade levels so that it is easy to find what you need.

This is a great article, full of many resources, and is very easy to follow. I liked how for the student section it broke it down and from why students should be involved their IEP meetings and transition services, to providing students with resources to see about what to do after high school. Very user friendly and I would direct my students to this site.

This website provides information about transitioning out of school. It talks about who can provide helpful services, where to find a job, and how to live independently. The home page of the website is divided into three sections; students, families, and transition professionals. Each of these three sections is then divided again on their own. The student section provides information on living within communities, managing health, and managing money. This information is given in a very friendly manner that is simple to understand. It is provided in both written form and verbal form with pictorials included. The family section is divided into 9 categories. These categories range from self-determination to employment to organizations that can help with the transition process. Each of these nine categories provides a brief description and alternate resources for further information. The section for transition professionals provides online courses and links to informational websites. As a special education teacher working on transition and career development, I would share this website with both students and families because the information is presented in a very clear way. I would work with students to help them read about and learn the information being provided and then create an activity as a follow up. For example, I would help the student navigate their way through the managing money portion of the website and then have the student complete a series of activities having to do with money and budgeting.

This blogger uses assistive technology to read and write to post about the latest assistive technology products. The products reviewed are the newest assistive technology devices on the market. You can listen to podcasts about the products, as well as send an email requesting that a new product or app be reviewed. Coming from the point of view of someone who does not require assistive technology, I think it would be good to hear the opinion of someone who does use it. As a special educator I don't want to miss something, and risk setting a student up to fail because I didn't take something into account.

Closing the Gap was started by a family who raised a child who was deaf. Because of their experience of being parents of a child with learning disabilities, they wanted to share their knowledge and insight with others. "Closing The Gap, Inc. provides assistive technology resources and training opportunities through its bimonthly (print and online) magazine, Webinars and annual international conference." As I was researching assitive technology, Closing the Gap came up a few times. They hold international conference and provide information to educators, parents and professionals from around the world. I would like to subscribe to their magazine to read about the latest developments in assistive technology.

Learning what your college has to offer is so important! Keene State has wonderful resources but not all colleges do. Students really need to do their research to be sure they are getting what they need and take their education into their own hands.

It is crucial to know what your college offers! Learning this prior to starting school is so incrediably important and will help the student be successful in school. Schools have so much to offer typically you just have to seek it out.

This is great for students who are planning on going to college to read. I know of some students who don't even want to research/contact any colleges regarding assistive technology or other assistance they might be able to provide. I hope that students do consider what resources are available at the school of their choice and that they've developed the self-advocacy confidence to seek out help when they need it.

Nice article Amanda! I like that this site provides ample information in short chunks and each chunk has another resource attached to it. I think it is very helpful

I really enjoyed this article. It is very easy to navigate through and will be very helpful in the teaching profession.

This website resource covers ages from 0-22 as a transition into adulthood which I honestly thing everyone could use help with, not just individuals with disabilities. There are 3 different links to help with transition; The basics of Student Involvement, Person-Centered Planning and Materials for Students. As you scroll down the website, each category gives a brief summary and a link for more information/agencies that can be helpful. There is also related information which discusses and IEP, how a disability is defined and the health care transition for youth with special care needs. This website would be important to use with a student. They would be able to research about transition under their own age at the link at the top of the page. After all, there is a quote on the home page saying ,"there's a very simple and common sense reason why IDEA 2004 requires that students with disabilities be invited to attend every IEP meeting where postsecondary transition goals will be considered: It's their lives."

For those looking for information and resources about college and post-secondary options and accommodations Elizabeth Hamblet has a wonderful listing of resources and information with links on her website. http://www.ldadvisory.com/links Elizabeth is the author of the article in the January 2014 issue of Teaching Exceptional Children titled, "Nine Strategies to Improve College Transition Planning for Students With Disabilities ." You may also wish to read her book, which covers transition to college in depth - 7 Steps for Success: High School to College Transition Strategies for Students with Disabilities .

"Recognizing that evidence-based practices (EBPs) account for at least part of the effects of teachers on achievement and the critical role of teacher preparation, the CEEDAR Center professionals, along with their partner Great Teachers and Leaders, offer innovation configurations (ICs) to promote the implementation of evidence-based instructional practices in teacher preparation activities. ICs are designed to evaluate current teacher preparation and professional development (PD) by determining the extent to which EBPs are taught, observed, and applied within teacher preparation and PD programs. For more detailed information about ICs, read this guide. Please see this short guide describing our standards for selecting EBPs."

"Many teacher education programs offer just one class about students with disabilities to their general education teachers, "Special Ed 101," as it's called at one New Jersey college. It's not enough to equip teachers for a roomful of children who can range from the gifted to students who read far below grade level due to a learning disability. A study in 2007 found that general education teachers in a teacher preparation program reported taking an average of 1.5 courses focusing on inclusion or special education, compared to about 11 courses for special education teachers. Educators say little has changed since then."

"This guide has practical strategies that work for helping children of all ages who may be struggling with an at-home learning task. Families may find these strategies useful when helping their children complete various reading, math, and/or behavioral tasks at home."

This website was created by the Disability Rights organization in New Jersey. This organization aims to "advocat[e] and advanc[e] the human, civil and legal rights of persons with disabilities." The website for this organization provides a variety of information based around the law in New Jersey that covers people with disabilities, as well as provides numerous helpful resources. One of the major resources that this website provides is information about assistive technology resources. It provides information about the Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) of Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) which offers services to people with disabilities. As a special educator, I would use this website to learn about what the state of New Jersey does for people with disabilities. This would be helpful in terms of transition and career development because it would give me knowledge about what another state does for students if one of my students chooses to go to college in New Jersey.

Excellent resource Sarah! It is interesting to read about another state and I think it is important to be knowledgeable about other states, not just our own.

This text is designed to help postsecondary education personnel initiate or refine college programs for the increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities. Campuses today have a growing number of special education students. The good thing about college is you cannot always see the difference in them. This text includes all the legal terms and rights one would need to know when entering the college world. It also discusses the use of assistive technology is also discussed which is terrific because that is often forgotten about as a student leaves public school. I think this book would be a great resource for any high school teacher to have whether they be in general or special education. My favorite part is the discussion on assistive technology as it very crucial when doing college level work. For instance using dragon naturally speaking can be a life saver for those students who may be dyslexic or have a reading/writing disability or physical impairment. Finding the right college that has the appropriate disabilities services is important as well.

This article focuses on children with learning disabilities. This is a great resource to recomend to parents. This will help them to better understand how the school is going to meet the needs of their child. The article describes how AT can meet the needs throughout the enture curriculum such as reading, writing, math, etc... The article not only provides great information in a simple way but resources where to get more information. I would use this article when talking to parents about AT.