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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."

This website was created by the Center for Independent Futures, a non-profit organization in Illinois. This organization aims to help "adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community." The website and organization provides information about having a disability, as well as services and accommodations that they can provide for adults with disabilities. Because the Center for Independent Futures is a non-profit organization, they host a variety of fund raising events each year. These events, as well as other ways to donate to the organization can be found on the website. If I were a special educator working on transition and career development, I would use this website for students who are looking at attending school in Illinois. The site would provide very useful information for the student because it would tell them what kind of supports they can receive in the state and where they can get those supports. Illinois has a variety of colleges and universities, and the Center for Independent Futures would be a very positive support system for new students in the state.

"This Module will help users to better understand the benefits of student-centered transition planning, identify ways to involve students in collecting assessment information and developing goals, and be able to prepare students to actively participate in their own IEP meetings (est. completion time: 2 hours)."

"Many students still struggle to graduate on time within traditional school systems, particularly racial and ethnic minority students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. States and schools are shifting their focus to ensure college and career readiness is a realistic and attainable goal for all students. This brief provides an overview of competency-based education (CBE), one model to support college and career readiness for all"

This resource is a website called Star Center which consists of a Learning Lab Service made up of different sections such as; phonics, fluency, comprehension, math skills and social skills building. There are other headings too for example; Literary Services and PlayAttention which is where students learn the skills to survive and thrive in the classroom or workplace. There are also links which are easy to navigate to that offer job opportunities, success stories as well as an online store. This website could be useful a special educator because if offers skills which can be helpful for student who are interested in entering the workplace in the future. It is important for students to be aware of the skills and knowledge required for a particular job. This resource can be helpful in ensuring the students are successful in the future.

The Center for Assistive Technology (CAT) was created by the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Buffalo. It is a center that "conducts research, education, and service to increase knowledge about assistive devices for persons with functional impairments of all ages." The center focuses on four main areas, (1) "Research, Development, Transfer, and Commercialization," (2) "Education Programs," (3) "Client Assessment & Training Services," and (4) "Dissemination." These four areas include faculty members from approximately thirteen departments at the University of Buffalo. The website created by CAT provides information about the program as a whole, current research, educational programs and services that they provide, as well as current projects and past projects. As a special educator, I would use this website to learn about new assistive technology programs that would be beneficial for my students. I would also use this site to learn about workshops for educators that teach about new assistive technology. This information would be very beneficial during transition and career development time because it would provide me with the most recent information to give to my students.

"The Institute on Disability is pursuing the expansion and further development of Assistive Technology (AT) services and training in the state of New Hampshire. Assistive Technology is integral to the daily lives of many New Hampshire residents. Awareness of and the ability to try assistive technology devices are important aspects to making a decision whether a particular technology is "the right fit." The IOD is actively involved in partnerships on campus, throughout the state, and on a national level to promote access to assistive technology services." This site is full of great information about assistive technology. The resources tab is where you want to direct most of your attention as many of the documents and resources that are identified are very practical and geared toward use by special education service providers, students, and parents. Of particular interest to schools is instructions for how to create a low cost case for the iPad for use in schools. Check it out! Application to Transition Practice The information provided on this site will help to support transition practices in the classroom (direct teaching of transition skills), in work-based learning experiences, and living. There are many suggestions for how to physically adapt assistive technology hardware to meet an individual's need in the workplace. Also, in the resources there is a resource list of "reviewed" iPad apps for use to assist individuals with disabilities to become more independent is environments both within and outside the classroom. For example, the dragon app is free and it can be used to dictate and transcribe text. Various apps used for study skills and time management and organization could be very useful for students with LD and ADD in a variety of environments. It would be important to introduce individuals to some of these apps while they are in high school so they can learn about how they might help them in college, daily living, or employment settings.

The Institute on Disability is part of the University Center for Excellence on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. "The Institute on Disability is pursuing the expansion and further development of Assistive Technology (AT) services and training in the state of New Hampshire. " This department at the University of New Hampshire provides information about disability services that are provided for their current students as well as information concerning training programs for professionals. Professionals can register to attend the assistive technology workshops to learn about the newest programs that will help students with disabilities in their education. As a special educator, I would use this website to attend workshops on the most current assistive technology resources. This would keep my knowledge up to date and give me the opportunity to experience new and different programs. Then, when I have new students who may need different assistive technology both in high school and transitioning to college, I will be better equipped to tech them how to use the program.

Summary: This article outlines 5 steps that special educators can take to complete successful transition planning. These five steps are centered on the student and include including the student, self advocacy, self-determination, etc. Professional Practice: These 5 keys to success are essential. The keep the focus on the student and how to make the process work for them. By keeping these keys to success in mind we are really making the process student-centered.

I like how this is such an easy article to follow and read. The 5 steps act as a good checklist for any special educator.

Great article. It hits home on a lot of fronts. I think it is important to note that the very first step is student involvement. Students really need to come to the table and feel respected and contribute to their transition planning.

This website provides very helpful information for families regarding the different assistive technology systems that are available to children with disabilities. It provides resource reviews about hundreds of technology resources that are available to help families chose the one that works best for their student. It also provides a search engine based on state to help families locate organizations in their area who work with students with certain disabilities. This site has a link to discussion forums where families can talk and connect with others who have students with similar disabilities. The Family Center on Technology and Disability has created this site to be helpful and informative for families. It is very easy to navigate and user friendly. As a special educator, I would use this website as a way to help families connect with organizations and other families in the area who have students with similar disabilities. Disabilities can be very challenging not only for the student but also for the families who are supporting them. Having someone else to talk to about any possible struggles they may be having and having someone else to relate to can be very helpful.

This website provides many different links about different types of assistance technology. Each link has a short summary about the tool which gives a person in need of assistance an idea if the type of technology is necessary or not. Each resource provides a wide range of topics such as introductory fact sheets and CEU's for practitioners and educators. This resource is also important for families who are new to the transition phase of a child's life. These tools can support children who are very young as well which means it can provide assistance to a wide range of families.

"Knowing where to begin and how to proceed can be daunting though. We're here to help. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, the Family Center on Technology and Disability provides a wide range of resources on assistive technology, from introductory fact sheets and training materials to in-depth discussion of best practices and emerging research. Try setting aside 30 minutes a day to review an FCTD resource. Before you know it, you'll know a lot more about assistive technology and the ways in which it can improve the lives of the children and youth with disabilities. Of course, we're here for your just-in-time information needs as well. We hope you'll visit our site often!"

"Student Engagement: Resource Roundup Keeping students captivated and ready to learn throughout the year is no small task. Here's a list of articles, videos, links, and other resources that offer strategies and advice for keeping them engaged in learning."

"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."

"Strong And Engaged Site Leadership This film was created by SWIFT under a federally funded, national K-8 center to provide academic and behavioral support to promote the learning and academic achievement of all students, including students with disabilities and those with the most extensive needs. This film focuses on how strong and engaged site leadership is a foundation for transforming systems throughout a school, empowering the entire faculty to support student success."

"The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT) developed the Transition Gradebook as a school-level tool for recording individual students' transition-related activities, including the required pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS), and various risk and protective factors associated with dropout, graduation and positive postschool outcomes. The Transition Gradebook is a locally served database application that records transition-related activities from five major areas from NTACT's Predictors of Postschool Success-specifically, Career Awareness, Work Experience, Inclusion, Student Supports, and Collaboration. It also tracks whether a student has received instruction in self-determination, social skills, life skills, and/or transportation skills. Finally, the tool also records some of the risk and protective factors associated with school completion: specifically in the areas of attendance, behavior and course performance, as well as other factors that impact school engagement and postschool outcomes."

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.

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.

In So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates.

"DREAM (Disability Rights, Education Activism, and Mentoring) is a national organization for and by college students with disabilities.  Our work is supported by our sponsoring organization, the National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD), which is based at the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD).  "

"Welcome to the only federally-funded national center in the U.S. for college and graduate students with any type of disability, chronic health condition, or mental or emotional illness. "

"n this informative excerpt from Models of Intervention in Mathematics: Reweaving the Tapestry, you'll learn how digital tools and online environments can be used to: Leverage technology to adjust teaching in the moment Utilize the computer as an assistant teacher Identify student strengths and weaknesses and notify the teacher Dr. Cathy Fosnot is Professor Emeritus of Childhood Education at the City College of New York and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the founder and past director of Mathematics in the City (www.mitcccny.org), an internationally recognized center for professional development located at CCNY and funded by the National Science Foundation. A well-known author and speaker around the world on mathematics education, Dr. Fosnot has authored over 40 books and numerous articles on mathematics education, including Models of Intervention in Mathematics: Reweaving the Tapestry. "

"Finding and encouraging learner-centered pioneers who are already at work in communities, school systems, policy arenas, and the education profession, so as to grow the number of active champions of learner-centered education."