March, 2007

Knowledge Generation Update
The Knowledge Generation panel, housed at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and led by Dr. David Test, is continuing the review of literature to determine evidence-based secondary transition practices. Members of the Knowledge Generation Expert Panel and doctoral students from SRI, and Kansas University, Oklahoma State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Central Florida, and the University of Maryland are also assisting with the review. If interested in being trained and assisting NSTTAC staff with this review, contact Catherine Fowler, project coordinator, at chfowler@email.uncc.edu.

Preliminary findings of the review have been shared at national (i.e., the CEC Division of Developmental Disabilities, the Applied Behavior Analysis, the National Dropout Prevention Center) and state (i.e., the North Carolina CEC) conferences. Results are also being organized for access via the center’s website, in a format that will track the progress of the literature review. These resources should be available by April 1 at www.nsttac.org.

Capacity-Building Institute (CBI) Update
NSTTAC staff have been planning the National Secondary Transition State Planning Institute in Charlotte, NC for May 2 – 4, 2007 (e.g., finalizing the agenda, facilitating registration, and confirming presenters and state team facilitators). Members of the Capacity Building Expert Panel with serve as presenters, facilitators, and/or state team members during the May institute. We have also worked with the NM state team to plan and provide the New Mexico transition cadre meeting in January, with the Arkansas state team to plan and conduct their transition summit, and with Wisconsin to provide presentations for their state transition conference. We continued work with the Colorado and Oklahoma state teams to plan 2007 capacity building activities, and with local teams in Oklahoma to implement their program improvement plans developed through the OK 2006 transition institute (e.g., student workshops to build employment-related skills; teacher workshops on transition assessments and integrating assessments into the IEP; and evaluation tools). We’ve also continued ongoing technical work with the NPSO and NSPC-SD Centers, and initiated work with the Navajo Nation regarding the state planning institute.

Dissemination Update
The panel has been finalizing resources and tools for transition assessment guide that will be available at www.nsttac.org, along with helping edit an online interactive training document with examples and non-examples regarding documentation for Indicator 13 of the Part B Annual Performance Reports. We also made the following six presentations – age appropriate assessment for high school students for teachers from NE GA (Cleveland, GA), parental involvement in transition for parent advocates and policy makers (Columbia, SC), parents and school completion for PACER’s Alliance Conference (Washington, DC), Indicators 1, 2, 13 & 14: How they all relate and school completion as students see it for Northwest Regional Special Education Directors (Blowing Rock, NC) and Universal Design for Learning: What students are saying at the National Dropout Prevention Conference (Myrtle Beach, SC). We are also working with several local high schools on providing age appropriate transition assessments for their students and have been contacting SEA’s for information on how best to meet their needs at the May workshop.
 

NSTTAC will host the first annual Secondary Transition State Planning Institute in Charlotte, NC May 2 – 4, 2007.
The goal of the institute is to improve states’ implementation of research-based transition practices. States are invited to send multidisciplinary teams to participate in the Institute. Travel and accommodations will need to be handled by the state/individual; however, the Institute is free. More information on hotel accommodations, state liaisons for teams, and other questions can be obtained at www.nsttac.org or by e-mailing chfowler@email.uncc.edu.

NSTTAC will use the Taxonomy for Transition Programming (see www.nsttac.org) as a framework for effective practices. The forum will include content presentations by experts in the field, including state agencies, regarding effective practices and provide state teams with facilitated planning times to examine aspects of their capacity building, including data-based decision making, professional development, technical assistance, and policy analysis in connection with improved performance on secondary transition-related indicators for their Part B Annual Performance Reports.

The Social Security Administration's Efforts to Promote Employment for People with Disabilities: New Solution for Old Problems
The National Council on Disability (NCD) has produced a report with recommendations that could be useful in policy and procedural modification discussions by both Congress and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to significantly address the continuing number of SSA beneficiaries who never leave the Supplemental Security Incomes (SSI) and Disability Insurance (DI) rolls, and to increase the number of beneficiaries who enter, or reenter, the U.S. workforce. http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/ssa-promoteemployment.htm

Transition Services for Students Aged 18-21 with Intellectual Disabilities in College and Community Settings: Models and Implications of Success
This brief provides an overview of some successful models of transition services being implemented in postsecondary settings, describes one such model implemented by the Baltimore City Public School System in three local colleges, and presents some of the implications and strategies for success of this model. http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=3395

Preparing Youth for Careers, Lifelong Learning, and Civic Participation: Principles and Characteristics of Six Leading U.S. Youth Development Programs
This report, from the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), is for practitioners in the public and non-governmental sectors who design and implement youth employment and youth development programs and the policymakers who support them. http://www.aypf.org/publications/PrearingYouthforCareers
LifelongLearningandCivicParticipation.pdf

Models of Collaboration and Cost Sharing in Transition Programming
Produced by NCSET (January 2007), this brief describes two funding tools that are increasingly used in collaborative relationships. Both blended funding and braided funding pool financial resources to maximize outcomes. These tools can help sustain effective relationships in transition programming. http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=3447

"Latinos with Disabilities in the United States: Understanding and Addressing Barriers to Employment"
This report conducted by Proyecto Visión examines the unique obstacles that Latinos with disabilities encounter in employment and offers suggestions to overcome these barriers. An outline of the full report can be found at: http://www.proyectovision.net/report.html

Quality Counts 2007: From Cradle to Career: Connecting American Education from Birth to Adulthood
For the past decade, Education Week’s annual Quality Counts report has tracked state policies for improving K-12 education. But children’s chances for success don’t just rest on what happens from kindergarten through high school. They are also shaped by experiences during the preschool years and opportunities for continued education and training beyond high school. http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2007/01/04/index.html

KnowledgeWorks Foundation has launched its Education Map of the Decade
How might the growing trend toward do-it-yourself approaches to everything from home improvement to buying stocks change public schools? How might schools use cell phones to teach? What might happen to schools if a pandemic illness results in widespread quarantine? How might the increasing trend of parents finding ways to "improve" their children through pharmaceuticals, digital technologies and surgeries create new expectations of normal and exacerbate already existing achievement gaps? These are the sorts of questions the Map helps leaders address. Developed in partnership with the Institute for the Future, the Education Map of the Decade identifies external future forces that are likely to shape the primary and secondary education system over the next 10 years. http://www.kwfdn.org/map/

Learning to Finish: The School Dropout Crisis
This community discussion guide is the first in a series of steps in a multi-year effort led by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change to assemble a nationwide network to address the dropout problem. For the one million or so students who drop out each year, the prospects are dire. For the communities in which they live, the dropout rate is very bad news indeed. Each year, the toll of lost wages, taxes, and productivity that can be attributed to dropouts comes to more than $200 billion for the nation as whole. That does not take into account the fact that more than two-thirds of the inmates in state prisons are school dropouts.  http://www.pew-partnership.org/pdf/dropout_overview.pdf

A Survey of Selected Work Readiness Certificates
Prepared by Jobs for the Future for the United Way of Rhode Island this report summarizes five of the nation's many work readiness certificates. The five certificates are representative of the diverse range of such initiatives in terms of target population, certification requirements, geography, and other factors: the WAGE Certificate Program, the Workforce Skills Certification System, the Work Certified Program, WorkKeys Career Readiness Certification, and the National Work Readiness Credential. The report highlights the benefits and costs associated with each, as well as issues that stakeholders should consider in determining which approaches would benefit their state's unique demographics, economy, and political landscape.
http://www.jff.org/JFF_KC_Pages.php?WhichLevel=1&lv1_id=4&lv2_id=0&lv3_id=0&KC_M_ID=315
 

2007 CRP-RCEP Webcast Series
http://www.worksupport.com/training/webcastSeries.cfm

March 20 - "Project search - an innovative transition program"

April 16 - "Employment for individuals with disabilities with criminal records"

May 15 - "Transition to meaningful adult roles: You can't put a square peg in a roundhole - A journey"

May 22 - "Organization change - Examples of successful case studies"

June 12 - "Customized self employment"

2007 Montana Conference on Diverse Abilities, "Bridging Gaps: Collaboration Across General and Special Education"
April 4 - 6, 2007
Held in Missoula, MT at the Hilton Garden Inn and Missoula Conference Center.  http://www.mtcec.org/conference.htm

CEC’s 2007 Annual Convention & Expo
April 18 - 21, 2007
Held in Louisville KY. http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment/
ConventionExpo/default.htm

"Meeting the Nation's Need for Personal Assistance Services: State of the Science"
April 27, 2007
Sponsored by the Center for Personal Assistance Services and held at the National Press Club in Washington DC. More information will be available on the PAS Center website http://www.pascenter.org

NSTTAC's National Secondary Transition State Planning Institute
May 2 – 4, 2007
Held in Charlotte, NC the goal of the institute is to improve states’ implementation of research-based transition practices. http://www.nsttac.org
(for further information see 'Announcements' section)

imagine...EVERYBODY WORKS
May 10 - 11, 2007
Held in Columbus, OH the Autism Society of America and APSE: The Network on Employment present a conference dedicated to employment of people on the autism spectrum. http://www.apse.org/

"Ace It! Student Views on Expanding Academic and Career Supports for College Students with Physical and Neurological Disabilities"
Web Conference June 5, 2007. 2:00 - 2:45 PM EDT.
Sponsored by the Virginia Commonwealth University RRTC on Workplace Supports and Job Retention (http://www.worksupport.com/index.cfm) the training events are developed to meet the needs of people with disabilities, rehabilitation professionals, families, and persons working in business and industry. http://www.worksupport.com/training/webcastDetails.cfm/70

Making the Impossible Possible: A Better Life for Persons with Different Abilities and Their Families
July 8 - 12, 2007
This international special education forum held in Lima, Peru will bring together researchers, practitioners, and families from Latin America and the world to provide opportunities to share ideas around critical issues of mutual interest and forge collaborations for future work in special education.
http://www-home.carlow.edu/~sorourke/ISEF/information.htm

AHEAD conference 2007
July 17 - 21, 2007
Held in Charlotte, NC, the annual international AHEAD conference brings together professionals in the fields of higher education and disability for a week of information-sharing, networking and theoretical and practical training. http://www.ahead.org/training/conference/2007_and_beyond.htm

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning
July 23 - 26, 2007
Held in Wakefield, MA this four-day institute will teach how to address the diverse needs of student populations. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a blueprint for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences. http://www.cast.org/pd/institute/index.html

2007 National Youth Transit Talk
July 27 - 28, 2007
Sponsored by CIL Berkeley and held in Washington, DC. http://www.cilberkeley.org/youthtalk/index.html

The October NSTTAC Secondary Transition Mid-Year Institute
October 17, 2007
Sponsored by NSTTAC and held in Orlando FL at the Disney Contemporary Resort hotel. http://www.nsttac.org/?FileName=cbischedule

DCDT CONFERENCE
October 18 - 20, 2007
The Division on Career Development and Transition will hold its conference at the Disney Contemporary Resort Hotel. http://www.dcdt.org/calendar/index.html 
 

Statewide Professional Development focused on Secondary Transition:

If your state is hosting a secondary transition focused conference, please let us know and we’ll include the information in our next newsletter, korteringlj@appstate.edu.

Alabama Transition Conference
March 12 -14, 2007, Auburn
http://education.auburn.edu/academics/depts/rse/outreach/transitioninstitute/transitionconference/
index.html

Kansas Transition Summit 2007
March 13 - 14, 2007, Wichita
http://conferences.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=512

Arizona’s Seventh Annual Transition Conference “PATHWAYS…”
September 17-18, 2007 Scottsdale/Fountain Hills,
www.ade.az.gov/ess/SpecialProjects/transition/events.asp
 

Update:-
Baseline Indicator 13 data were reported by states to OSEP on February 1, 2007. NSTTAC staff will be assisting OSEP in the analysis of these data through May, 2007. The NSTTAC Indicator 13 Web-based Checklist, for use in training, has been submitted to OSEP for approval. Once finalized, the tool will allow website visitors to access definitions, examples, and non-examples of various aspects of the checklist for several “case study” students. Feedback on the drafts of this document from teachers, transition coordinators, and professional development providers has been helpful in its development and positive regarding its utility for the field. NSTTAC eagerly anticipates its approval and its use by the field!
 

New Work and Benefits Calculator
Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) helps workers, job seekers, students and service providers understand the connections between work and benefits. In addition to the Benefits-to-Work Calculator and the Job-to-Job Calculator, a new calculator called School and Work is now available for youth with disabilities. http://www.disabilitybenefits101.org/planning/(l0vi2o45faqoue45pjr1djac)/index.aspx

The Training Resource Network, (TRN) Inc.
This company offers web based training on the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in their communities. Each course is $149 and includes two weeks' access to online web instruction and readings, a national Forum discussion board, and a post-test at the end of the course. A certificate of completion for 18 in-service hours is awarded to each participant who successfully completes a course. Courses have a limited capacity with students being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. http://www.trninc.com/  

The Riot! - Self-Advocacy, it's a riot!
The Riot! produced by the Self-Advocate Leadership Network at the Human Services Research Institute is a newsletter for “self-advocates.” A self-advocate is somebody who has a disability and speaks up for themselves. http://www.hsri.org/leaders/theriot/

“Making Tracks to Transition” Program Resources
This page lists resources from the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital. The page offers supports for transition-age youth with disabilities and their families. Its three-stage program creates a “medical home” for youth, creating relevant goals and working with schools and community agencies to meet objectives. http://www.hcbs.org/moreInfo.php/nb/doc/1725

Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational & Career Development Challenges
NCWD/Youth has revised this guide for multiple audiences as they assist youth in making decisions and choices based on appropriate assessments that focus on the talents, knowledge, skills, interests, values, and aptitudes of each individual. Youth service practitioners will find information on selecting career-related assessments, determining when to refer youth for additional assessment, and on other issues such as accommodations, legal issues, and ethical considerations. Administrators and policymakers will find information on developing practical and effective policies, collaboration among programs, and interagency assessment systems. http://ncwd-youth.info/assets/guides/assessment/AssessGuideComplete.pdf

Wraparound Process User's Guide
Wraparound is a planning process that follows a series of steps to help children and their families realize their hopes and dreams. This guide, from the National Wraparound Initiative (NWI), provides a comprehensive description of what families can expect from the wraparound process. The guide can also serve as an introduction to wraparound for service providers, policy makers, and other stakeholders. http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/nwi/NWIWork&Prod.htm

Financial Literacy Information for Young People with Disabilities
Research shows that low educational attainment, employment expectations and confusing governmental programs with conflicting eligibility criteria have resulted in many young people with disabilities not making a  successful transition from school to postsecondary education, employment and independent living. This brief discusses various state and federal initiatives for individuals with disabilities and their families to become more economically self-sufficient, including descriptions of financial literacy programs and additional resources. http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assets/info_briefs/infobrief_issue16.pdf

The National State Policy Database (NSPD)
The database contains the federal special education regulations issued in August 2006 and state special education regulations from all states and the District of Columbia with the following exceptions: (1) California special education statutes are entered since that state is not using special education regulations, and (2) the state special education regulations in Mississippi have been repealed and new regulations are being developed. The database is designed and maintained through a collaboration between the RRFC Network and NASDSE's Project Forum. http://nspd.rrfcnetwork.org/search/searcher.php

Internet safety information for parents and teachers

• Parent's Guide to Cyberbullying: www.cyberbully.org

• MySpace Tips for Parents: www.myspace.com/safetytips. Includes a link for removing a child's profile.

• MySpace Moves to Give Parents More Information http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116900733587978625-TzfakoF_hN6f6R45g_cLsm3OJZ0_20080116.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

• WiredSafety: www.wiredsafety.org/internet101/blogs.html

• Student Bloggers' Legal FAQ: www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-students.php

Guides and information to help parents and teachers understand IDEA

• NCLB and IDEA: What Parents of Students with Disabilities Need to Know & Do. Produced by The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). http://education.umn.edu/nceo/OnlinePubs/Parents.pdf

• National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) IDEA Parent Guide.
  http://www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/parent_center/idea2004parentguide.pdf

• The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP’s) IDEA website. The site was created to provide a "one-stop shop" for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations, released on August 3, 2006. http://idea.ed.gov
   

Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community
Presented by the Hitachi Foundation to 10 high school seniors from across the country who have left a lasting impression on their communities as a result of their community service activities. Award selection is based upon the significance and extent of the nominee's service to the community. Consideration is made to the relevance of these activities to addressing profound community and societal problems. The Award is accompanied by a gift of $5,000, dispensed over two years, which recipients may use at their discretion. Nomination deadline: April 1, 2007. http://www.hitachifoundation.org/yoshiyama/

Secondary and Postsecondary Students in Career and Technical Education: Enter an Essay Contest
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) sponsors an essay contest in the memory of former ACTE Senior Director of Communications, Cliff Weiss. Entrants must be either secondary or postsecondary students enrolled in at least one career and technical education course. Entrants must answer the following: "How will what you learned in CTE help the American economy in five years?” Secondary students must submit an essay no more than 500 words in length. Postsecondary students must submit an essay at least 500 words in length. The winner of each category, (secondary and postsecondary), will receive $250. Entry deadline: March 30, 2007. http://www.acteonline.org/about/awards/CWMEC/

The Crib to College Scholarships
Crumley and Associates is committed to supporting higher education opportunities. The Crib to College Scholarship Program enables students to pursue their educational goals by awarding ten scholarship recipients with $1,000 and a laptop computer. The Crib to College Scholarship is for North Carolina High School Seniors who will be attending a four-year college or university in the Fall. The Crib to College Next Step Scholarship is for the student enrolled in a "transfer" program at one of North Carolina's Community Colleges who will be transferring to a four-year college or university in the Fall. Deadline: March 15th  2007. www.crumleyandassociates.com/crib-to-college.php.

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams is a national grants initiative to foster inventiveness among high school students. Teams composed of high school students, teachers (of math, science, or technology), and mentors collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research the problem, and then develop a prototype invention as a class or extracurricular project. Grants of up to $10,000 support each team’s efforts. Application deadline: April 27, 2007. http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/

ING Unsung Heroes Awards: Funds for Inspirational K-12 Teachers
The Unsung Heroes Awards from ING Financial are given to K-12 educators (teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members) at accredited public or private schools with creative and innovative projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. 100 finalists will receive $2,000 awards. Of these 100 finalists, 3 will be selected for additional awards: $25,000 for first place; $10,000 for second place; and $5,000 for third place. Application deadline: April 30, 2007. http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/communityconnections/ineducation/unsungheroes/

Hamburger Helper helping local towns
Hamburger Helper is giving away $15,000 a month to fund projects in hometowns all across America. Projects will be considered every month through May 2007. http://www.hamburgerhelper.com/

The Coca-Cola Foundation
 The Coca-Cola Foundation supports educational programs within three main areas: higher education, classroom teaching and learning, and international education. The programs support scholarships for aspiring students; encourage and motivate young people to stay in school; and foster cultural understanding. Over the last ten years, the Foundation has contributed more than $155 million in support of education.
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html
 

The ThinkCollege.net website was developed by the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, in collaboration with the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii, and the Federation for Children with Special Needs. The website focuses on developing and encouraging post-secondary educational opportunities for students who have intellectual disabilities. http://www.thinkcollege.net/

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) was established in 1990 to provide national leadership in designing and building educational assessments and accountability systems that appropriately monitor educational results for all students. NCEO is an affiliated center of the Institute on Community Integration,  located within the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. http://education.umn.edu/nceo/

LD.org, developed by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc covers a wide variety of topics related to learning disabilities. The page chosen focuses on high school and adulthood and look at helping students with learning disabilities create plans in relation to their education, career and family. http://www.ncld.org/content/view/382/339/

Imagine! Finding New Stories For People Who Experience Disabilities. Connecting behavior and communication is critical to everyone. This site is dedicated to supporting people who experience disabilities and exhibit, what some have called, "difficult behaviors."  It is based upon a simple idea: difficult behaviors result from unmet needs.  In a sense, difficult behaviors are messages which tell us important things about a person and the quality of their life. http://www.dimagine.com

The Center for Personal Assistance Services is based at the University of California, San Francisco. It provides research, training, dissemination and technical assistance on issues of personal assistance services (PAS) in the United States. PAS refers to help provided to people with disabilities to assist them with tasks essential for daily living. These tasks include bathing, dressing, getting around, toileting, eating, shopping, remembering things, and other activities. PAS, along with assistive technology such as wheelchairs, text readers, and hearing aids, help people with disabilities to participate in activities at home, at work, and in the community. http://www.pascenter.org/home/index.php

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Workplace Supports and Job Retention. The purpose of the center is to study those supports that are most effective for assisting individuals with disabilities maintain employment and advance their careers. The focus of the project are persons with disabilities, with an emphasis on those who are unemployed, underemployed or at risk of losing employment. http://www.worksupport.com

First in the Family: Advice About College web site from What Kids Can Do features straight-up, practical advice from first-generation students who have made it to college. It includes videos, facts, tips, planning checklists, and other resources about college. http://www.firstinthefamily.org/

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment. DO-IT is based at the University of Washington and primary funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, the State of Washington, and the U.S. Department of Education. http://www.washington.edu/doit/
 

Arizona’s Seventh Annual Transition Conference “PATHWAYS…”
September 17-18, 2007
Held in Scottsdale/Fountain Hills, Pathways… will be focused on seven (7) strands related to facilitating successful transition for youth with disabilities. (Community Partnerships, Family Voice, Legal Implications, Secure Care, Accessing Community Resources/ Medical and Social Empowerment, Youth/Young Adult Empowerment, and Assistive/Instructional Technology). For further information please contact: cynthia.bryant@azed.gov, nicolette.lawrence@azed.gov or go to,  www.ade.az.gov/ess/SpecialProjects/transition/events.asp

In addition to their transition conference, AZ has two outreach series events. The first is an interagency partnership (Partnering for Secondary Transition Results) and is in collaboration with Vocational Rehabilitation, Division of Developmental Disabilities, and Behavior Health. The second event is their Postsecondary Partnership which is involves collaboration with local community colleges and universities. For further information on these events go to: http://ade.az.gov/onlineregistration/SelectEvent.asp?viewall=”yes”&GroupID=62

AZ also is working with the Transition Coalition (University of Kansas) to develop seven community transition teams, incorporating the efforts of local teachers, community partners, and students and their families. Further information on their Community Transition Teams is posted at NASDE’s www.sharedwork.org

States tackle global competitiveness
In their State of the State addresses this year, many U.S. governors have proposed new education programs that aim to raise high school graduation rates and ensure the global competitiveness of their students--and many of these proposals rely on the use of educational technology. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6811
 

Six ed-tech trends to watch in 2007
Educational technology has progressed to the point where differentiated, individualized instruction is possible for students anywhere on the planet. Without financial and political barriers it can be delivered at any time, in just the right form, with whatever frequency might be required. ESchool News Editor Gregg W. Downey describes six educational technology trends to watch in 2007. http://www.eschoolnews.org/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6781

The Best Evidence Encyclopedia
A free web site created by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) under funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. It is intended to give educators and researchers useful information for students in grades K-12 about the strength of the evidence supporting a variety topics such as mathematics, comprehensive school reform, education service providers, technology in reading and math, and reading for English Language Learners. http://www.bestevidence.org/

Welcome to Curriki The Global Education & Learning Community
Curriki is an online environment created to support the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them. Their name is a play on the combination of 'curriculum' and 'wiki' which is the technology we're using to make education universally accessible. Curriki is the result of work done for the Global Education and Learning Community (GELC), an online project started by Sun Microsystems to develop works for education in a collaborative effort. http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome

GameBoy fills new niche — education
A Utah firm has produced Pocket Professor KwikNotes, a cartridge for various GameBoy platforms that features basic information about several educational subjects, allowing the devices to be used for education rather than play. The idea behind KwikNotes is to offer immediate access to easily forgotten and frequently hard-to-find information that keeps popping up during junior and high school years. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650221387,00.html

A Learning System That Opens Many Doors
About 1,300 schools in 42 states are now using a new learning program developed at the University of Connecticut. Students spend 45 minutes responding to profile questions that pinpoint their interests. A search engine selects from 13,000 pre-screened activities and develops an individualized curriculum. The Wizard Project Maker then helps students design projects, and a portfolio archives the student's work and can be transferred, grade to grade, school to school. http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-covinvent0117.artjan17,0,3823235.story?coll=hc-headlines-education

Using games to teach
A new project developed by university researchers uses wireless handheld devices to teach students about math and reading, using a game-like interface. The Handheld Augmented Reality Project (HARP), a collaboration among Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, uses wireless handheld computers to enhance teaching and learning through a series of activities that draw on the attributes of students' surroundings. www.eschoolnews.org/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6817
 

I Say 'Try'

I will study and prepare myself
and then someday my chance will come.

Success
does not so much depend
on external help as on self-reliance.

I don't think much of a man
who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.

Let us have faith,
let us dare to do our duty
as we understand it.

I am always for the man who wishes to work.

I say "try."

If we never try,
we shall never succeed.
Abraham Lincoln
 

Note:
Thanks to Reference Points: Transition Updates from the TATRA project for providing some of the information including in this issue of NSTTAC Notes:
Reference Points is administered by PACER Center www.pacer.org as a joint technical assistance activity of the TATRA Project and the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition www.ncset.org. The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition is funded by and is a partner with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, cooperative agreement # H326J000005. The TATRA Project is funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/RSA/index.html.