Students with special needs refers to students who struggle with academic and/or physical challenges. Resources include information on assistive technology, instructional strategies, and professional development opportunities.

 

Related Resources

Access and Equity in Online Classes and Virtual Schools (PDF)

The focus of this Issues Brief is to increase the awareness of the importance to students, teachers, and administrators of making online courses accessible to meet your legal obligations. This Issues Brief references civil rights legislation in the United States, but the issues of access and equity are relevant to all online programs.

Assistive Technology for Alternate Assessment and Evidence-Based Practice

Find out some ways to use technology for ongoing accessible diagnostic and prescriptive curriculum planning and alternate assessment through general education curriculum software that has been designed for universal access and provides scaffolds for differentiated instruction.

CoSN Small District Technology Leadership Wiki

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is a voice for K-12 education leaders who use technology strategically to improve teaching and learning. The objective of this wiki is to provide a space for collaborative work around topics regarding effective planning for and use and implementation of technology.

Differentiation with the TechMatrix

Use the TechMatrix to search for specific tools that allow customization for different types of learners by searching for features and limiting your search to differentiation. Many professional development programs are focusing on differentiating instruction to reach a wide variety of learners.

Disability 411

Access blog and podcast for educators working in special education, both in K-12 and higher education. View the archives for podcasts on a variety of topics in disability education.

Emergency Management for Schools

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) sponsors Emergency Management for Schools trainings to provide support to school staff and administrators interested in enhancing their preparedness efforts. On this site, viewers can access four one-hour Web casts, each featuring one of the four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. These Web casts can be played in conjunction with the Power Point presentations made available to enhance schools' training experiences.

Leveling the Learning Field (PDF)

This resource tackles the issue of ensuring that all learners achieve to their highest ability. The pyramid presented covers all areas of learning, including tasks, tools, environment, and learner attributes.

Cable in the Classroom

Literacy - Teacher to Teacher

The annual Teacher to Teacher summer workshops sponsored by the U.S.Department of Education have become popular places for teachers to pick up lesson ideas and teaching strategies from accomplished colleagues (and share some of their own). This page collects the 2007 presentations and handouts from literacy workshop sessions around the USA. Materials are provided on teaching reading, comprehension, vocabulary and writing across the curriculum, working with struggling adolescent readers, narrative writing, expository compositions, persuasive writing, reading and writing in math and science and with limited English proficient students, plus literature and the arts. Browse dozens of articles and click anything of interest to read a summary. Middle grades teachers and literacy coaches will want to examine the several presentations on unlocking the mysteries of informational text.

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Maryland Assistive Technology Network

The Maryland Assistive Technology Network (MATN) provides assistive technology specialists information on the most up-to-date AT policies, practices, and devices. CTE offers professional development opportunities to MATN members through its semi-annual institutes with nationally acclaimed leaders in assistive technology, regional meetings, and the MATN Online Web site.

Maryland Online IEP

The Maryland Online IEP is a tool developed by Maryland State Department of Education Division of Special Education and Early Intervention Services in Partnership with Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education with funding from IDEA Part B, the U.S. Department of Education. The tool produces and maintains one complete record of IEP information for each child. The result is a high level of data integrity and accuracy from which educators and the families they serve can make effective decisions.

Math Matrix

The math matrix is intended to serve as a resource that matches technology tools with supporting literature on promising practices for the instruction of math for students with disabilities. Search for products and evidence among the six purposes of technology that support reading for students with special needs.

CITEd

MATNOnline Wiki

This wiki provides educators in Maryland with resources to support the education of all students in a Universally Designed for Learning Classroom supports students with disabilities with the use of Assistive Technology.

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Reading Matrix

This matrix is intended to serve as a resource that matches technology tools with supporting literature on promising practices for the instruction of reading for students with disabilities. Search for products and evidence among the six purposes of technology that support reading for students with special needs.

NCTI

Student Progress Monitoring: Online Trainings

These Webinar recordings and online trainings show educators how student progress monitoring can be used to improve student performance, particularly in a Response to Intervention (RTI) model.

Supporting Struggling Writers Using Technology

Review this report on writing technologies for students with special needs to learn how technology can help students improve their writing skills.

Texas Assistive Technology Network AT Modules

Assistive Technology in Texas Schools Series Each module in the Assistive Technology in Texas Schools Series was designed for use by regional education service center and district staff responsible for assistive technology (AT) capacity-building in the state of Texas. The modules can be used to build knowledge and skills in AT service delivery at various levels throughout the state education system. The content of each module directly supports the legal mandate of IDEA’97 that requires that AT devices and services be provided to a student with disabilities if required as a part of the student’s Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). These modules are aplicable to every state, not just Texas.

Texas Assistive Technology Network (TATN)

The Wonder of Word (PDF)

This handout describes how to adapt text in Microsoft Word to increase readability.

Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System and Pandhandle Area Educational Consortium

To Leave No Child Behind (PDF)

Educators are increasingly presented with the challenge of meeting accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, particularly for low-performing students or diverse learners. This article discusses the challenges and how assistive technology and universal design for learning seek to address those issues. 

Cable in the Classroom

Universal Design for Learning: Improved Access for All

This article discusses the basic principles of universal design for learning (UDL) and how to create a UDL environment in the classroom. This is also a good resource to provide parents with background information on UDL. 

Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation

Using a Universal Design Approach to Find Barriers and Solutions in the Curriculum (Word)

The purpose of the Finding Barriers and Solutions Exercise is to provide educators, administrators, and family members with the opportunity to share ways of making learning more accessible and effective for all students.

Access Center