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RUNNING HEAD: Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
1
Employability Development for Students with Disabilities through Technology
CAPSTONE REPORT
Casey J. Payne
Kennesaw State University
Summer 2018
Dr. Judy Wright
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Capstone B Report
Description of the Capstone Experience
The Project Search program facilitated by Walker County Schools is located in a medical
hospital within Walker County. The program is composed of students, who are referred to as
interns in the Project Search curriculum, ages 18-22 within our school system whom has met the
eligibility graduation requirements for students with disabilities. Within this program, students
with significant developmental disabilities ranging from autism to mild/moderate intellectual
disability learn job skills through multiple employment placements (3 10-week rotations within
the one year program in different departments within the hospital) (Project Search, 2011-2012).
In today’s workforce, one must be prepared to use technology as an advantage and be familiar
with platforms and skills necessary to succeed. Project Search is driven by collaboration with the
following community partners: host business (CHI Memorial Hospital); local school districts
(Walker and Catoosa County schools, Chickamauga City Schools), vocational rehabilitation
services, community rehabilitation partner, long term support agency, and social security
administration (SSA). The Project Search program serves students whose end goal is competitive
employment (Project Search, 2011-2012).
This capstone project focused on technology implementation into the Project Search
curriculum to serve the needs of the interns involved. The main component of this
implementation was a Project Search Weebly. All other components and elements of this
capstone project revolved around the foundation of the Project Search Weebly. The objectives of
the capstone included pre and post assessment to assess technology literacy, a social media
safety unit, creation of a resume along with a QR code that directs the audience straight to the
intern’s portion of the Weebly, newsletter to highlight intern successes and provide all
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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stakeholders involved with information regarding Project Search, and technology coaching to the
two individuals (job instructor and job coach) by recommending and implementing digital tools
and resources for students with disabilities.
The first undertaking that occurred was the initial framework development for the
Weebly site for Project Search. This included headers and themes, which includes: Home,
Business Advisory Council, 2018-2019 Interns, 2017-2018 Interns, Events, Previous Interns,
Project Search tools, Career Webquest, and Contact information. Under the Business Advisory
Council, subheadings of Meetings and Partners are present. Under the respective Intern headers,
subheadings are present for each intern that participated in the Project Search program this year
and/or will participate in the program next year, respectively. Once interns graduate from the
program, an individual’s information will be moved to the Previous Interns page where students
will still have access to artifact and deliverables developed as a part of the technology
component of the Project Search program after graduation.
The second area of development that encompassed a majority of timeframe within the
capstone project was the development of artifacts and deliverables to be implemented on each
intern’s section of the Weebly site. This development, support, and implementation occurred
during weekly “technology time” which took place with the Project Search technology coach.
Three main artifacts were developed and added to each intern’s section of the Weebly site: a
welcome page along with paragraph and video, a resume including all the work experience while
in the Project Search program (see Appendix A), and the results of the O-Net Profiler which is an
assessment that categorizes students’ likes and dislikes and recommends career fields for
individuals (see Appendix B). Therefore, if a potential employer visits an intern’s Weebly page
either through the QR code on his/her resume or by URL, the employer will be introduced to the
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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intern, be able to watch a welcome video from the intern, view a resume complete with skills and
work experience, and see the result O-Net profiler page from the intern to show what jobs in
which he/she may be proficient.
The third element addressed in this capstone was the development and implementation of
newsletters to engage stakeholders outside of the Project Search program. A group of individuals
known as the Business Advisory Council (BAC) meets quarterly to discuss job placement
options for the interns after graduation from Project Search. This group was the link for the
newsletter development within this capstone project. Two newsletters were developed (see
Appendix C and D) and encompassed meeting minutes of the BAC meetings and also
highlighted the interns and possibly placements based off of interest and experience. These
newsletters are stored in the “Business Advisory Council” section of the Weebly under the
“Meetings” tab. Upon development, these newsletters were emailed out to every individual and
business involved with our Project Search program and also to the school administrators within
out county to show the possibilities this program offers.
The final element of this capstone project involved the research, recommendation and
implementation of professional development for the two individuals (instructor and job coach)
involved with the Project Search program. These two individuals will take over the “technology
time” aspect of the program next year, while the technology coach will still maintain and
enhance the Weebly site with next year’s new interns. At this time, the conclusion of this
capstone addressed the professional development through a series of coaching sessions to
research, develop, recommend and implement digital tools and processes that were successfully
utilized this year along with tools and strategies that may be beneficial next year.
Barriers and Obstacles
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Three obstacles were encountered within this capstone project. The first obstacle that was
encountered was one intern was dismissed from the program and returned to high school. This
took the initial expected number of seven interns down to six. With three educators working with
the Project Search program (instructor, job coach, and technology coach), this left a 2:1 intern-
to-teacher ratio. This served as an invaluable relationship building component of the Project
Search program and this capstone project. The second obstacle that was presented was the
independence factor in serving students with disabilities. Currently, there are three interns with
autism characterized by difficulty in verbal communication and social awareness. They have
developmental differences and unusual responses to environmental sensory stimuli. Individuals
with autism can be resistant to change in environment or daily routine and have difficulty
interacting with others appropriately and lacks age appropriate social skills (Szidon, Ruppar, &
Smith, 2015). They sometimes have difficulty expressing himself/herself and understanding
verbal directions. Interns with autism become preoccupied with topics or items of interest and
may have difficulty switching focus to classroom instruction (Szidon et al., 2015). Autistic
individuals also have difficulty following multi-step instructions when given orally. The three
other interns are diagnosed with mild intellectual disability (MID) characterized by delays in
cognitive, academic and adaptive behavior skills. It takes MID interns longer to learn new
concepts. They have trouble understanding abstract ideas and making inferences and also have
difficulty transferring a learned concept across settings. MID interns also exhibit an expressive
language disorder that causes them to lack confidence and may need extended time to process
and express thoughts, ideas and answers to unfamiliar concepts. The strategy to progressing with
all six interns included a scaffolding approach from the beginning of the school year. The interns
worked extensively through “technology time” to learn what was and was not appropriate when
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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communicating with individuals online in an e-mail and messaging setting. Video conferencing
and video documentation were also used to address and implement technology standards of
communication and collaboration. The evidence of this development and implementation can be
seen in the graduation video, located at the bottom of the homepage of the Weebly site, which
features a video from each intern at the beginning of the year and at the end before graduation.
The final major obstacle encountered during the capstone project was after a short unit on social
media safety, it was clear that this objective may have been too ambitious for some of the social
disabilities that were present within the group of interns. It was observed early on that many of
the interns had trouble with social awareness in person, so the concept of social media was
foreign and ambitious to attempt. After the initial social media unit, it was decided to concentrate
more on the employability skills offered through Project Search that would lead to immediate
employability rather than personal social media behavior.
Follow Up
Follow up plans for this capstone project include the online presence developed and
implemented this year through the Project Search Weebly will be maintained and developed
even further over the summer and through the 2018-2019 school year. This capstone has allowed
for direct artifacts that the interns involved can use to gain employment, and the objective is to
add even more tools and deliverables next year to the Project Search Weebly. A connection and
relationship remain with the six interns that completed the program and updates to their artifacts
and deliverables that are located in the Weebly will continue to be maintained and utilized.
Discussion/Reflection
The conclusion of this project has shown the beneficial aspects technology can play when
utilizing strategies and digital tools with students with disabilities. There is more of a need now
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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than ever for individuals with disabilities to be functional not only in workplace technology, but
also personal technology skills to enhance his/her life (Trainer, Morningstar, & Murray, 2016).
Trainer et al. (2016) address the legislative mandates of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement act) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to highlight the need to
successful post secondary outcomes coupled with transition planning. “According to the IDEA,
planning and services must be individualized and specific to students’ interests, preferences,
strengths and needs with specific postsecondary goals documented on students’ individualized
education plans no later than age 18 (Trainer et al., 2016, p. 113).” Through research of
secondary transition planning for students across three high incidence disability categories of
learning disabled, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and emotionally disabled, Trainer et
al.’s research identified three evident findings important to transition planning: transition
planning and plan implementation, stakeholder involvement, and needed transition services.
“The most commonly identified programs and services necessary for post school goal attainment
across IEPs of students with high-incidence disabilities were vocational training and
postsecondary education (Trainer et al., 2016, p. 116).” Along with the aforementioned
predictors, Wehman, Sima, Ketchum, West, Chan and Luecking (2015) also identified the
importance of employment training/work experience and the role for parents’ expectations of
their child’s future as crucial components for a successful transition process. This capstone
project has addressed the need for successful transition planning for students with disabilities and
has used technology to enhance this planning by providing artifacts and employability skills for
the interns’ immediate use.
Knowledge was obtained regarding technology integration for students with disabilities
and visualizing the entire picture when planning for technology implementation. One must
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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remember that accommodations and modifications may need to take place in order for students
to be successful. Being ambitious and trying to accomplish as many things as possible was not
the most beneficial avenue for this capstone project. However, collaboration among educators
involved allowed for student focus to be central and technology implementation across various
aspects of the Project Search curriculum. By being aware of the disabilities present within the
program, correct measures were taken to provide the least restrictive environment and
accommodations to be efficient and productive. Specific accommodations used within this
capstone project included: calculator to compute monthly/hourly pay, visuals (checklists, steps
written out, etc.) to support processing of information, additional time to give a response or
perform a task due to slower processing of information, provide clear, concise directions to
promote allowing extra time to process verbal information before requiring execution of task,
have students restate expectations of tasks, repeat verbal direction, verbal direction being
supported in writing to reduce frustration and misunderstanding, and checklist of steps to
complete for required tasks to ensure comprehension and completion. Along with these
accommodations, implementation included using technology effectively to differentiate
instruction and provide rigorous, relevant, and engaging learning experiences for ALL students
(ISTE, 2017). The use of the Project Search Weebly, and support provided through “technology
time” allowed for designing technology-enhanced learning experiences with differentiation,
including adjusting content (such as reprioritizing the social media safety unit), process, product,
and learning environments based upon student readiness levels, learning styles, interests, and
personal goals (ISTE, 2017).
Through this capstone project, objectives required technology development and
implementation with both teachers and students, which allowed for a variety of strategies to
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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initiate and sustain technology innovations and manage the change process in the Project Search
program (ISTE, 2017). The critical component of the Project Search capstone evaluation is the
number of interns that receive job placements in competitive employment at the time of
graduation. At the completion of this capstone project, four out of six interns already had full
time jobs, and the other two are actively working with job coaches and outside agencies to find
the right placement.
Two main standards were addressed through this capstone project. First, Standard 2 of
the Georgia Performance Standards was central to this capstone project, which states “candidates
demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to effectively integrate technology into their
own teaching practice and to collaboratively plan with and assist other educators in utilizing
technology to improve teaching, learning, and assessment”. Through this capstone project,
implementation was demonstrated of technology to model and facilitate the effective use of
research-based best practices in instructional design when designing and developing digital tools,
resources, and technology-enhanced learning experiences (PSC 2.6). Design and implementation
throughout this capstone included modeling and facilitating the effective use of digital tools and
resources to support and enhance higher order thinking skills (e.g., analyze, evaluate, and create);
processes (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making); and mental habits of mind (e.g., critical
thinking, creative thinking, metacognition, self-regulation, and reflection) (PSC 2.4). This
capstone centered on the higher order thinking skills of post-secondary employment for student
with disabilities and creating an online presence to aid in successful employment and integration
into a post secondary employment environment. Personal beliefs were greatly influenced by this
capstone project, as many concepts addressed an individual’s ability to both receive and transmit
information in a variety of ways. As a teacher of students with disabilities, an individual’s ability
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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to both receive and transmit information in a variety of ways can transform an educational
environment into a positive experience for students of all learning levels. Second, Standard 3 of
the Georgia Performance Standards, which states “candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills,
and dispositions to create, support, and manage effective digital learning environments”, was the
other major standard addressed in this capstone. Through creating the digital learning
environment of the Project Search Weebly for this capstone, management of digital tools and
resources to provide for a positive student learning experience were present (PSC 3.2) while also
adapting lessons to use assistive technology and differentiation to support individual student
learning needs (PSC 3.4). In providing this support and differentiation, selecting and evaluating
digital tools and resources (PSC 3.6) provided paramount to the success of this capstone by
allowing students choice and variety of tools based on accommodations needed. This capstone
assisted my professional ability to integrate technology in personal educational settings as well
as manage digital learning environments for others, especially students with disabilities who
need that additional support.
In conclusion, this project aided individual professional development, adult learning, and
leadership to provide a great need for students who otherwise would be sitting at home after
graduation without a pathway to succeed. This capstone project coupled with the Project Search
curriculum allowed for students with disabilities to use digital tools to communicate and
collaborate locally and globally with other students, parents, peers, and the larger community
associated with Project Search (ISTE, 2017).
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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References
ISTE Standards. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards
Project Search (2011-2012). Retrieved from http://www.projectsearch.us/
Szidon, K. s., Ruppar, A., & Smith, L. (2015). Five Steps for Developing Effective Transition
Plans for High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 47(3), 147-152. doi:10.1177/0040059914559780
Trainor, A. A., Morningstar, M. E., & Murray, A. (2016). Characteristics of Transition Planning
and Services for Students with High-Incidence Disabilities. Learning Disability
Quarterly, 39(2), 113-124.
Wehman, P., Sima, A., Ketchum, J., West, M., Chan, F., & Luecking, R. (2015). Predictors of
Successful Transition from School to Employment for Youth with Disabilities. Journal
Of Occupational Rehabilitation, 25(2), 323-334. doi:10.1007/s10926-014-9541-6
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Appendix A *Some information was removed due to confidentiality concerns.
Jordan Ezekiel Chapman
PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES
On-time, friendly, hard worker, helpful,
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT Food Lion of Chickamauga, GA May 2018 - present Project|SEARCH CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, Fort Oglethorpe, GA August 2017- May 2018
Parkside Dietary
● Stocking ● Break down boxes and put them in the dumpster ● Load and unload industrial sized dishwasher ● Package Silverware
Materials Management
● Pick up and deliver mail ● Dust mop floors ● Dust shelves ● Pull stock orders
Environmental Services
● Clean discharge patient rooms ● Put Trash in the trash bin ● Mop ● Sanitize rooms
EDUCATION
Project|SEARCH CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, Fort Oglethorpe, GA August 2017-present Project|SEARCH is a school to work transition program designed to help young adults gain valuable job training and unpaid work experience at CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia. Ridgeland High School, Rossville, Georgia Received High School Diploma, May 2017
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Appendix B
5/8/2018 O*NET Interest Profiler: Score Report at My Next Move
https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip-print?t=i&z=0&i=153238322628 1/2
Printed for: Jordan
O*NET Interest Profiler: Score Report
R I A S E C
Realistic
Your score: 15
People with Realistic interests like work thatincludes practical, hands-on problems andanswers. Often people with Realistic interests donot like careers that involve paperwork or workingclosely with others.
They like:
Working with plants and animalsReal-world materials like wood, tools, andmachineryOutside work
Investigative
Your score: 32
People with Investigative interests like work thathas to do with ideas and thinking rather thanphysical activity or leading people.
They like:
Searching for factsFiguring out problems
Artistic
Your score: 38
People with Artistic interests like work that dealswith the artistic side of things, such as acting,music, art, and design.
They like:
Creativity in their workWork that can be done without following aset of rules
Social
Your score: 32
People with Social interests like working withothers to help them learn and grow. They likeworking with people more than working withobjects, machines, or information.
They like:
TeachingGiving adviceHelping and being of service to people
Your interest results:
Realistic 15Investigative 32
Artistic 38
Social 32
Enterprising 26Conventional 28
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Appendix B (continued)
5/8/2018 O*NET Interest Profiler: Score Report at My Next Move
https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip-print?t=i&z=0&i=153238322628 2/2
Enterprising
Your score: 26
People with Enterprising interests like work thathas to do with starting up and carrying outbusiness projects. These people like taking actionrather than thinking about things.
They like:
Persuading and leading peopleMaking decisionsTaking risks for profits
Conventional
Your score: 28
People with Conventional interests like work thatfollows set procedures and routines. They preferworking with information and paying attention todetails rather than working with ideas.
They like:
Working with clear rulesFollowing a strong leader
Special Notice: Proper Use of O*NET Interest Profiler Results
You should use your O*NET Interest Profiler results to explore the world of work and identify careers that may satisfywhat is important to you in a job-your interests. You will be able to look at the interests satisfied by careers and compare themto your own interests. Talk to a vocational/employment counselor or teacher for more help on how to use your O*NET
Interest Profiler results.
Your O*NET Interest Profiler results should not be used for employment or hiring decisions. Employers, educationprograms, or other job-related programs should not use your results as part of a screening process for jobs or training.
If you think that your O*NET Interest Profiler results are being used incorrectly, talk to your vocational/employmentcounselor, teacher, or program administrator. You also can contact the National Center for O*NET Development for assistance.
National Center for O*NET Development Attention: Customer Service
P.O. Box 27625 Raleigh, NC 27611
Email: O*NET Customer Service ([email protected])
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Appendix C
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Appendix C (continued)
Employability Development for SWDs through Technology
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Appendix D