Enhancing Transportation Education Using Mobile Devices and Applications

The most salient aspect of independent living and successful post-high school transition to employment is having the ability to independently use transportation (Bouck & Flanagan, 2010). The Department of Labor (2012) reports that only 20% of persons with a disability sustain paid employment, and those who are tend to be working only part-time (Abbye, & Rose, 2010). A barrier to sustaining employment is the ability to navigate independently to and from the place of employment. Programs that educate students with disabilities to transition successfully to employment correlate to higher rates of meaningful employment (Bergstahler, 2001; Carter, Trainor, Ditchman, Swedeen, & Owen2009; Lindstrom, Paskey, Dickinson, Doren, Zane, & Johnson,2007). This article describes the importance of transportation education by incorporating mobile devices. Additionally, this article explores mobile device application to support transportation education. Steps are provided to develop and implement a transportation education program for individuals with moderate disabilities.