Meeting the Needs of Special Needs Learners Online Natalie Holm Leslie Fetzer Jen Currin

Today we’ll look at…  What do we mean by “special needs” learners?  Teaching courses using Universal Design for Learning  Examples of UDL in NCVPS courses  Best Practices  Activity Examples

In your experience, what challenges do students with disabilities face in regards to course delivery and interaction in an online course?

Not so “Typical” Students vary in: Type of disability Academic ability Level of functioning Emotional/behavioral issues Adaptive and organizational skills Community/family support

Keep in mind… Students in our classroom are diverse in their needs and abilities The online environment can give students an advantage to recognize and adapt to that diversity. How do we teach a course that appeals to ALL students with such a variety of needs and abilities?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Have you used any of the following tools to differentiate instruction for students in your online courses? Goanimate Voki Jing or other screencasting tool Wimba Pronto Animoto Blabberize Wallwisher Toondoo Glogster Discussion boad Wiki

What other tools do you use to differentiate instruction in your online courses?

What does this look like? Multiple Means of Representation Information is broken down into smaller “chunks” Videos- concepts explained visually and verbally Guided notes- provide structure and organization Interactive tools- students learn by doing

What does this look like? Multiple Means of Expression Use a variety of assessment methods (Discussion boards, wikis, wallwishers, glogsters, animotos, formative assessments, etc) Give students options/choices Incorporate students’ strengths/weaknesses

What does this look like? Multiple Means of Engagement Hands-on Instruction- Interactive games/labs One-on-one Instruction- Wimba (live/archived), Pronto, Bb messages Relate content to students’ interests Make connections with students (Announcements in Bb)

General “Best Practices” Emphasize principles and overall themes Deemphasize text Provide more focus on less content Include concrete examples and hands-on activites Promote cooperative group solutions

Specific “Best Practices” Instructions: Put them in a numbered format Keep the number of steps to a minimum (3-5.) If more steps are required, split it into two parts. Images: They should have a purpose and be tied to content Use images as links instead of lengthy URLs Text Use large fonts (14pt+ or 4+ in Bb) Give more space for students to answer/work out problems Audio: Create audio for all text Avoid computer-generated audio

Examples of Activities Biology English Algebra

What do students think? "My students love it! Their self-esteem has increased immensely. Decrease of behavioral issues. Increase in technology skills, as well as academic growth.” “The program has really kept the kids attention and interest. I thought once they got used to the program they would be bored or ready to complain. However, this has not been the case. The students enjoy the hands on activities and the interactive learning keeps them engaged. Moreover, I think the program's most unique quality is how it is so student paced.” "WOW, we had a great day today. Amy got it!!! She has struggled with this for two weeks and got it today. My AP came in today and was impressed with what we were doing...She did love the fact that we were working in pairs on the white boards and kids were getting it and she was amazed to see them multiplying trinomials.”

Summary You can have technology without the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and UDL without technology, but using them together is truly effective in meeting the diverse needs of our students.

Questions? Jen Currin Leslie Fetzer Natalie Holm