Meeting the Needs of Special Needs Learners Online

Natalie HolmLeslie FetzerJen Currin

Today we’ll look at…What do we mean by “special needs”

learners?Teaching courses using Universal

Design for LearningExamples of UDL in NCVPS coursesBest PracticesActivity 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)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

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 (jennifer.currin@ncpublicshools.gov)

• Leslie Fetzer (leslie.fetzer@ncpublicshools.gov)

• Natalie Holm (natalie.holm@ncpublicshoools.gov)