Michelle Davis senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning

Expert Presenters: Matthew J. Wicks, vice president of strategy and organizational development, International Association for K-12 Online Learning

Katharina I. Boser, cognitive-development psychologist; co-chair, Innovative Technology for Autism advisory board, Autism Speaks

Patti Ralabate, director of implementation, Center for Applied Special Technology

An on-demand archive of this webinar will be available at

www.edweek.org/go/webinar in less than 24 hrs.

www.inacol.org

Reaching Special Education Students Through Online Learning

Matthew Wicks Vice President Strategy and

Organizational Development

International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)

• iNACOL is the leading, international, non-profit association in K-12 online learning.

• Based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (Vienna, VA) • 3800+ members in K-12 districts, states, universities,

researchers & online learning providers • Provides leadership, advocacy, research, training and

networking with experts in K-12 online learning. • “Ensure every student has access to the best education

available regardless of geography, income or background.” • Conference - Virtual School Symposium (VSS) in Indianapolis

(November 9-11, 2011) • www.inacol.org

U.S. Online Learning Facts • 48 states have significant state policies (KP 2010) • 4 states require online learning for high school

graduation • 50% of employers use e-learning for training • 1 in 4 undergraduate and graduate student enrolls in an

online course in higher education; 5.9 million college students take online courses.

• 82% of school districts had one or more students in a fully-online or blended course

• More universities are offering K-12 courses online • K-12 online learning enrollments growing 30% annually

(50,000 in 2000; 2 million enrollments in 2008-2009; 4 million in 2011).

K12, Inc. 2010 IEP/504 Students

Approximately 7K students

(10% of total)

Autism, 1% Traumatic Brain Injury, 0%

Specific Learning Disability, 4%

Emotionally Disturbed, 1%

Cognitive Disability (mental retardation), 0%

Multiple Disabilities, 0%

Speech Language, 1%

Other Health Impaired, 2%

Visually Impaired, 0%

Hearing Impaired, 0% Orthopedically

(physically) impaired, 0% Other (please identify), 0%

US: Challenge to Innovate & Engage

• Do all students have access to a world-class education?

• How do we personalize education for every student – providing them with 21st century skills, knowledge and global perspectives?

What Does Opportunity Look Like? Students who need or want supplemental

online courses have access to them without barriers of cost, scheduling, transferability of credit, etc.

Students who need or want a full-time online program have access to one or more without restrictions based on prior school setting, district permissions, caps, etc.

Opportunities will be of high quality Online Learning: both blended learning

and virtual learning using online courses

http://www.glickconsulting.com/sites/default/files/ images/Online_Demographics_Glick_2011.pdf

Online Learning Demographics

Online Learning Demographics

Top 6 Challenges for Serving Students with Disabilities through Online Learning

1. Student Motivation and Engagement / Providing Student Support

2. Coordination with students’ local school district / getting students’ records

3. Deficiency in curriculum 4. Lack of proper parental support/involvement 5. Lack of staff / lack of time 6. Difficulty in identifying students Source: iNACOL April-May 2011 Membership Survey, n=73

Personalization

• Differentiation of instruction • Out of classroom experiences • Multiple modalities • Multiple ways of assessment • Multiple pathways • Competency-based pathways

What Is Competency-Based?

Competency-Based Pathways Design Principles

1. Students Advance Upon Mastery

2. Explicit and Measurable Learning Objectives That Empower Students

3. Assessment is Meaningful and a Positive Learning Experience for Students

New Directions in Autism and Technology for Learning With Katharina I. Boser, Ph.D. EdWEEK Webinar

Two Websites: http://bit.ly/autismtech http://bit.ly/appsforautism

From Dautenham 2010

Tools that meet the “Good for Autism” Criteria

Visually based learning tools: Academic and Social Vizzle Facesay Teachtown

Data management for Teachers (on mobile) Symtrend Behavior Tracker Pro

Reward Systems (Mobile or non-mobile) Built-in to applications Charting tools plus behavior management apps

Tactile Surfaces Shared tables iPads

Visual Language

Research studies by Howard Shane & Kevin Kearns (Boston Children’s Hospital) and Monarch school demonstrate efficacy-unpublished

Access to web based moderated curricula Includes video, audio, text insertion See also Teaching Language Concepts at BCH

http://vizzle.com

Language, Academic, Social

ABA/Discrete trial software program Guides students through pre-determined lessons Based on computerized assessment Web-based program for use at home and school

.

http://web.teachtown.com/research/studies

Symtrend: for CBT intervention

In collaboration with MGH Youth Care program, Lucci, McLeod et al IMFAR 201

Graphing Emotion Regulation

After training, students and teacher converge more on ability to record expression and interaction; More in synch with coaching and viewing graphs together

Face Say

Amazing Gazing

Band Aid Clinic

Hopkins, Gower et al JADD 2010

For video of Face Say go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX-_ri7QBzo

•Improved emotion and facial recognition skills (HFA and LFA), no improvement with drawings only generalization for LFA (n=14 per group)

Social Games: Secret Agent

Randomized controlled trial showed greater improvements in social and emotional skills for Tx of control group (N=23 per group) after two month intervention.

Social skills improved across contexts

76% improving from having clinically significant delays in social functioning to within the range of TD.

Maintained gains five months after the program ended

Secret Agent Society

www.sst-institute.net Beaumont & Sofronoff, 2008

Shared Active Surfaces

Battochi, A. et al. 2010 “Collaborative Puzzle Game” 70 TD and 16 ASD Not directly comparable due to size differences but E f d C ll b ti i i t ti b t ll

Cospatial Includes collaborators at: University of Bar Ilan, Israel, University of Palermo, Italy & Nottingham /Birmingham

What makes the iPad a good tool? Multimedia components: Highly Visual, links with

auditory Tactile stimulation, ease of use and touch Movement and ‘construction’ Engaging and Fun; motivation/reward Know your app developers: Be sure they are connected with the community and not

just creating a ‘one-off’ app Connect with (a4cwsn, momswithapps, snapps, etc)

where developers give ‘freebies’ and listen to feedback, changes are made

Often better apps result from originally designed tool for

desktop whose components are converted for mobile use

http://bit.ly/appsforautism

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Dr. Patti Kelly Ralabate CAST, Director of Implementation

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning: Using UDL

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Benefits of E-Learning

Same general education content as for peers without disabilities

Allows for assistive technology (AT) Frequent, self-directed & immediate feedback Flexible presentation formats Various engagement options Flexible options for demonstrating or expressing

learning

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Challenges of E-Learning

Providers need to Understand individual learning needs Consider more than accessibility Balance challenge & support Address options for supporting:

– Comprehension & strategy development – Problem-solving & social skills – Self-regulation without frustration

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Three UDL principles Multiple Means of Engagement (Affective) Multiple Means of Representation (Recognition) Multiple Means of Action and Expression (Strategic)

What UDL is http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

The UDL Guidelines

http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/updateguidelines2_0.pdf

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Resources

National Center on UDL (http://www.udlcenter.org/)

To learn more – UDL Online Modules (http://udlonline.cast.org/page/module1/l3/;jsessionid=7ADCBDE28A7BE43BDD9C7E5E8F40C395)

UDL Tools

CAST UDL Book Builder (http://bookbuilder.cast.org/) CAST Science Writer (http://sciencewriter.cast.org/welcome;jsessionid=C3716A88191B943B0A9ADBA97B1EDF5C) Thinking Reader (http://www.tomsnyder.com/products/product.asp?sku=THITHI)

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Optimizing Expert E-Learning

Access

Scaffold Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Expert Learners

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning

Expert Presenters: Matthew J. Wicks, vice president of strategy and organizational development, International Association for K-12 Online Learning

Katharina I. Boser, cognitive-development psychologist; co-chair, Innovative Technology for Autism advisory board, Autism Speaks

Patti Ralabate, director of implementation, Center for Applied Special Technology

Reaching Students with Special Needs Through E-Learning Ralabate

An on-demand archive of this webinar will be available at

www.edweek.org/go/webinar in less than 24 hrs.