Post 1: Special Needs - 2- Best Practices for Online Communication
I chose student b. She is being served by a 504 due to ADHD. She begins the course very eager and actively engaging in the content and the assignments, but takes a dip in course work a few weeks in. She begins skipping around in the course and turning in assignments at odd times. Open communication with the student and her parents will be vital to being successful in the course. We need to be on the same page concerning the course schedule. Using a color coded course schedule and encouraging her to print it out to follow along as a check list will be just the beginning for the student. Organization in an online course along with time management are skills that an ADHD student will struggle with, but vital for success in the online environment. There are several ways to help overcome these obstacles.
The first best practice I would attempt is class directions in video. Often our assignments in our virtual classrooms have very tedious steps. Recording and simplifying the expectations of the assignments would help a student with ADHD. I would implement it in several ways. I would record a video in my JIGSAW platform. I would then post on the news feed because it could help all students. I would then follow up with individualized communication by email letting the student have direct access to the video to refer back to as they complete the assignment. This approach would help the student because they would have both auditory and visual instructions of the expectations. They are also receiving one on one communication concerning the assignment as they tackle it.
The second best practice I would attempt would be proactive rather than reactive. This student will get off task. It has already been documented that organization is a problem. We do not need to wait until they are sinking in the course. Starting off with expectations will be important. I would implement it by creating a detailed course schedule. Often assignments on our course schedules only show when they should be turned in, but they need to be worked on for several days before. Creating a course template that breaks down when they should be working on the assignments along with when they should turn them in would create a very detailed daily work schedule for the student. Color coding it will also help bring their attention to specific details. The outcome would be to help solve issues before they arise. Helping create organization and prioritize the course workload.
The third best practice I would attempt would be to be clear and concise. Often if an ADHD student receives extremely long emails or directions they are going to skim or lose focus. With creating clear and short instructions the student will be more engaged. If an assignment is very tedious it would help be creating a news announcement and individualized email breaking the assignment down in simple steps, even possibly over several days so that the student can stay focused. Simplifying these longer steps would allow the student to remain engaged, but keep the integrity of the assignment. We are only simplifying the instructions, not reducing the workload. Overall this approach is used quite commonly to help students clarify confusion and remain engaged in the class.
Post 2: Special Needs - 2- Specific Strategies for Online Differentiation and Personalization. Option B
In my traditional classroom of AP World History we have to discuss the hard topic of genocide. The first way I introduce this topic to students is through a video lesson. We watch clips of no more than 8 minutes of each genocide we need to cover. Each clip is informational as well as sensational. We look at the clips of Rwanda, Bosnia, Holocaust, and Cambodia. These clips allow us to launch into a class discussion. As we watch the videos I have the students fully watch and not complete any questions. The goal is for them just to receive the information.
After the videos they are then given discussion questions. They are to discuss with a partner then write up a response for themselves. This can be modeled in the virtual setting. Allowing the videos to be watched, discussed on the discussion board, then submit a formal writing assessment over it. The discussion questions guide them to the focus of the genocides that College Board wants the students to understand. We look at the problem, what caused it, and what did the United Nations or other organizations do about the issue. Our written response is in the style of an SAQ, short answer question. This practices the writing style they will see on the AP test along with understanding one of the key topics that will occur as well.
The second approach with this topic is a jigsaw activity with a graphic organizer. After completing phase one of videos and reflection, we then move into a jigsaw. Each group has primary and secondary articles about the genocide. The students are guided through the readings utilizing a graphic organizer. Each table has 2-3 sources to read. Upon reading the student works with their partner to complete the graphic organizer and pull out key details and facts about the genocide at that table. This can easily be adapted to a virtual setting. Having student read primary sources, then discuss their findings on a discussion board.
Upon completing the jigsaw activity we then write a formal essay according to the AP writing components. This allows group discussions while filling out the organizers to dig deeper into the material, then a formal assessment using the AP writing rubric based on a larger scaled question. This LEQ or DBQ style of writing allows the student to take the information they have received from the videos, the Jigsaw, the graphic organizer, the discussion questions, and their short SAQ writing and compile all the information into a formal essay. This formal essay continues the practice for the AP exam, but also helps a student analyze all the information they have received from the multiple components of the genocide lesson.
Post 3: Special Needs - 2- Creating Products to Assess Mastery in the Online Environment
In AP World History, a final project consists of taking a country that has been discussed, China for example, and creating a PowerPoint presentation showing the changes and continuities that have faced its history from the beginning of time to current years. This project overlaps multiple themes required in the AP environment and serves its purpose as a review. The requirements is that there must be 2 slides per the 6 time periods. This would be 12 slides total. Each time period should have 1 slide for items that have changed and 1 slide for items that have stayed the same.
This is a designed based assignment. This can be done collaboratively or individually. The strengths of this assignment is that it allows students to take ownership of their review for the AP exam. It helps them analyze large trends we have studied throughout the course. Shortcomings would be for students who have trouble public speaking, students who have accommodations due to speech, or other issues that would hinder a public speaking forum.
There are a couple ways to change this project to make it more acceptable. The first would be to change its tech format. We could go from a high tech presentation to a low tech timeline. Students could use web based timelines that help make the project flow with media sources. Also instead of a live presentation, it could be recorded and presented as a timeline recording. Students also have the choice of which country they would like to present. The choice of working with a partner or alone on the project could be implemented as well.
Another change could be away from the PowerPoint format and into a high tech element of interactive photos. This could be narrated through a recording as well to present the information as a recorded dialogue rather than a live presentation. These interactive photos can relay the story of change and continuities through a visual representation and auditory dialogue. Submission changes could be that the project may be presented live in a setting like JIGSAW or they could be in a format of a discussion board. All students could post their previously recorded assignments. As the classmates watch the recordings they could leave feedback and commentary to show class interaction.
