I have chosen the Kali and Joyce scenarios to discuss their difficulties.
Online teachers have a responsibility to help them overcome the challenges
facing them in the online classroom. Kali recently received the diagnosis of
Lupus. This medical condition is causing her to have trouble staying on pace
with the course. Her two issues would be medical, due to the disease, and
internalization of stress. The medical diagnosis, of Lupus, could causes health
issues that are typical to the illness itself or complications from the
medication for treatment. Often students with health impairments are not able
to work long stretches and require more breaks due to tiredness. The second
issue with Kali could be internalization. Students on medical home bound often
feel despair and do not vocalize their concerns. Kali already has to work at a
slower pace due to the illness and on top of current workload; she has past
assignments as well. This double workload along with the medical illness can
cause her to feel that she has no chance of catching up and could possible shut
down and not complete the work.
To help Kali overcome these issues I would suggest two types
of intervention. The first would be communication. Communication is key because
Kali will feel overwhelmed. She will need the reassurance from her teacher that
they are in this together and overcome the issues facing her within the course.
Having open communication will help when medical issues arise and she is unable
to work sufficiently on the course. The second suggestion would be crop
dusting. The workload needs to be reduced along with the missed assignments
before the medical diagnoses. Looking over the course and picking out the key
items for her to work on and still meet the standards would allow her to reduce
the feeling of despair of not being able to stay on track with the workload.
Having a plan of action for her will help utilize flexibility of an online environment.
Joyce suffers from Anxiety and Depression and does not do
well with correction. With her plagiarism infraction, special approach should
be considered. Issues that she is dealing with would be Emotional/Behavioral
disorders and internalization of frustrations. The Anxiety and Depression would
be a medical diagnosis with emotional/behavioral aspects that could be seen in
the online classroom. During episodic incidents, work could become sporadic or
incomplete. Changes in medicine can also affect the student in a positive or
negative manner. Due to the fact that Joyce does not receive correction well
could be a connection to the anxiety. The negative of online environments is
that most feedback is digital and tone and facial expressions cannot be
interpreted during this type of interaction.
To handle the plagiarized essay I would begin by contacting
the parent. Having the parent on board with the infraction. Letting them know
of the issue before speaking with the student would help ease anxiety by having
an at home support. I would use the call for back up and ditch the cookie
cutter approach. I would call for back up because plagiarism is a large
offense. If it were a first infraction, I would let the special education
department know in case any anxiety would arise from the discussion of the
grade. I would then ditch the cookie cutter approach. Sending an email is not
sufficient because tone cannot be heard. I would call the parent and try to
conference with the student at the same time. Over the phone would allow tone
to be heard and hopefully ease the stress of the situation. Overall I think
being aware of the student’s anxiety we can come to an understanding about
plagiarism and expectations moving forward. Ditching the cookie cutter approach
should help ease communication stress in the future.
Blog Post 2: Special Needs - 1-
Accommodations in an Online Environment
I have encountered numerous students on the Autism
Spectrum during my 7 years in online education. One student stands out during
my tenure as an educator. The student suffered from anxiety and was on the
spectrum. He typically needed clarification in assignment directions, extended
time on assignments and tests, as well as reduction of workload. The student
was very diligent and worked hard on the assignments, but since he did work at
a slower pace processing the information and completing the workload the
reduction of assignments was a necessity to stay on a productive path in the
course.
The
online environment was a success for the student. The parents saw a change in
his attitude and it reduced tension at home to complete the assignments. There
were several factors for this:
1. Freedom of work space. The student was able to take breaks, walk away, leave the computer and come back to the work when he felt agitated. He was not required to sit in a desk around 30 peers for a set amount of time. He had flexibility of any place any time. Often he completed his assignments later in the afternoon and evening. This flexibility allowed freedom from distractions and allowing to work at his own pace to accomplish the goals of the class.
2. Amount of courses taken at a time. Often for students in a traditional high school they take either four block classes a semester or 6-7 traditional classes a year. The student I am discussing was with me at Florida Virtual School. Their policy of courses is different from GAVS. They allowed students to work at their own pace. Many students would take one class and knock it out in 4-6 weeks, then another class, then another. This allowed them to only be focused on one course at a time. Others took the traditional approach that we offer at GAVS, but can choose from 4 pacing options. This student at FLVS took two classes at a time. He would knock them out in about 10 weeks. He then continued with another two and went year round through the summer so that he did not feel overwhelmed while completing the assignments for multiple classes.
3. Individualized attention from teacher without distraction. In a traditional classroom, you have 30 students. In an online environment I was able to interact with the child on a daily basis. He did not feel singled out from his peers. He was provided with an individualized lesson plan focusing on the vital assignments and eliminating those that could be dropped for a reduced course work. He was able to reach out in his preferred method of communication, email, to not feel the anxiety from being in a large class setting asking for clarification orally. Overall, he was able to feel safe in his environment of choice and receive the individualized attention for his needs.
1. Freedom of work space. The student was able to take breaks, walk away, leave the computer and come back to the work when he felt agitated. He was not required to sit in a desk around 30 peers for a set amount of time. He had flexibility of any place any time. Often he completed his assignments later in the afternoon and evening. This flexibility allowed freedom from distractions and allowing to work at his own pace to accomplish the goals of the class.
2. Amount of courses taken at a time. Often for students in a traditional high school they take either four block classes a semester or 6-7 traditional classes a year. The student I am discussing was with me at Florida Virtual School. Their policy of courses is different from GAVS. They allowed students to work at their own pace. Many students would take one class and knock it out in 4-6 weeks, then another class, then another. This allowed them to only be focused on one course at a time. Others took the traditional approach that we offer at GAVS, but can choose from 4 pacing options. This student at FLVS took two classes at a time. He would knock them out in about 10 weeks. He then continued with another two and went year round through the summer so that he did not feel overwhelmed while completing the assignments for multiple classes.
3. Individualized attention from teacher without distraction. In a traditional classroom, you have 30 students. In an online environment I was able to interact with the child on a daily basis. He did not feel singled out from his peers. He was provided with an individualized lesson plan focusing on the vital assignments and eliminating those that could be dropped for a reduced course work. He was able to reach out in his preferred method of communication, email, to not feel the anxiety from being in a large class setting asking for clarification orally. Overall, he was able to feel safe in his environment of choice and receive the individualized attention for his needs.
This
child like many children in virtual school suffered from managing his time.
Online school is great for flexibility, but the student must still choose to log
in and actively work on the assignments. This student needed some prompting
initially, but once we set up a daily goal for him he was able to have a
checklist to follow. Eliminating certain assignments, we were able to restructure
his daily pacing guide, based on his how long he wanted to work on the class.
We were able to have him completing one task per day for the course. This
allowed him to be able to focus on a set assignment each day for his two
classes and be successful. Other challenged in the online environment he had
was staying organized. Due to most of the content being online, we discussed
about taking notes and staying organized in his assignments like you would a
traditional course. He did well on the assignments, but struggled with
assessments because he was not utilizing traditional classroom approaches of
studying. Overall with the help of active parents and teacher intervention
early on he was able to be successful within the course.
Blog Post 3: Special Needs - 1 -
Developing an Individualized Plan
1. Plan B is the better option for a plan, in not only the online environment, but also any educational setting. It gives very specific guidelines to follow with due dates and expectations. Details are vital to creating well written 504 and IEPs for teachers to follow and implement in a successful manner.
2. The strengths of the plan are in the accommodations. It goes into detail beyond the option A. It states exact time limit for extended time on assignments and timed assessments. It specifically states how to reduce assignments or length of assignments. It is very good at letting the teacher know what the expectations are so they can be implemented successfully. Other key aspects are the expectations of Polly and her parents. Polly needs to have communication on a regular basis and create alternative arrangements with her teacher. She is also expected to attend the synchronous sessions to optimize her learning. The parents also have expectations in the role of the online environment supporter. They need to monitor her grades and initiate communication with teachers as needed.
3. I think the document is well written, but I would state that Polly needs to attend the orientation synchronous sessions. That way she can be accumulated to the website before the course begins. I feel that her needs are being met with extended time, reduced coursework, and copy of presentations, text to speech software, zoom function, and check in once a week with student. These are hitting all the key areas that students with accommodations tend to struggle.
4. There are several issues with option A. The time limit extension is not specific for assignments or assessments. It is unclear how much leniency should be allowed with the generic statement. Also with reduced coursework, it does not specify expectations about reducing assignment length or entire components of the course. The preferential seating needs to be replaced with teacher contact weekly about maintaining communication in the course.
1. Plan B is the better option for a plan, in not only the online environment, but also any educational setting. It gives very specific guidelines to follow with due dates and expectations. Details are vital to creating well written 504 and IEPs for teachers to follow and implement in a successful manner.
2. The strengths of the plan are in the accommodations. It goes into detail beyond the option A. It states exact time limit for extended time on assignments and timed assessments. It specifically states how to reduce assignments or length of assignments. It is very good at letting the teacher know what the expectations are so they can be implemented successfully. Other key aspects are the expectations of Polly and her parents. Polly needs to have communication on a regular basis and create alternative arrangements with her teacher. She is also expected to attend the synchronous sessions to optimize her learning. The parents also have expectations in the role of the online environment supporter. They need to monitor her grades and initiate communication with teachers as needed.
3. I think the document is well written, but I would state that Polly needs to attend the orientation synchronous sessions. That way she can be accumulated to the website before the course begins. I feel that her needs are being met with extended time, reduced coursework, and copy of presentations, text to speech software, zoom function, and check in once a week with student. These are hitting all the key areas that students with accommodations tend to struggle.
4. There are several issues with option A. The time limit extension is not specific for assignments or assessments. It is unclear how much leniency should be allowed with the generic statement. Also with reduced coursework, it does not specify expectations about reducing assignment length or entire components of the course. The preferential seating needs to be replaced with teacher contact weekly about maintaining communication in the course.
