As schools increasingly turn to online classes, a group tasked with investigating the impact on students with disabilities is raising some serious concerns.
In an open letter, officials with the federally-funded Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities say that there are a number of unknowns with this emerging technology. Specifically, they say that online learning is plagued with inconsistent policies, questionable teacher training requirements and accessibility problems, among other issues.
“Our preparatory investigations have already raised a number of concerns that we think are urgent enough to report even now,” reads the letter signed by officials from the Center for Research on Learning, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology.
Those behind the effort say they want stakeholders including parents, teachers and policymakers to be aware when they choose or recommend online learning for students with disabilities. What’s more, they are hoping to spur more research into online offerings.
“We believe that new technologies, including online learning technologies, have enormous promise for students with disabilities. Like any other tool or resources, however, these new learning environments will need to be carefully designed and knowledgeably implemented in order to be effective,” the letter says.
Speaking as a special education teacher, I can see the concerns. Speaking as someone who is “technophobic” to a large degree, I can definitely see the concerns. Personally, I worked too hard to get my master’s degree to be replaced by a circuit board and someone who went to school online themselves.
C., I agree that there are concerns for students who need specially designed instruction; how do we ensure that accommodations and modifications are in place to support a student who may be nowhere near the campus.
I am affronted that you seem to feel that your Master’s degree is in some way better than mine or you worked harder than I because you chose a traditional route and I chose to access my coursework on line. My professors taught both traditional and online courses and worked very hard to adapt to the constraints and unique environment of distance learning.
Your technophobia is evident in your judgmental attitude.
Very interesting information !!
Hi! My 15 yr old son has been in ECOT, the biggest school (not just online) in the country. He has CP, epilepsy, visual impairment, and cognitive differences. He is THRIVING with this online format!! He has been in since January after he got suspended from his public brick and mortar school. For the first time in his education he has access to the curriculum AND is in regular ed classes! He types everything, can participate either by typing in chat or speaking on the mic, all quizzes and tests are online and auto graded and the best part is that he does Compass Learning for Math because he is several grade levels behind. No paper/pencil! He can go at his own pace for the multitude of web-based educational experiences (including science labs) and today he answered a question about Montescu in World Studies! His curriculum at the brick and mortar school would never have included a philosopher of the Enlightenment! Online education for students with disabilities is the millennium’s Enlightenment!
Curious: how do proponents of online-learning propose to develop social & character skills in their students?
[To be clear: I’m not only talking about communication, but also empathy development, informal recreation, friend-building, that sort of thing. Schools don’t always get it right but I think taking shots at it is necessary.)
About social skills- kids who go to online school do not spend their entire lives in the basement on the computer! My son’s school arranges several social get togethers per month and we make sure he is in plenty of social and recreational activities in the community. In the brick and mortar school that my son attended until middle school there were ZERO social activities that included typical students. Being wheeled into the back of the auditorium for an assembly does NOT count as social or character building. Rather, it is demoralizing. There is no evidence that public schools do anything to build the character of students with special needs.
There are other socializing agents than the failed experiment of public classroom education. I’m sure the opponents can count no fewer than five of the top of their heads.
My son uses online classes to supplement or replace brick and mortar classes. He is rather executive function skills challenged as many who are adhd/asd are and traditional history classes have always been a struggle for him. He took his state required us history class on line and got a B in it overall. He has never gotten a B in a history class before because he would always forget his book to bring home or the handout that had to be colored,etc. He is now taking his final gym/health class requirement online also since he REALLY is not comfortable changing in front of other students (sensory/etc issues). Online classes are great. HE is even thinking of doing his assoc degree online and then doing his bachelors at a brick and mortar to give him more time at home to work on his executive function skills.
As to the “lack” of socialization,…. lets face it at most schools bullying is rampant whether you want to believe it or not so quite frankly what the kids are “learning” is either most kids suck or how to make kids miserable by bullying them. Have your online learner join 4h, bsa, the local sports teams etc… they will learn FAR better socialization there than in school.
Thanks for the information, all. Good to hear that outside group can supplement and apparently supplant school activities. That said, I’d be worried about boys getting the wrong message with BSA & their “morally straight” suboptimality.
Thanks for letting me know that, Glen S. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen you!
The opponents of such organizations as BSA can be “concerned” all they want about the socialization gained from such organizations. But they cannot gloss over the poor skills learned in our nation’s public schools. Some of the opponents of online learning are the same individuals who fault anyone who advocates for granting more latitude to create even more charter, private, and home school situations.
So just be be clear, let’s actually run down some of the social “qualities” of our public schools. 1)Increase in reported incidents of bully; 2)Higher percentages of students, professionals, and parents reporting low self-esteem of their school age children; 3)Increased gang related activity in urban public schools; 4)an increase in reported isolation of individuals with disabilities among public school populations.
These are the social qualities of public schools. These qualities are getting worse not better despite the truth that funding for public education as steadily increased over the last 40 years not decreased.
Public education is an outdated model of education – both from the academic and social side.
Time for all governments levels to empower alternatives by getting out of the way of progress.