Unit 13

Hello Everyone! 

I have to first make a comment about the findings in an article from our reading list that I had me thinking for a while.  My first comment has to do with a teacher who felt that the most useful function for online accessibility was the cut and paste feature (Kim et al., 2020). Cut and Paste?  With all the functions that enable students to access, deconstruct, and analyze text, such as highlighting, cut and paste was found to be the most important?  The first teacher was a 2 year teacher, so I thought, perhaps she/he is new to teaching, but another teacher who had 15 years of experience also found the cut and paste to be the most useful.  Images of students cutting pasting to create their essays flooded my mind.  

The fact that the study found that it is seldom that teachers teach their students how to use the various functions saddened me.  How can we still have teachers who do not feel the need to embed technology into their teaching? Further into the article a teacher said that their devices did not have these functions so that is why they didn't teach students how to use them (Kim et al., 2020).  What kind of devices are they using that that they lack accessibility functions?  

How well a student can be accommodated as stated in their IEP, really depends on what those accommodations are.  A teacher can provide those accommodations, but because the student is not within reach, it will depend on the student and perhaps even the parent to ensure the student is being accommodated.  For example, a student may need the accomodation to be moved away from an area where there is too much stimuli.  The teacher cannot ensure that the student is in an area where the student will not be distracted.  

My belief has always been that the majority of the accommodations on an IEP should be a part of a teachers daily practices.  For example, giving extra time to complete assignments or exams, giving students a copy of the notes, breaks between activities, etc, are not practices exclusive to students with special needs, these accommodations should be provided to all students.  My classroom is very inviting to students with special needs because for the large part, all students are receiving the same amodations. Of course, there are some needs that need to be met one on one and not in a large group setting such as dictating answers to the teacher or paraprofessional.  Online, this

accommodation would be best accommodated in a Zoom break room if there is a para available, or with the use of an app such as Flipgrid. The student can record their answers on FlipGrid and turn that in in lieu of the written test. With Few exceptions, the majority of IEP accommodation can be met in an online class, even more so, if there is parent and/or para support.  

As the grandmother of special needs child who has a severe language delay, and incidentally just attended an IEP meeting with my daughter, I can say that it is important to not just follow the IEP as a teacher, but also how important for parents to understand the IEPs and what those accomodations look like when implemented.  Parent involvement is crucial in an online environment. With parental involvement, a teacher can ensure that the accommodations are being implemented and meeting the needs of the student in a online setting. 

 I wish that EL students had IEPs.  That would make it so that teachers would understand how to support their novice ELs.  The accommodations would be very similar to an IEP for a SPED student. 

• Provide visuals and gestures.
• Allow for extra time on tests and assignments
• Modify the assignment so that content is not lost, but the student is able to answer.
• Provide students the ability to read the concept in their primary language and for those who are new to the English Language, to answer in their primary language. 
• Use sentence frames so that student can answer in English.
• Provide academic vocabulary lists with translations.

Carrie

Reference

Kim, A. A., Monroe, M., & Lee, S. (2020). Examining K-12 educators’ perception and instruction of online accessibility features. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(3), 437–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1705353

Unit 9

National Standards for Quality

When I first read the instructions for this blog, I wondered if I had the ability to catch any discrepancies that we were asked to observe. However, as I read the standards, I did notice a few things that seem to either be missing, or that were very vague in their description.

The first question concerned the grade level of the standards. I only began to wonder after I read a description that has an asterisk and read below that it was lifted from the k-12 standards. The content standards stated that the online course should be free of adult content. Again, what level are these standards addressing? I had to search on their website to find the answer to this question and found it in the "About" tab. I found this issue ironic considering that the standards address the issue of navigation through a course's content. 

The next thing I noticed was there was nothing concerning the emotional needs of a student. There is nothing stating that instructors should try to connect with their students. I was hoping that after reading the descriptions of the standards, I would find some reference to student's emotional needs.  There is some language that eludes to this need such as "instructor-supported" and "engage in conversation." Yet, when you read on, you see that this is in reference to academic needs.  

Being that this is for K-12, I find it odd that the need for connection is not included as a strong statement within the standards. I kept hearing Rita Pierson in my mind as I searched for something that addressed this need, "Students don't learn from people they don't like" (Pierson, 2013).

References

Pierson, R. (2013). Transcript of “Every kid needs a champion.” www.ted.com. https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion/transcript?language=en