Special Needs - 1 - Developing an Individualized Plan

I believe Plan B is the better plan because it provides specific details for the student, parent and instructor - this helps to hold everyone accountable. 

Plan B offers the following:

• Positive information regarding the student in the information section - I loved being able to see some feedback from Sally's teachers about her work ethic and capabilities.  This gives some additional context! 
• Specific information for Accommodations - Plan B was more specific in regards to how much extended time to offer on assessments and assignments and how to reduce coursework. This Plan also advised that the instructor check in weekly which would be key in helping Sally and building a relationship with her.
• Additional Student Responsibilities - in Plan B Sally is given more information regarding her responsibilities.  She knows she must check in regarding her understanding and most importantly, communicate if she needs additional time on assignments. 
• Timelines regarding Parent Responsibilities - I appreciated there were specific guidelines around times for Polly's role in Plan B.  Stating that she should check on Sally twice a week and communicate in a timely manner helps to provide Polly, Sally and the instructor consistency around expectations.

One aspect of Plan B that I'd like to see improved is the date! It looks as though the review would be in 2017 and 504 plans should be re-evaluated every year.  Anxiety can manifest itself in many different ways and instructors should be made aware of any changes in the student so they can best serve her in the classroom.

The biggest weakness of Plan A was a lack of detail.  For example, Plan A had a stated Accommodation was "Extended time on assessments" but did not give how much time to give the student.  In a face-to-face environment a teacher can kind of gauge how much time to give by observing the student during tests (although not being specific is still not ideal), but online an instructor must give extended time through the computer and thus needs a specific like 50% or 100%.  Plan A also lacked some accommodations that a student might find helpful in an online environment, like checking and providing the option to give an oral response.

Special Needs - 1 - Accommodations in an Online Environment

Students Disability: I have worked with several students with special needs during my career as an online educator and in-person educator.  One student that comes to mind was battling cancer last summer.  He was a bright young man, but could only find time to work every few days.

Three Aspects of Online Learning Beneficial to Student and Why:
1. Accessibility - this student benefitted from being able to access the instructor, help, practice, and his assignments at any time.  He did not have to worry about trying to coordinate my availability with the times that he felt he could do work.

2. Flexibility - one accommodation we made for this student was a flexible due date.  Since we knew there would be times he could not complete his work, we allowed him to turn assignments in late with no penalty.  This would be challenging to do in a traditional classroom because the student would be continually falling behind because of lack of accessibility (benefit #1!).  While this option wouldn't work for all students, knowing this students situation and internal motivation made it possible!

3. LMS Accommodations - in addition to a flexible due date, we were able to reduce the students coursework.  Many of the assignments in my course were practice assignments to prepare for the quizzes or tests, so if the student felt comfortable with the content - we allowed him to skip some of the practice work.  For a student with limited time this is really beneficial and giving students the choice and option really shows that you believe in him!

Challenges:
As discussed above, the student had to be self-motivated in order to utilize the appropriate accommodations and successfully finish the course.  A student with different challenges (like a processing disorder) may need more structure, deadlines and oversight.  However, this student had an amazing support system and was able to focus when needed.  And in addition, I was sure to check in often on his progress, use the LMS tools to analyze his navigation of the course, and offer him guidance in regards to extra help videos.

Special Needs - 1 - Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Student 1: Kali
Kali is suffering from a serious illness and may be having difficulty finding time to do her work.  I would imagine she is in pain, and having a hard time concentrating - and may be shutting down because of her frustrations.  In addition to feeling like she cannot concentrate, she may be falling behind and feeling like the work is piling up on her.

The first thing I would do is call Kali and her mom to be sure they know I am here to support them. I would remind Kali of how to navigate the course and the documents I've included in the course that provide extra resources if students need help.  Since her absences have been excused, I would discuss a modified schedule and plan to help get Kali back on track. After this initial discussion, I would check in weekly with Kali and her parents to verify deadlines, stay up to date on any health changes and necessary modifications to the schedule, and to provide general encouragement.

Student 2: Joyce
A students' Anxiety and Depression can provide major obstacles in their completion of school work, particularly online.  I can imagine that once a student with those struggles falls behind, she finds it very challenging to catch back up and loses motivation.  In addition, Joyce seems to be struggling with communication - her plagiarism is clearly a sign that she is not understanding the material, but hasn't communicated that to her teacher.

First, I would address the plagiarism in an objective way - I'd acknowledge Joyce's struggles and encourage her to reach out to me regarding her issues the next time.  I would give Joyce an opportunity to re-do the assignment, but before she does I would guide her to the recorded Synchronous session that would help her with it.  I would remind Joyce that everyone makes mistakes and that I do not hold this against her and remind her that I have enjoyed getting to know her in this class and that I want to hear her point of view! Lastly, I would be sure to provide positive feedback once she does complete the assignment!