Special Needs - 1 - Developing an Individualized Plan

Special Needs - 1 - Developing an Individualized Plan

Reflect on the types of plans presented in this lesson and the best practices for writing individualized plans for the online environment Review and compare the two sample individualized student plans provided below. Both sample plans are written for the same student. Keeping in mind the best practices discussed in this lesson, consider the strengths and weaknesses of each plan and decide which you find to be the preferred option for the online environment.

Post in your Blog: Your responses should consist of at least four well-developed paragraphs and address each of the following points:

1. Which plan do you believe is the better option for the online environment (Plan A or Plan B) and why?
2. Using specific examples, discuss the strengths of the plan which you believe make it better suited to the online environment. I believe that Plan B is a better choice over Plan A. Plan B provides more details about the accommodations. It outlines exactly what the teacher and student is responsible for.  There are are many specific examples of the strengths found in Plan B.
1. Description of Accommodations/Services. In plan A the accommodation was listed with little description or guidance. In Plan B, there is guidance with what specifically the teachers should do. For example, Plan A said “Reduce coursework,” while Plan B was specific and stated “Reduce coursework – reduce the number of assignments or the length of assignments. The teacher will determine coursework to be reduced and Sally must be assessed on and demonstrate mastery of standards.” These are specific details in what the teacher should do to help meet these 504 accommodation.
2. Accommodations Geared Toward Online Learning. Plan B seems to be better suited for online learning than Plan A. Plan A states that one accommodation should be  “Preferential seating.” Since there are no seats in an online environment, these accommodations seem pointless. In Plan B there are few accommodations that seem tailored for online learning which include: “Make Sally aware of additional resources, review opportunities/activities and study guides in the course sidebars” and “Check in with Sally at least one time per week via email, phone, synchronous session or other mutually agreed upon communication method to initiate contact relating to her progress and understanding of the material”. While both of these are best practices for all students, with a student like Sally, these two accommodations could really help her be successful and ensure she is getting what she needs to be successful in class.
3. Are there any aspects of your preferred plan you would change to be better suited for the online environment? Please explain.  There are two things about plan B that I would change in order to make it better. First I would take this paragraph out of the “Information Relating to the Disability” section Sally’s teachers report she is a hardworking student and is determined to overcome challenges she faces as a result of her disabilities. Sally is shy and at times may be hesitant to reach out for assistance if she does not have a strong familiarity with her teacher. She is a strong student in the area of math and reading and tests above grade level in these areas. While this information is nice and might provide insight on the student it does not go in this section. This paragraph is talking about the student and their personality and not about the disability. This section should be describing the specific impairment that teh student has that is serving the basis of the disability. The second thing I would change is to update the 504. 504 Plans along with IEPs should be updated every year. This ensures that the accommodations in place are being used and are working. Plan B was last updated in 2017, it is now 2019. Sally’s needs might have changed in the past two years.
4. What are the issues and weaknesses of the plan you decided was not the best choice for the online environment? Even though Plan A was more up to date than Plan B, I did not think that Plan A was the best choice for a couple of reasons. First, it was not as detailed as Plan B. While accommodations were listed, there was no specific guidance on how to implement those accommodations or what they meant. Plan A only called for Sally to have extended time - but not how much time. Should it be 125%, 150% 166%? It was vague, while plan B clearly stated “Extended time on timed assessments - 100% extended time, or double the original amount of time.” Plan A also the student responsibilities was not as clear as it was in Plan B. Plan A Stated “If Sally needs an extension beyond what is outlined in this plan, Sally will communicate with her teacher(s).” But no direction was given as to when that should happen. Whereas Plan B clearly stated that it needed to happen before the due date. Plan A did not seem like it was written for an online environment. It made note of preferential seating which cannot happen in an online environment. There is no way a teacher could put that accommodation into place.

Special Needs - 1- Accommodations in an Online Environment

Lesson 3 - Special Needs - Accommodations in an Online Environment

Assignment: Reflect on your experiences with your students. Think of a situation in
which online education may have been a preferable option for one of your special
needs students or a student with an extenuating circumstance.

Describe student’s disability, special need and/or the extenuating circumstance.

This year I had a student, we will identify him by M,  in my advisement class who was absent
for a period of 6 weeks. Upon his return to school, we were told that he was out for medical
reasons. M shared with me that he was absent because he attempted suicide and was placed
in a residential facility. In his absence, he was not able to fully keep up with assignments
(even though there were tutors and ‘school’ at the facility). M has worked hard to catch up while
still working on his recovery, though he still misses on average two days of school due to anxiety,
lack of sleep the previous night, or just a general not ‘feeling like it.”

Identify at least three specific aspects of the online environment you feel would be beneficial forthis student’s situation or disability. Explain why each aspect of the online environment
you identified above would be advantageous to your student, using specific examples.

In this specific instance, I feel that an online situation would have been beneficial
M for the following reasons:

Access 24/7

Since his return to traditional school, M has stated that it is hard for him to sleep at night and
that is when he feels most productive. As a result, he sleeps during the day - or is tired when
he is attending face to face school. If he was taking classes online he would have access to
everything he needs for learning, content, help desk, assignments, etc whenever he wanted.
M could ‘attend too school’ during the hours that he feels he is most productive instead of the
country mandated hours.

Accountability

While students do not have to worry about ‘seat time’ as mandated by the state or attendance
issues - there is still accountability with online learning. Logging into the LMS would track M’s
progress. This would help keep track of M’s progress and access to the course no matter
where he was. In the residential facility, he would not have to wait for work to be transported
from our face to face school and he could have

No Surprises

In my discussions with M over the course of the semester, he has indicated that he is suffering
from depression and anxiety. If he was in an online program, there would be no surprises in the
course - possibly reducing the anxiety school might be giving him. In a face to face environment,
students often complain they do not know when things are due when exams are, etc.  In an online
environment, the entire syllabus is laid out for the semester. There are no surprises that could
make a student reel with anxiety. Plus knowing that assignments are due on a certain day at a
certain time, can help a student plan their week around times they are feeling up to working and not.
Along the same line, he would be able to access his grades at all times to know where he stands
in the class.

What challenges do you suspect your student may encounter in the online environment?

Lack of Motivation -

One thing M has indicated in our conversations is his lack of motivation to do his work at home
or in school. This is probably brought on by his depression. In turn, it causes his anxiety to be
worse because he could be getting further behind. On an online environment, being a self-motivator
/starter is an important characteristic. You do not have a teacher ‘standing’ over you to ensure you
are completing your work. Often it takes students new to online learning to adjust to this. Students
need to look at their syllabus and be diligent about staying on track. They need to understand what
is being asked of them in their assignments and be willing to ask if they do not.

Feeling Disconnected

While there are many benefits to online learning - it is not necessarily for everyone. In M’s case,
he might feel disconnected from his peers and teachers. In an online environment, you can limit
your social interaction with people a great deal. When students are suffering from depression, lack
of connection can be hard and actually worsening the depression. To be successful would ensure
that M attended the synchronous sessions to have the connection that they might miss in an online
environment.

Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Lesson 2 - Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Reflect: Consider the general best practices and specific strategies presented in this lesson.

Choose two of the student scenarios below. First, identify at least two difficulties each student may be experiencing in their online class. Then, discuss two best practices or specific strategies that might be helpful to each student

Scenario 1

Dustin has an IEP with accommodations for hearing impairment; he is completely deaf. He is not currently doing well in your class, and you are unsure why. He has not asked for help or attended live sessions since the class began. When you leave assignment feedback for him, he does not respond, even if you specifically ask him to respond.  What will you do to address this?

Two difficulties Dustin may be experiencing:

I am unsure if Dustin wears hearing aids or bot. If he does wear them, it still may be challenging to understand live Jigsawsessions/recording, audio feedback, videos in the content, etc.  Though I am not sure why Dustin is not doing well - it could be one or a combination of things, there are probably specific questions that he has. He might feel as though he can not communicate those questions. This can lead to a feeling of despair or frustration.

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Dustin:

1) I would contact all of the stakeholders - parents, student, facilitator, and special needs specialist at his home school and GaVS- and let them know that Dustin is not doing well in the class. Part of why is that is Dustin not responding to feedback even when asked to. I am hoping that all of the stakeholders can come up with a plan that makes it easier for Dustin to receive communication and respond to it. I would suggest a live chat session in the jigsaw classroom and invite all stakeholders where he can type out questions or concerns. 

2) Part of Dustin's frustration might be from not getting/understanding all of the material. I would ensure that all videos in the content had closed caption or transcripts available for them. If they are not available, I would find videos with closed captions/transcripts and post those for all students in the classroom (because more students could benefit from them), but I would also send them in an email to Dustin to ensure that he got them.  For Jigsaw lessons, I would post the powerpoint notes so that they could be downloaded. These notes would have 'presenters' notes in them so he could 'hear' the extra tidbits that he might be missing. Presenter notes would also be useful to other students as well. Besides putting them in the jigsaw, I would also attach them to a follow-up email a written email summary of the main points. 

Scenario 3

Kali has recently been diagnosed with Lupus. The last few weeks, she has an inconsistent login history for your class due to her medical challenges. Kali is also behind on assignments, and she emailed about making up the work she missed while she was absent. Her medical diagnosis and absences have been verified and her absences have been medically excused. How would you support her?

Two difficulties Kali may be experiencing:

1. With her medical challenges, she might have been in and out of hospitals/doctors etc and have had trouble accessing the course. Even if she is at home, she might be too ill to access the course for periods of time causing her to get behind in her work.

2. Getting recently diagnosed, Kali probably does not have an IEP or a 504 .  plan in place.  Getting behind in any work could be causing her stress, which could be exacerbating her condition (depending on the type of lupus).

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Kali:

1) I would contact her GaVS  Special Needs Coordinator at GaVS and ask if we could do two things to help Kali. I would explain the situation and that the recent absences and illnesses have been verified and would ask for not only a medical extension but also if we could modify the course work so that Kali could demonstrate mastery of the content with fewer assignments. A reduction in coursework might help relieve the stress of having 'to get it all done.' And offering her extensions as needed will make her feel okay about saying 'I can not do it today.' This could also serve as documentation when if she applies for a 504/IEP as her illness is a relatively new diagnosis.

2) I would keep in weekly communication with all the stakeholders.  Praising Kali when she is doing well and encouraging her participation. I would ensure that she is getting the jigsaw recording and knows what opportunities are available to her in the class. I would avoid sending non-personalized 'You are missing this assignment" emails on Thursday morning - instead of sending an email offering to help with a  plan of action/attack when she was feeling better. 

JIgsaw 104

Assignment 104

1. Instructional lesson that uses at least three panes has been created.

Pane 1 Utilized for a video. 

Pane 2 Houses the Presentation, and the use of share screen was used

Pane 3 Houses the images used in the White board

Pane 4 Images were placed in the White Board.

2. Explanation of lesson (verbal or written plan/storyboard) provided

3. Overview recording of lesson has been provided. (3 minutes or less)

Snippets of a class session I did on a Quick Guide to the 2018 AP Biology Exam. I just played the recording and fast forwarded to different sections.

In the beginning of the video I have utilized the Whiteboard with my ‘Welcome Spring” Image and I had music playing in the background.

I started the lesson welcoming students and then going into the presentation in Pane 2 which included an explanation on the make up of the test, showing them what formulas they would have etc. Notice in the snippets of the presentation the use of the highlighter and pen to model some test taking strategies.

When talking about the Grid –In questions we popped out of Pane 2 to Pane 4 to show the image “How to Fill in a Grid-In Response” which was housed in Pane 3. This is one area we do not prepare our students very well, so I wanted to make sure they understood how to do it. 

We then went back to pane 2 and I completed the presentation. I then made Pane 1 bigger to show ‘Inspirational Video.”

When the video was finished, I showed them  web links housed in Pane 4 through screen sharing in Pane 2.  I like the idea of sharing web links so students can get an idea of how useful they might be – because often when faced lots of links they will not even click on them because they have no idea what it is.

4. Thoughtful and professional reflection has been given.

I am glad I went through the proper  training with Jigsaw U. I had mainly been using Pane 2 and presentations for my synchronous sessions. Forcing myself to sit down and watch the lessons and practice them made me realize that they are easier than I thought and just like in the Face to Face classroom - it helps break up a 'lecture' enhance a lecture, or just allow for a variety of resources to be utilized.

The biggest thing is remembering to go back from Pane to Pane how to get things to 'play.' also remembering to make the pane that you are utilizing big so that students can actually see it :). You will notice in my video when I did the screen share i did not make Pane 2 big and so students can only see a small portion of it.

Overall Jigsaw is a challenge to use, but not as much of one as I thought. The biggest challenge for me is switching from Pane to Pane and remembering how to access everything, but I think with practice this transition will get easier. Also it is a challenge because in recordings there are sometimes echoes and correctly I don't think my links are accessible so I am downloading the videos and placing links to the videos housed in the inter webs.

There sometimes is a lag when I give a command. It's frustrating for me sometimes, but i have to remember to keep working through it.

Attendance Check 

Jigsaw 103

Assignment 103

1. Use of images, surveys, notes, or map to Pane 3 has been demonstrated.

So until now I have only used Pane 3 to put a picture of me up :).  After playing around with this last assignment, I am happy to say I LOVE pane 3! It is much easier to navigate and use than I thought. I am starting to think of it as a digital filing system.

I used the spring image to welcome students into class during a weekly session. I hope it brightened up my session for the week. I also think it will be useful to share new announcements that are important in the classroom. I might even use it as a 'first release' place for announcements to possibly get more kids to the sessions. 

I have four images ready to go in Pane 3.

Here In Pane 4, I have transferred the Spring image into Pane 4. I had this up at the beginning of class because I finally feel as though spring is here to stay (at the end of April).

Switching images in the middle of the session was a lot easier than I thought. The only tedious thing was remembering to make it big. I can see my self using this window to drop in images of the many processes that are found in life science. 

During my presentation I popped this image up from pane 3 to pane 4.

 I loved using Pane 3 for images and feel as though I have that down now. I played with surveys, but have not used it live yet. I would like to include a survey in beginning semester chat session to see which days/times are best for synchronous sessions. I would also like to use the survey feature to give formative assessments to students who are in class.

2. Use of whiteboard, weblinks, presentations, or documents in pane 4 had been demonstrated.

I demonstrated images in the whiteboard in the reflection above, but here I have uploaded two weblinks that I showed students during a chat session.  Again using this Pane was much easier that I anticipated and I am kind of kicking myself now for not doing this earlier. 

I uploaded two web links and showed them to students during the presentation.  I used the share screen in Pane 2 to show the actual web pages so students would know what they were looking at. 

Until I went back and looked at the recording I realized I forgot to make the Pane 2 bigger when I shared my screen - so students only saw the small portion - I thought it would share my 'Whole Screen" so in the future I will need to remember to make Pane 2 bigger.

Links are in Pane 4 and when I clicked on them they showed up in Pane 2. here is a link to a free online practice test for students. 

Links are in Pane 4 and when I clicked on them they showed up in Pane 2. here is a link to a  AP Biology Vocabulary Quizlet for students to use while testing. 

I can see myself using Pane 4 to load weblinks up for animations to show how different processes in science work.

3. Thoughtful and professional reflection has been given

This PD has been one of the best I have gone through with GaVS. The more I use Jigsaw, the more i like it. Pane 3 and 4 are really important in making classes engaging and 'hands on'

for students. Pane 3 can track students progress while Pane 4 can be used to answer/show explanations to students in real time. Things I need to remember:

1) Check links before class - practice run is important.

2) When clicking out to various panes MAKE THEM BIGGER so the content can be seen.

3) Colorful images are important, but pay attention to the text - size, font, etc - you want to make sure it can be read easily.

Attendance Check

Jigsaw 102

Jigsaw U Assignment 102

1. Use of audio, video or webcam in Pane 1 has been demonstrated.

Please note below you will see 5 different screen shots of how I used Pane 1 for a video in my weekly session.  With the AP Biology test coming up I wanted to make sure that students taking the  test knew the format, hints for taking the test,  etc. These are all things I do in my face to face class. The video is a humorous one that helps convey some of the information in a fun way and often helps release a bit of the stress students feel around testing. Now that I know how easy the video feature is to use, I will employ it more often. Videos often help students to take charge of their own learning, and even when we put it in the content sometimes having to 'click' the button seems to not happen - so this gives me an opportunity to show and stress videos that I think are particularly useful.   I would like to explore using pane one with just a song for an introduction into class next.

Here is the video in Pane 1 ready to go

Pushing play, though I am not gonna lie to you - I did loose the video and forgot how to make it start for a good 30 seconds!

Beginning of the video

What the test is all about.

Inspirational movie clips

Ready to go out into the world. 

2. Use of presentation/document/screen share in Pane 2 has been demonstrated.

Please note below you will see 3 different screen shots of how I used Pane 2 in my weekly chat session. With the AP bio test coming up, I wanted to present on the ins and outs of the AP test. I wanted to make sure students understood the format, do a few practice problems, and practice a grid in problem. Pane 2 is the Pane I am most comfortable with and the one I use most often in my weekly sessions. I usually make a presentation which will do one of several things - answer questions students have asked, clarify assignments, preview information, or review content. I like employing the tools that are available - the pointer for example - it is a great way to emphasize material that is important.  Not many students come to sessions so I will stop the presentation and I will answer questions that I anticipate students having (a plus from having taught this content for so many years face to face). I do like the fact that Pane 2 will store past presentations so I could refer back to them as needed.  

Here the presentation is loaded and ready to go.

Basic information about the exam.  Note the Pane has been expanded for better viewing

Here is Pane 2 blown up. See that I am utilizing the highlighter tool to emphasize words in the practice problem. 

 3. Thoughtful and professional reflection has been given.

Please see the reflections above. 

Things to remember with these two panes:

1. Uploading assets into your session and checking they are in the correct panes is important to the success to your 

2. A volume check is a must when you first come into a session. This makes sure that you can be heard!

3. Creating presentations with a big enough font is also key so that students can read it. I have also started enlarging Pane 2 so that even if the recording quality is lower, students can read the info.

4. Just like in a Face to Face classroom stuff happens with technology - you forget how to get a screen back, you forget to push play...a number of things. Keep talking as you work the problem - it's important not to get flustered.

Attendance Check 

Jigsaw 101

 Jigsaw U 101

Assignment 101
1. 5 diversified assets have been added to the asset library.
2. An original tag has been created for each added asset.
3. Use of one asset has been demonstrated.
4. Thoughtful and professional reflection has been given.

1. 5 diversified assets have been added to the asset library.

Here are five assets, a pdf, mp4, png, gif, and ppt file that I have uploaded to use in an AP Biology Exam Information Session.

2. An original tag has been created for each added asset

Here is an example of a TAG I created for AP Exam review materials. I

Here are other TAGS I have created

3. Use of one asset has been demonstrated.

Here are my assets in a session ready to go.

Here is a link to the presentation.

4. Thoughtful and professional reflection has been given.

I have to be honest - I should have done this PD earlier in the year - like last fall. My synchronous sessions have been disjointed and lack luster at best this year. I feel as though I was over whelmed at learning a new 'thing' when I feel like I had just gotten Adobe Connect down. I was also discouraged at the beginning because when we first started using JIGSAW it didn't always work so well. 

Until now, I really have only uploaded PowerPoint presentations (can I hide my head in shame now?). Doing Jigsaw U 101 has shown me that it is easier than I thought. Using tags the past few weeks has actually made my life easier - so that is nice (wish I had been tagging correctly all along). I am hoping to incorporate more into my sessions on the regular.

Things to Remember
1) Make sure the internet connection is secure and FAST.
2) Jigsaw and Chrome are the latest versions.
3) Prepare 1 day in advance of the session to make sure everything is in place.

t is important to make sure that the Internet connection is secure and the correct speed; it is also important to ensure that Jigsaw and Chrome are the latest version, in addition to the microphone and speakers being enabled properly. These are technology issues. I also lock the note board and disable the ability of students to talk to each other; I want them focused on the lesson.

Attendance Check