It has opened my eyes as to the large number of undiagnosed students with learning disabilities
getting a better understanding of how to work with students with disabilities. I agree there is some limitation based on the type of disability the student has.
clear organization & structure, checklist, reminders to assist students through the learning process
Understanding that there are different disabilities in the student population that are not always apparent, self reported or classified. Better understanding of the different types of disabilities, many of which has not been diagnosed was helpful.
Taking into consideration that there are multiple earning modalities, attempting to touch on each of them will enhance the learner's participation. Pictures and videos for the visual, drag and drop or matching (movement) for the kinesthetic or hands-on, and audio which can come n the form of your lectures being read to them as an option for playback. This is quite challenging and takes time to build but I seem to have gotten more out of my students since I started addressing these core areas. Technology on the other hand when getting students used to online learning is a bigger challenge. It may be in the form of a cognitive impairment but I do notice my older students tend to struggle in this area.
Reply to George Bonnand's post:Agreed!
Having worked with disabled students in the past I understand that there can be many limitaions in their learning. Ther is also a number of different learning styles dependign on their disability. Instructiors need to have an open mind and be understanding that all disabilities are not the same.
I would have not considered all of these to be disabilities,
Hidden disabilities include but are not limited to:
- Other non-defined disabilities
- Speech impairments
- Hearing impairments
- Health-related impairments such as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)
- Dexterity difficulties
- Diabetes
- Sickle cell anemia
- Epilepsy
- Asthma
- Hypertension
I know many people with diabetes and I consider them to be normal.
Truly interesting in the amount of students that have some type of an inpairment.
Two things strike me about this topic. I am concerned about the students with hidden disabilities who do not reveal early on. This is detrimental to their success. As noted, we cannot ask but perhaps we can discuss general disabilities as part of the course introduction which may make students feel comfortable revealing any potential concerns they may have.
The second item is how does our school participate with the instructional design concerns to ensure we are following the ADA and applicable laws in this realm. Most schools have a staff member who is responsible to ensure accommodations are appropriate for any LD student. Who, on your campus, is your expert resource person for these scenarios?
I have learned to think about things more clearly from the perspective of those with disabilities. For instance, in the PowerPoints, we as instructors should not be including things that flash due to the risk that they could cause seizures. It is also important that long-term projects might best be divided into smaller components and that depression is common. We truly need to think about the barriers these individuals face.
Teaching students with disabilities is a specialized position. No average teacher should try to teach all disabities without special training. Even identifying the disability is not for an average teacher. The teacher can do more harm than good.
I didn't realize so many disorders are actually classified as disabilities. I do have some students with disabilities and I have always worked with them. I never realized that online content could actually be a problem for some.
I want people to be aware that not everyone who is having a difficulty is IMMEDIATELY supposed to be categorized as having a disability. Sometimes people struggle with certain portions, but it isn't always an indicator of a condition. It could be that they are not good at math and didn't expect so much math in a course or that they are having a tough day/week/month. Anyway, I just wanted to caution against blind diagnosis or assumptions.
Having taught students with disabilities F2F I can imaging how difficult it would be to teach them online.
There is quite a variety of disabilities that may affect the online learner and some are hidden.
I was surprised at the number of students who might have a disability. As I design a course, I need to be more aware of the potential number of students in my class who might faill into this category.
It is necessary to provide accommodations for students that have disabilities in your online class. You should make these accommodations regardless of knowing that you have a student enrolled that has a disability since a very small percentage of students actually report they need special access.
I appreciate the scenarios given during this module. It is always important to remember to help and assist in a positive way. It is our job as instructors to facilitate learning in a safe, compassionate environment and assume positive intent of all our students.
Accessiblity is different from disability and to be mindful for all students to have access.
Respectfully,
Kendrick Kim
kkim1@fullcoll.edu
There appears to be alot of learning impairments, both physical and cognative that need to be addressed even in an online teaching environment.
