Research Prospectus
Distance Education for Students with Disabilities
LeRhonda Greats, Cindy Hinson, Krystle Pearson, and Eric Phillips
Liberty University
August 11, 2013
Distance learning programs in education have seen large growth during the last decade. Online instruction has become more appealing as it provides a means for giving students access to broader educational learning opportunities. While research indicates that distance and online learning can be equally effective as compared to more traditional learning environments for many students, there is little empirical evidence to suggest that previously validated face-to-face best practices can be effective in the online environment or if students with disabilities have similarly parallel experiences (Vasquez III and Serianni (2012). The research community is growing rapidly, however the best practices for students with disabilities has yet to be defined.
Keywords: distance education, technology, learning environment, student disabilities, special education, online learning, assistive learning
Background
Technology is a large part of educational delivery in the 21st century. According to Vasquez III and Straub (2012), “Approximately 78% of students were enrolled in courses delivered by a public K-12 entity such as state or district virtual school based.” (p. 31) With distance education and online courses becoming a major part of the K-12 curriculum, educators still have a hesitancy as to whether or not they provide quality education for students with disabilities because of the lack of evidenced-based practices. Vasquez III and Straub (2012) offered that evidenced-based practices have been established for special education face-to-face environments; however, there is a lack of research of the efficacy of online environments for students with disabilities.
Although there is a lack of research, students with disabilities are still entitled to their federally mandated rights in the public school systems. Distance learning environments and classrooms of a public school system are required by law to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. Vasquez III and Straub (2012) offered that IDEA 2004 established the laws for traditional schools to provide an equal education to students with disabilities and suggest that the same should be true for distance education and online environments.
There are several important points to consider as to why the research community must begin providing a framework for online education for students with disabilities. First, the new Common Core Standards and the need to prepare all students for the 21st century workplace or university, school districts are requiring students to participate in online learning environments. Next, some students with disabilities may be unable to participate in a face-to-face classroom setting because of their disability. Vasquez III and Serianni (2012) suggest that qualifications have not been established by the states for additional credentials for online teaching. It is also noteworthy to mention that any student can benefit from this research. Nondisabled students can benefit from the strategies and accommodations learned from this research.
Problem Statement
Distance Education has provided a link for student learning and online collaboration. Although there can be a little resistance to using the online learning method, distance education is preparing students for collaborative learning opportunities. While bridging the gap between student need and online instruction, distance education can be used to facilitate learning for students with disabilities. The problem within the outlined research is finding out what methods can be used with distance education to improve the education of students with disabilities.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study is to develop evidence based practices for special education students in a distance learning environment. Although technology is not lacking, the efficacy of the quality of the research for students with disabilities continues to generate questions for teachers about the integration of technology. The appropriate and successful integration of technology into learning environments has the potential to benefit all students (Bianchi, 2012). Data collection from various sources and statements from special education teachers can provide research that can be used to enhance the education of children with special needs and various disabilities. In this qualitative research study the research will help to gain understanding and insight in the field of distance education and assistive technology for special education students.
Significance of the Study
Distance education holds tremendous promise, offering viable and attractive options for advancing student skills, increasing access, and potentially lowering the cost of educational services (Vasquez III and Serianni, 2012). The research offers several commonalities that distance education is (a) instruction by an instructor (b) through technology (c) without the teacher and the student sharing the same space. Online learning offers students several benefits. A student-centered learning environment and high levels of student engagement can be achieved through an online education. In addition to these findings, distance education offers students opportunities to interact with their peers and even students from neighboring schools.
Online learning environments are put in place in hopes of meeting a variety of needs for all students. Although Vasquez III and Straub (2012) and Vasquez III and Serianni (2012) identified that there is a lack of research for students with disabilities, they did offer that distance learning provides increased access, advanced student skills. There is a great deal of research on distance education and online instruction. Furthermore there is a focus on comparing the complex relationships between content, pedagogy, technology, and student learning.
Research Questions
The research questions for this study are as followed:
● What methods can be used with distance education to improve the education of students with disabilities?
● What are some of that challenges students with disabilities face when attempting to engage in distance education?
● What can educators of students with disabilities do to identify and deliver high quality instruction online?
Research Hypotheses
The research hypotheses for this study are as followed:
- Educators can use mobile learning assessments for implementation within the online learning environment.
- Educators can use bring your own devices (BYOD) such as cell phones, eReaders, iPads with applications, and iPods with audio connectivity as an integration tactic for student with disabilities.
- Students may be faced with the challenge of mobility and limited proficiency in technology skills.
- Educators must establish a repertoire of online evidence-based practices to correlate with practices that occur in face-to-face environments.
- Educators must seek to establish effective practices that support the enhance delivery of quality education for students with disabilities.
- Educators must share findings related to online research and collaborate with integration specialists to demonstrate new learning opportunities for students with disabilities.
Methodology
The purpose of this literature prospectus was to review articles surrounding using distance learning as a tool to educate students with disabilities. The articles that were reviewed define the challenges that teachers and assistive technologists face when working with disabled students in various locations. The goal is to determine whether or not students in grades 6-12 will be able to successfully attend school online. Federal laws require that schools provide a comparable education to disabled students as they do to students who attend traditional schools and because of these laws, distance education is being looked at as an option.
Research Design
The research conducted from scholarly articles highlighted data about disabled students in grades 6-12 to determine the value of distance education for them. The No Child Left Behind (2002) law was designed to ensure that all students have access to education has placed emphasis on the content that is inaccessible to disabled students.
Over the years, researchers in the field of special education have accumulated a large body of evidence-based practices that demonstrated positive effect on student performance in face-to-face learning environments. Instructional practices such as providing many opportunities to respond, positive reinforcement and corrective feedback have been identified as elements of an instructional cycle common across a variety of settings. However, the same research base does not exist for online learning environments (Vasquez& Straub, 2012)
Participants/Sampling
The study involves a defined population of students with disabilities in grades 6-12 participating in distance education learning environments. The population identified for the study will be fifteen students with disabilities that cannot attend the traditional classroom due to their disability. Students will be recruited through the district’s Exceptional Children Program that has been earmarked for homebound services. A notice will be emailed to the students and they will a notice will be emailed to their general education teachers, special education teachers and any related service providers. The identification of all students participating in will remain confidential. General education and special education teachers will collaborate to plan lessons for the students taking part in this research based on their Individualized Educational Program (IEP).
Setting
The educators within this study are highly qualified professionals who have a passion for teaching students with various learning styles and difficulties. The students with disabilities who are participating in the online learning environment via distance education are in grades 6-12 and have a desire to learn in spite of the fact that their disabilities prevent them from attending a traditional school. The teachers are online as the students will access their lessons in a variety of ways depending on their disability.
Instrumentation
According to the U. S. Department of Education (2011) most recent governmental statistics nationwide, approximately 6.2 million children with disabilities receive special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This includes 2.8 million children ages 11, and 2.6 million children age 12 to 17 were receiving special education services. As a result, Assistive Learning Technology will be used as a dependent variable for this study. In the study of Assistive Learning (QIAT) Quality Indicators Assistive Technology(QIAT Consortium, 2010), questions asked of the special education coordinator and technology teacher in a school of 6-12, for 4th and 5th grade students. Seven researched questions will be used from the QIAT to ask how Assistive Learning Technology can, help special needs students. Survey questions will consist of:
1. Name the technology that is used, and from a scale 1 -5, its effectiveness’
2. Describe the purposes that technology is used and from a scale 1 -5, its effectiveness’?
3. Are you comfortable in making decision in using assistive technology, and from a scale 1 -5, describe your comfort?
4. Are there persons to seek assistance from making such assistive technology decisions and if so, from a scale 1 -5, described their effectiveness’ to the students?
5. Describe the usage of technology and the results you see with special needs students?
6. What technology has been used to help speech, hearing impaired and students that are blind, and from a scale 1-5, its effectiveness’?
7. On a scale from 1 – 5, how do you think technology has helped students with special needs and disabilities? Also, what technology was used?
Procedures/Data Collection
An assessment piece will be provided for students to measure their understanding of the instruction gained throughout the online course. These assessments may include, but are not limited to the following: pre-test, post-test, benchmarks, modules with quiz, and an end of course exam. It is the assumption that these assessments will provide feedback and of the online instruction. In order to properly manipulate the data, all module assignments leading up to the end of course exam will include a rubric to evaluate the student criteria. A short questionnaire for special education coordinator and teacher participant will be emailed a link with questionnaire from survey monkey, www.surveymonkey.com. The questionnaire will be accessible via the link from any computer with internet access. The questionnaire will consist of short answers and also, scoring questions. The list of questions will be available to the teachers with a submission time frame of two weeks. After the data submission the findings will be dispensed and reviewed by the educational data collection team.
Data Analysis
In order to strengthen the validity of this qualitative study, the education data collecting team, will collect the data of the survey questions and place the information in a spreadsheet using Google Drive. The spreadsheet in Google Drive will allow collection and analysis of the data that can later be shared if necessary, by using Google Drive it provides access to the spreadsheet without the worry of purchasing software such as Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft OpenOffice spreadsheets can be used as alternative ways to collect the data. When the results are collected and examined, the final conclusion will be determined to see whether or not the questions were valid for the intended results.
Assumptions and Limitations
The assumptions to the study include: (1) every young person knows how to use technology and that this knowledge can help them with the new technology developments for disabled students. (2) that there is software and hardware that can assist students who are disabled (3) there have been assumptions surrounding the commercial rights of content versus contributions to society and culture (Edyburn, 2008)
The limitations to the study include: (1) teachers must ensure that the students have access to the necessary technology available, (2) students who cannot afford Internet access, (3) students that cannot travel due to mobility disabilities (4) schools must ensure that teachers have professional development training to support their technology development, and (5) school district budget may not have the funds that would allow a schools to afford technology that could help their special education students.
References
Bianchi, W. (2012). The Wisconsin School of the Air: Success Story with Implications.
Educational Technology & Society 5 (1).123-126. Retrieved, August 11, 2013.
Edyburn, D.L. (2008). Research and Practice, Journal of Special Education Technology. 23(4), 62-65
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, 115, Stat. 1425 (2002).
QIAT Consortium. (2010). Quality indicators for assistive technology services. Retrieved August
10, 2013, from http://natri.uky.edu/assoc_projects/ qiat/qualityindicators.html
Children with Disabilities: Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Vasquez III, E., & Serianni, B. A. (2012). Research and practice in distance education for K-12 students with disabilities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31(4), 33-42.
Vasquez III, E., & Straub, C. (2012). Online instruction for K-12 special education: A review of
the empirical literature. Journal Of Special Education Technology, 27(3), 31-40.
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