Online Course Designs:Are Special Needs Being Met?

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Christy Keeler

Mark Horney

1. Study Purpose

2. Literature Review

3. Methodology

4. Results and Discussion

5. Implications

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Outline

• Rapid growth in field— Market shareMarket share— Students with special needsStudents with special needs

• Need for Accommodations— “Right thing to do”— Fiscally responsible— Federal law

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Study PurposeStudy Purpose

1. Which online course design elements provide barriers or supports for students with special needs?

2. To what extent are online course designers addressing issues that are potentially beneficial or problematic for students with disabilities?

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Research Question

s

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Literature ReviewLiterature Review• Research• Organizations• Laws

– Americans with Disabilities Act– Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998

• Section 504• Section 508

– Individuals with Disabilities Education Act– No Child Left Behind

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Guidelines/ChecklistsGuidelines/Checklists• IMS Guidelines• W3C Checklist of Checkpoints• Steps for Ensuring Accessibility (Smith)• Ensuring Access or Individuals with Cognitive

Disabilities (Rowland)/Accessibility Recommendations for Individuals with Cognitive Disabilities (Bohman)

• Section 508 Standards, Tools, and Techniques (Edmonds)

• Summary of Design Issues by Disability Type (Bohman)

MethodologyMethodology• Study Context

– Secondary level– Virtual classroom model– Sample courses– Special populations

• Research Questions– Identifying Design Variables

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Instrument of Instructional Design Elements of High School Online Courses (IODE)

MethodologyMethodology• Study Context

– Secondary level – Virtual classroom model– Sample courses– Special populations

• Research Questions– Identifying Design Variables– Levels of Practice

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Results and DiscussionResults and DiscussionQuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

• Identified Elements

Research Question 1

Special Education Instructional Design Elements for Online Courses

Vision AccommodationsHearing AccommodationsBiasMouseclicksDesign ConsistencyWhite SpaceBackgroundFontFont SizeFont StyleFont ColorGraphic ImagesCourse Image TypeLesson Image TypeRequired MaterialsOptional Materials

Course TechnologiesLesson TechnologiesNumber of AudiosAll AudioAverage Audio LengthAudio StyleVoiceNumber of VideosAverage Video LengthVideo StyleInstructional ActivitiesPeer InteractionsReading EaseReading Level

SpellingGrammarCourse OptionsLesson OptionsAssessment OptionsTimedSummariesRequired SupportsSupport PeopleSupport MeansContext Help

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• Identified Elements• Excluded Elements

Research Question 1

Results and DiscussionResults and DiscussionQuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

• Identified Elements• Excluded Elements• Categorization Schema

Research Question 1

Special Education Instructional Design Elements for Online Courses: Categorization Schema

Special Education Online Course

Design Elements

Website Design

Focus on Disabilities

Technologies Used

Instructional Methodologies

Support Systems

General Webpage Design

Vision Accommodations

Hearing Accommodations

Bias

Non-Web-based Materials

Web-based Materials

Technologies Audios and Videos

General Readability

Student Options

Human Support Systems

Context Sensitive Help

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• Focus on Disabilities– “Hearing Accommodations”– “Vision Accommodations”

Research Question 2

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• Website Design– Visual design of pages– Site and page layouts– Graphics

Research Question 2

Edvard Munch:“The Scream”

Southern Asian Tsunami:December 26, 2004

Before After

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• Technologies Used– Non-web-based materials

Research Question 2

Non-Web-Based Required Materials

05

1015202530

TextbookLab Kit

VideocassetteSoftware

PhoneCalculator

AudiocassetteMicrophone

Speakers

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• Technologies Used– Non-web-based materials– Web-based technologies

Research Question 2

LessonTechnologies

05

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

LinksVideoAudio

Voice Boards

Threaded Discussion

DownloadApplicationsSimulationsWeb Forms

Pop-UpAnimation

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• Instructional Methodologies– Instructional Activities

Research Question 2

Instructional Activities

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

WebQuestGame

PresentationVirtual Simulation

Debate

BrainstormingListening

Demonstration

Lab

Other Reading

ViewingTutorial

Project-Based Learning

ResearchRole Playing

Reflection

Drill and PracticeGroup DiscussionWeb Reading

Question/Answer

Lecture

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• Instructional Methodologies– Instructional Activities– Peer Communications– Student Options– Timed– Reading Level– Summaries

Research Question 2

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• Support Systems– “Context Sensitive Help”

Research Question 2

Context Sensitive Help

Project Intersect – University of Oregon

http://intersect.uoregon.edu/

ontherun

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• Support Systems– “Context Sensitive Help”– Support personnel

Research Question 2

ImplicationsImplications

Designers Administrators Teachers/ParentsAwareness Parental objections Suitability for students

Determining method of accommodations

Financial liabilityTechnology infrastructure

Equivalent academic achievement

Emotional comfort

Potential problems

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Online Course Designs:Are Special Needs Being Met?

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Christy Keeler

Mark Horney

Presentation Notes and Slides: http://keelerthoughts.blogspot .com

Paper: Keeler, C., & Horney, M. (2007). Online course designs: Are special needs being met? American Journal of Distance Education, 21(2).