Journal of Special Education Technology

The growing practice of elementary and secondary online education is the primary focus of this topical issue. This article will introduce the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities and then highlight the articles within this publication. Throughout the issue, research findings support the need for more research in online learning practices. Overall, it is hoped this issue will support increased emphasis on research and practice in K-12 online learning.

As referenced in the Every Student Succeeds Act and the National Educational Technology Plan, personalized learning is the new focus in many K–12 learning environments. Nonetheless, few people understand what personalized learning really means and even fewer can design and implement a personalized learning environment appropriate for all learners, especially learners with disabilities. This 18-month descriptive research study focused on identifying the design characteristics of personalized learning environments and the initial results of these environments. Findings indicate that personalized learning environments require more than technology, that the technology itself is simply a tool to support implementation. These personalized learning environments were highly learner self-regulated, had transparent and actionable near-real-time data, provided various structures for student voice and feedback, and integrated purposeful supports for embedding the principles of Universal Design for Learning at the cornerstone of practice. Personalized learning requires a shift in instructional practice on behalf of both the teacher and the learners. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

This article describes a study of online educators’ use of technology as part of the accommodations they provided to students with disabilities at their school. Specifically, research focused on four teachers who were members of an interdisciplinary team in a large virtual school program, in a state with established policies regarding online education, and online course work as a requirement for graduation. Data were collected over 4 months in a series of weekly interviews and through a content analysis of stipulated accommodations and modifications in student Individualized Education Program (IEP) documents. The findings of this study indicated (1) providing technologically grounded accommodations and modifications required intensive collaboration with students, parents, and other special education support staff at the virtual school, (2) online teachers struggled to keep up with all of the possible means and methods of enhancing the learning experience and providing accommodations that were stipulated in the IEP while also remaining sensitive to practices and supports that they could provide (using technology that were not mandated), and as a result (3) technology use as part of accommodation was most often relegated to what naturally exists in an online learning environment and is available to all students. The implications of this work are that transferring disability service plans, and IEPs in particular, is no simple matter, and that moving to a technological environment (and the notion that the online environment is inherently accommodating) needs interrogation at every level (practice, research, and policy).

In the process of evaluating online learning products for accessibility, researchers in the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities concluded that most often consultation guides and assessment tools were useful in determining sensory accessibility but did not extend to critical aspects of learning within the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. To help fill this void in assessment, researchers created the UDL Scan tool to examine online learning products alignment to the UDL framework. This article provides an overview of how accessibility has been historically measured and introduces the need to move beyond the traditional understanding of accessibility to a broader UDL-based lens. With this understanding, a UDL Scan tool was developed and validated to investigate the alignment of online learning content to UDL. This article will present the process of development, the validation, and discuss how the measurements provide critical benchmarks for educators and industry as they adopt new online learning systems.

This study evaluated the effects of a blended learning instructional experience for sixth-grade students in an English/language arts (ELA) course. Students at two treatment schools participated in a blended learning instructional paradigm, and their ELA test scores were compared to one comparison school that used a face-to-face delivery. Other variables of interest were gender status, disability status, and student reading efficacy. The results of the analysis indicated that no significant changes in reading achievement were found that could be attributed solely to treatment versus comparison, to gender, or to disability status. Perhaps of greater significance to practitioners and researchers is the identification of person and programmatic-level factors that influence adoption and implementation of effective blended instruction. Implications are discussed.

Pioneering research studies in teacher preparation in online settings have taken place, yet little to no work has been done specifically focused on teacher preparation for special education and learners with disabilities. In the present study, researchers from the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities conducted a web-based survey of special education teacher preparation faculty to determine the level to which they were attending to online education preparation. The survey was developed with a specific alignment to the International Association for K–12 Online Learning (iNACOL) online teacher standards. The results of this survey pinpoint several areas of need in the preparation of teachers who are will be working in online education and attending to students with disabilities in these settings.