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RUNNING HEAD: Online Academic Support for Special Needs Students 1

Capstone Report:

Online Academic Support for Special Needs Student

Geri Kasper

July 2, 2014

Kennesaw State University

Advisor: Sherri Booker

M.Ed. Fall 2012


Introduction

Twenty-first Century Learners are constantly trying to compete with the constant

technology innovations and upgrades. It is the responsibility of all educators to facilitate

technology use on a consistent basis in our classrooms. This is essential to preparing all

students to be able to use the technology resources needed to be successful not only in their

education but in their future employment endeavors. Designing, developing, and facilitating

online learning is essential because that is a direction education is heading. Every year, more

students enroll in online courses for several reasons. Some of these include accessibility,

convenience, simplicity, and economic benefits (Christensen, Horn, & Johnson, 2008). In

completing this capstone project, the main focus was on developing an online learning platform

that enabled students to utilize web 2.0 tools to foster student engagement and increase student

achievement. When developing this online learning platform the candidate reflected on the Web

2.0 tools that the candidate learned how to use in this Master’s program. The candidate thought

about which technology software tools would benefit the students learning preferences the most

effectively. Incorporating Web 2.0 Tools into instruction provides teachers with the resources

needed to develop problem solving tasks and solutions. Being able to problem solve and

communicate solutions to those problems are essential skills needed for our global society today.

Special Education teachers are often challenged with creating learning opportunities that provide

many students with alternative methods of mastering the concepts taught. At the same time, these

learning opportunities must be authentic and align with the curriculum being taught. Technology

has provided an avenue from which all types of struggling learners can attain knowledge and

understanding.


Description of Capstone Experience and Results

This Capstone Project reflected on the learning needs of 8th grade Special Education

students. In the past and present the candidate realized that a common theme among Special

Education Students has been their inability to grasp concepts that were initially taught for the

first time. Candidate developed this Capstone Proposal with the students learning needs in mind.

Smitha Middle school has a population of Special Education students needing extended learning

outside of the classroom. Students with disabilities have a difficult time with learning the

concepts the first time they are taught. The candidate decided to create an online learning

platform from which the students can obtain consistent remedial support that will enable

mastery of the standards. This capstone project provided the students in 8th grade the

opportunity to obtain and master their academic Science standards and elements by utilizing

multi-media venues such as blogging via Edmodo.com, teacher created videos, additional

graphic organizers, WebQuests, and instructional strategies such as tiered readings, modified

presentations, and vocabulary mastery activities.

Smitha Middle School has a diverse population of about 1198 students. The majority of

students are marginal learners (on-level) with 1/2 of the students being served for special

education services and ¼ of the students being served for ESOL and ELL. The charts below

display the schools ethnic groups and students socioeconomic status.


After consulting with the principal of Smitha Middle School, and the regular education

8th grade physical science co-teacher, and the math and science literacy coach, it has been

determined that additional multi-media resources are needed to scaffold and reinforce concepts

to enable access to the same curriculum as their non-disabled peers. Weebly was used for this

Students

System

State

1,161

1,333


Capstone Project because it is user-friendly, easily accessible, and my students can navigate

through the online learning platform with ease. The candidate was able use Weebly to create an

online learning environment that supports rich interactions between educators and their learners,

in addition to providing learning opportunities that supported the students diverse learning needs.

With the use of Web 2.0 Tools, the students were required to complete activities and

assignments where extra support was needed. The technology software tools enabled the

students to receive the information and concepts in multiple learning modalities. This is

extremely vital to the students learning success. With some deviations from the original

Capstone Proposal, the Weebly Online Learning Platform was utilized for three out of the five

units that were originally planned. Due to some equitable access concerns regarding the

availability of technology resources, the students were not able to complete all units. Most of the

time the lap top carts were not working to its fullest capacity. Many of the students had to share

lap tops which had its own pros and cons. On a positive note the students were forced to

collaborate during the activities which enabled learning from others and being able to

communicate their thoughts and ideas, but on the activities that required more independent

learning the candidate feels that the students may have not been able to effectively learn due to

the distraction of their peer or letting one student take more control of the learning while the

other student sits back and does not engage as much in the lesson. The teacher tried to secure the

labs for at least twice a week , however there were issues with other teachers and students

signing up on the same day. This made it crowded and noisy at times which made the student

loose focus and could not remain on task. To provide equitable access and opportunities

for the students to complete their lessons and assignments it was important for the candidate to

offer lab time before school in the morning and after school, especially since the school


lost about two weeks of instruction due to the inclement weather this year. Using the Weebly

enabled equitable access of technology not only at school but also at home.

Pre-Survey Results and Analysis

A needs assessment was implemented before the candidate created the Online Learning

Platform. The overall goal was to analyze the results from the student surveys so that the teacher

could use the results to create an online learning platform that would support student

achievement. The candidate included the following questions: (1) Which of the following Web

2.0 Tools have you used? (2) How comfortable are you with using those Web 2.0 Tools on a

scale of 1-5? (1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest). (3) Which of the following

experiences are frustrating for you with technology use? (4) Do you prefer productivity tools

over Web 2.0 Tools? (5) Do you see technology being used more in the classroom with teachers

or students? The results gave the teacher a better understanding on how familiar the students

are with using technology and certain software tools, in addition to how accessible technology is

to the students outside of school as well. This way I could plan for equitable access of

technology as needed. The survey would tell the candidate which, if any technology web 2.0

tools have been implemented in their classrooms with their prior teachers. After analyzing the

results the candidate determined that the majority of the students have had some experience with

web 2.0 tools. The candidate decided to include the software tools that the students were familiar

with from the capstone project. This way the students would not have to waste time with first

learning the tools. Of course, the teacher had to model the use of these tools first for

just a reminder, but the students did not need consistent help with navigating through the

technology. The teacher also analyzed pre and post assessments, to determine the knowledge and

skills the students needed extra support on. By completing the pre survey and the pre and post


assessments, the candidate confirmed which concepts needed to be more focused on and

therefore included in the online learning, in addition to which software tools would be beneficial

in facilitating effective learning for the student’s individual learning needs. The candidate

determined from the results that a main focus area was to develop instructional strategies that

focused on vocabulary acquisition. The majority of students have difficulty with reading

and comprehension due to having difficulty with word identification and word meanings.

Vocabulary is a key focus in Science instruction, therefore the Online Learning

provided the students with a variety of activities that aided in vocabulary acquisition as well.

The following link is where the pre-survey can be found:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13U2Ca7rXvfU

Facilitation of Learning Sessions

The candidate provided the opportunity for the students to “pilot” the Online Learning

Platform before the actual implementation. This gave students the opportunity to voice any

concerns or questions and allowed them to influence any changes that they thought would be

beneficial to making this a successful learning opportunity for them. Overall, the goal for the

students during these sessions was to have the students spend as much time as possible with

exploring the online learning platform and familiarizing themselves with it, in addition to

listening to the students feedback and observations. The students were provided with the

opportunity to address any concerns or ideas they had with their “pilot” run through of the

Weebly. At the completion of these sessions the candidate started the implementation of the

students online learning sessions. The dates and topics for each student online learning session

are listed below in the table.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13U2Ca7rXvfU


Date Description Of Activity8/2013 Developed Initial Capstone Proposal8/2013-9/2013 Conducted research for new proposal and

began working on proposal8/2013-10/2013 Created Student Surveys, Analyzed Results,

Created Weebly, Created Materials and Resources

11/2013 Students “pilot” Online Learning Platform”12/2013 Make adjustments and enrichments1/2014-2/2014 Students engage in online learning for our unit

on“Matter”2/2014-3/2014 Students engage in online learning for our unit

“Simple Machines”3/2014-4/2014 Students engage in online learning for our unit

“Forms and Transformation of Energy”5/2014 Evaluate final assessment data from

standardized tests, Benchmarks, and common classroom assessments

5/2014 Created, updated, and revised web 2.0 technology software tools in the Online Learning Platform, Weebly

Post-Survey Results and Analysis

After the students completed the online learning platform activities and lessons, the

candidate wanted to determine how the implementation of the Capstone Project impacted

student learning of the special education students. The analysis from the students post-survey,

standardized test scores, benchmarks, common assessments, and on-going formative

assessments, indicated that the Online Learning Platform was effective as the students were

definitely more engaged and motivated in the learning process. The student’s scores increased to

some degree. Students who were marginal learners were brought to a higher level and those

students who barely met standards on prior assessments now met standards. Students

that struggled to meet standards were not in class the entire year due to behavior or transience.


After all the hard work that went into creating an online learning platform, the data results

indicated an increase in student achievement overall. The candidate contributes the increased

scores to the implementation of utilizing best teaching practices with the students. Overall, the

students were actively engaged and motivated to take responsibility for their own learning. The

post-survey, and post assessments allowed for the comparison of data with the variety of

assessment results that were collected prior to the online learning sessions. The evaluation of the

pre- and post-data results are posted below in the Data Collection Charts.

Data Collection Chart (Period 2)

Student

Initials

2013 Spring CRCT

Science

Score

2014 Spring CRCT

Science

Score

Bench

Mark 1

Bench

Mark 2

Bench

Mark 3

Bench

Mark 4

Unit 1

PRE

Unit 1

POST

Unit 2

PRE

Unit 2

POST

Unit 3

PRE

Unit 3

POST

M.A 803 823 90 90 83 76 77 86 77 78 80 80

D.B 787 780 83 74 70 64 65 77 60 64 66 72

D.L--- 803 --- --- --- ---- 68 73 64 62 75 77

E.G840 822 89 84 73 84 90 94 88 87 84 80

M.M787 800 95 93 88 87 76 80 74 77 80 78

R.P802 800 87 84 80 80 85 88 82 84 80 85

R.S800 803 87 84 80 82 83 80 83 83 80 81

J.S770 767 87 74 70 77 73 73 73 73 77 70

J.P 800 797 85 88 90 84 77 80 75 80 76 74S.G 820 823 92 90 89 90 86 88 89 84 88 90

*CRCT passing score expected is ≥ 800 *Unit Post Assessment passing score expected is > 75% *Bench Mark passing score expected is ≥ 75% goal. *Student highlighted in yellow was not in classroom the entire year and are missing scores. *Student highlighted in blue did not meet.



Student

Initials

CRCT Scienc

e ScoreChang

e

BenchMark 1-2

Change +/-

Bench Mark 2-3

Change +/-

BenchMark 3-4

Change +/-

Unit 1 PRE/POS

TChange

Unit 2 PRE/POS

TChange

Unit 3 PRE/Po

stChange

Goals ReachedYes/No

M.A+20 0 -7 -7 +9 +1 0 yes

D.B+7 +7 -9 -6 +12 +4 +6 No

D.L --- --- --- --- +5 -2 +2 Missing Data

E.G-18 -5 -11 +11 +4 -1 -4 yes

M.M +13 -2 -5 -1 +4 +3 -2 yes

R.P -2 -3 -4 0 +3 +2 +5 yes

R.S+3 -3 -3 +2 -3 0 +1 yes

J.S-3 -13 -4 +7 0 0 -7 No

J.P -3 +3 +2 -6 +3 +5 -2 yesS.G +3 -2 -1 +1 +2 -4 +2 yes

*CRCT passing score expected is ≥ 800

*Bench Mark passing score expected is ≥ 75%

*Unit Post Assessment passing score expected is ≥ 75%

*Student highlighted in yellow was not in classroom the entire year and are missing scores. *Student highlighted in blue did not meet.

*Student highlighted in purple met standards.



Student

Initials

2013 Spring CRCT

Science

Score

2014 Spring CRCT

Science

Score

Bench

Mark 1

Bench

Mark 2

Bench

Mark 3

Unit 1

PRE

Unit 1

POST

Unit 2

PRE

Unit 2

POST

Unit 3

PRE

Unit 3

POST

W.A 767 780 62 73 62 77 78 70 68 64 78

I.A 800 803 85 80 77 80 76 80 88 77 79

C.B 807 812 91 84 91 80 85 80 85 78 82

J.G 820 817 84 82 80 80 86 88 84 80 86

A.L 780 787 70 73 77 74 77 70 73 77 73

F.M 800 808 65 70 72 75 74 77 78 75 76T.N 777 800 77 75 68 77 81 80 80 77 76

C.W810 823 85 88 90 85

8384 85 78 87

N.V800 802 82 80 75 78 80 76 72 84 84




*Student highlighted in yellow was not in classroom the entire year and are missing scores. *Student highlighted in blue did not meet.

*Student highlighted in purple met standard.



Student

Initials

Spring CRCT

Science

ScoreChang

e

BenchMark 1-2

change

Bench Mark 2-3

change

BenchMark 3-4

change

Unit 1 PRE/pos

tchange

Unit 2 pre/POS

Tchange

Unit 3 PRE/pos

tchange

GoalReachedYes/No

W.A+13 +11 -11 +1 -2 +14 No

I.A +3 -5 -3 -4 +8 +2 Yes

C.B +5 -7 +7 +5 +5 +4 yes

J.G -3 -2 -2 +6 -4 +6 yes

A.L+7 +3 +4 +3 +3 -4 No

F.M+8 +5 +2 -1 +1 +1 yes

T.N+3 -2 -7 +4 0 -1 yes

C.W+13 +3 +2 -2 +1 +9 yes

N.V +2 -2 -5 +2 -4 0 Yes




*Student highlighted in yellow was not in classroom the entire year and are missing scores.

*Student highlighted in blue did not meet.




Student

Initials

2013 Sprin

g CRCT Scien

ce Score

2014 Sprin

g CRCT Scien

ce Score

Bench

Mark 1

Bench

Mark 2

Bench

Mark 3

Bench

Mark 4

Unit 1 PRE

Unit 1

POST

Unit 2 PRE

Unit 2

POST

Unit 3 PRE

Unit 3

POST

GoalReach

edYes/No

J.G 787 810 80 84 84 78 83 88 78 88 83 89

C.M 810 812 87 92 90 90 88 92 95 73 73 88

J.S820 826 88 85 83 76 86 87 78 88 78 92









Student

Initials

CRCT Scienc

e ScoreChang

e

Bench

Mark 1-2

change

Bench

Mark 2-3

change

Bench

Mark 3-4

change

Unit 1 PRE/po

stchange

Unit 2 pre/PO

STchange

Unit 3 PRE/po

stchange

GoalReachedYes/No

J.G +23 +4 0 +14 +5 +10 +6 yes

C.M +2 +5 -2 0 +4 -22 +15 yes

J.S +6 -3 -3 -7 +1 +10 +14 yes

CRCT passing score expected is ≥ 800








Student

Initials

2013 Sprin

g CRCT Scien

ce Score

2014 Sprin

g CRCT Scien

ce Score

Bench

Mark 1

Bench

Mark 2

Bench

Mark 3

Bench

Mark 4

Unit 1 PRE

Unit 1

POST

Unit 2 PRE

Unit 2

POST

Unit 3 PRE

Unit 3

POST

GoalReach

edYes/No

B.P803 819 75 65 68 70 80 84 82 86 92 89

V.A 800 807 80 73 86 77 86 82 84 85 88 87

C.A789 800 54 66 72 65 64 82 80 75 77 74

S.C797 783 55 64 60 59 67 82 66 60 85 90

C.C813 820 80 66 78 82 88 91 82 83 84 88

B.C787 780 66 72 75 69 80 85 85 79 80 84

K.H------ ------ 74 73 ----- ------ ----

----- ----

----- 78 ----

M.J---- ---- ----- 70 ----- ------ ---- -----

-67 ----- ----

------









Student

Initials

CRCT Scien

ce ScoreChan

ge

Bench

Mark 1-2

change

Bench

Mark 2-3

change

Bench

Mark 3-4

change

Unit 1 PRE/po

stchange

Unit 2 pre/PO

STchange

Unit 3 PRE/po

stchange

GoalReachedYes/No

B.P+16 -10 +3 +2 +4 +4 -3 yes

V.A+7 -7 +13 -11 -4 +1 -1 yes

C.A+11 +12 +6 -13 +18 -5 -3 Yes

S.C +6 +9 -4 -1 +15 -6 +5 No

C.C +7 -14 +12 +4 +3 +1 +4 Yes

B.C+3 +6 +3 -6 +5 -6 +4 No

K.H--- --- -1 --- --- --- --- Missing Data

M.J--- --- --- --- --- --- --- Missing Data

CRCT passing score expected is ≥ 800







Follow-Up Plans

The most important part of evaluation is to reflect on the results and determine what

steps to take next. The candidate would like to implement and share more technology-

enhanced learning experiences with my students and colleagues. The technology leaders goal is

to find technology software tools that can not only be easily implemented in the classroom but

also that will be easily accessible to students out of the class room, that ultimately would have a

positive impact on my students learning. The candidate must continue to attend technology

Professional Development trainings to be able to remain knowledgeable with any new

technology innovations that would continue to greatly impact student achievement. The

candidate will facilitate collaboration among teachers to support on-going communication

regarding best technology practices being used in their classrooms.

Reflections

Technology Facilitation and Leadership

Technology must be implemented effectively in the schools in order to foster student

achievement. The most important component to effective technology use in our schools is the

importance of having technology leaders that can pave the way for how technology should be

incorporated into instruction. The technology leader must possess the skills and knowledge

necessary to making effective change in the schools today. It is imperative that technology

leaders foster a learning environment that is safe and encouraging so that the teachers will “buy-

in” to the new technology initiatives. The teachers must be provided with the on-going support

and resources necessary to facilitating smooth transitions. The fear of technology often brings

out what Creighton call the resisters, “teachers who are simply satisfied with the status quo and

see no reason to change their thinking or strategies for doing things” (Creighton, 2003). As a


technology leader the candidate was required to create an online learning environment that

fostered positive attitudes where students wanted to take an active approach in their learning.

The data results indicated that the candidate was successful in creating a safe and motivating

learning environment conducive to the students learning challenges. The candidate encouraged

the students to collaborate with their peers to facilitate learning independence and incorporate

technology tools that motivated student learning. This type of learning environment prevented

“resistors” in regards to implementing the online learning platform because the students

confidence and self-advocacy was strengthened.

Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions

Through the implementation of the capstone project, the candidate reflected on the

knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of a technology leader. The candidate learned that

the technology leader must continue to apply evidence of their technology knowledge and the

commitment to the appropriate use of technology.

The technology facilitator demonstrated the knowledge and skills needed to create an

online learning platform, in addition to obtaining the knowledge required to implement the Web

2.0 Tools effectively with the students. The candidate established the classroom environment by

preparing the learning opportunities that facilitate students' use of technology to learn,

communicate, and develop knowledge products. The technology facilitator’s responsibility was

to create an online learning platform that enabled differentiation through the use of Web 2.0

Tools so to be able to accommodate the diverse learning needs of all students. The student online

classroom learning environment has been developed based on Instructional Technology

Standards and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), along with the National

Educational Technology Standards for Teaching (NETS-T). The overall goals in creating an


online learning environment for the students is to provide equitable access to the curriculum and

empower self-efficacy which encompasses academics and Intrapersonal growth. By allowing the

students to take ownership in their learning they will actively engage in higher order thinking

skills through analysis, synthesis, inquiry, evaluation, and problem solving strategies. The

NETS-T standards provided the candidate with the essential components needed to create an

online learning environment that would support academic achievement for all students.

An important goal as the technology facilitator was to provide the Special Education

students at Smitha the essential technology skills needed for the 21st Century. Not only were the

students improving their academics but the students were also able to strengthen their

technology literate skills as they were interacting with the online learning platform by utilizing

the Web 2.0 Tools. Through the online learning environment the students were introduced to a

learning community that involved not only communicating with their peers outside of the

classroom and the students teachers, but also included the involvement of the parents, and the

school community. Effective oral and written communication among a variety of stakeholders is

so essential in continuously developing the the professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions

of the Professionals of the 21st Century. The technology facilitator enabled the students to “buy-

in” to the technology initiative because the candidate provided on-going support throughout the

process, but more importantly, allowed the students to take an active role during the “pilot”

session. The candidate encouraged the students to voice their opinions and concerns about any

changes needed to foster an effective learning environment for themselves.

Recommendations

Reflecting back on the capstone experience, an area of concern that needed some

adjustments was being able to provide the students with timely feedback regarding their progress


on projects and assignments as well as standard mastery and vocabulary attainment.. The

candidate needed to provide more opportunities for visual checkpoints with commentaries as

opposed to only verbal confirmations.

Conclusion

Overall, the candidate found the capstone project successful. The main goal was to

provide the students with a variety of learning modalities that improved the student’s academic

success. The technology resources provided learning opportunities for all students of special

needs. Integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom online learning environment provided

instructional strategies that fostered student-directed learning. Exposing students to a variety of

Web 2.0 Tools enabled students to enhance their learning strengths and support their learning

weaknesses. Used as a tool, not an end in itself, technology became an integral part of the way

we worked, taught, and learned (Biggs, 2011). The Online Learning Platform provided the

students with alternative methods of acquiring the knowledge and skills needed for learning the

Science concepts. Students improved their learning as measured by the standardized test results,

common assessment results, and formative assessments. This learning opportunity aided students

in obtaining learning strategies that fostered self-advocacy, and independence, as well as

increased self-motivation, and higher order thinking skills.

The candidate had implemented best teaching practices with the students that they

found beneficial and useful to their academic achievement. The most important part of the

evaluation is to reflect on the results and determine what steps to take next. The candidate would

like to share more technology-enhanced learning experiences with the students. The technology


leaders goal is to continue to locate new technology software tools and innovations that can not

only be easily implemented in the classroom but also carry over to the students future endeavors.


References

Biggs Unified School District. (2011). Education technology plan. Retrieved, 2013, from

http://lib.convdocs.org/docs/index-153549.html

Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting class: How disruptive

innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, California, United

States of America: Corwin Press, Inc.

ISTE.NETS (2012). The standards for learning, leading and teaching in the digital age.

Retrieved From: http://www.iste.org/standards

http://www.iste.org/standards

http://lib.convdocs.org/docs/index-153549.html

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