Designing Support for Online Learners with ADD/ADHD
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Transcript of Designing Support for Online Learners with ADD/ADHD
DESIGNING SUPPORT FOR ONLINE LEARNERS WITH
ADD/ADHD
Dorothy P. Fuller, Ed. DCollege of EducationBlack Hills State UniversitySpearfish, South Dakota
WITH SPECIAL THANKS
Marisa&
Tom
Two adult learners coping with ADD who worked with me over the course of 3 semesters to find design solutions that helped them be successful in their educational pursuits
MEET TOM
36 year old construction worker
Married with one son
Wants better job Knows he needs to
get more education That fact scares him
BACK TO SCHOOL THOUGHTS UNPLEASANT
WHAT ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING?
THE GOOD
“The teacher seemed human to me.”
THE GOOD
“The teacher was always there for me when she said she would be.”
THE GOOD
“She always answered my questions as if I were her only student.”
THE GOOD
“I really enjoyed the freedom to enter the class at my convenience and to come or go as I needed.”
THE NOT SO GOOD Challenges of ADD kicked in
“There were lots of written instructions – page after page of writing with no breaks – I kept getting lost.”
“I found it really hard to schedule times to be in class, and I kept getting more and more behind.”
“I felt overwhelmed with the learning projects. I just didn’t know where to start and what order to do things in.”
“I couldn’t remember where I found things in the course.”
“I even had problems remembering when assignments were due and where I was supposed to turn them in.”
THE NOT SO GOOD
“As work piled up, I got more and more discouraged.”
“I got really down on myself.”
“And I thought about just giving up and droppingout.”
“But I did decide to ask for help first.”
“That turned out to be a good idea.”
HELP COMES FROM THE COMMUNITY
“Marisa came to the rescue.”
“She said that my problems sounded like ADD.”
“She shared some coping strategies with me.”
“The teacher began working with both of us.”
NEW & IMPROVED
She encouraged us to make public commitments to be on line by putting those times on the course calendar.
She made an easy-to use and easy-to-find summary sheet for all assignments.
Guided by our input, our instructor made changes in the course.
NEW & IMPROVED
More white space on content pages
More headings with standard colors and bold fonts
Took key elements out of paragraphs and put them in bulleted lists
Standardized page headings
Unit Assignment Title Time Frame Materials Needed Assignment Turn-in
Time Place
Purpose Procedures Rubric
NEW & IMPROVED
Greater flexibility in assignments & assessments
Easy-to-use rubrics were placed in 3 critical placesWith each assignment In a content file with all
rubrics on the homepageAs an attached document
at the turn-in site
SUCCESS!
RESOURCES
W3C - WAIWorld Wide Web Committee – Web Accessibility Initiativehttp://www.w3c.org/WAI/guid-tech.html
CASTCenter for Applied Special Technologyhttp://www.cast.org
DOITDisabilities, Opportunities, Internet Working, & Technologyhttp://www.washington.edu/doit
ADECAmerican Distance Education Consortiumhttp://www.adec.edu/access-issues.html