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E-Learning-A Special Platform For Special Kids!

13th December 2021

This pandemic has shown us the magic of the educational system using online platforms. A few years ago, it was almost impossible for every one of us to believe that an entire educational system can be run using digital media. A major proportion of the students' group has got huge benefits by learning at home, while for a certain section, e-learning has shown a game-changing effect.

Teaching children with special needs via online platforms has been a very successful move. The online mode of learning has provided big chunks of opportunities to special kids in terms of their developmental aspects. E-learning for special needs students is a massive strike as it has helped students having problems with motor skills.

Special education needs (SEN) teachers have taken a great initiative in taking care of the health and well-being of kids by providing constant tutor support. Special education courses have enabled aspirants as well as professional SEN teachers to learn every bit of imparting knowledge to gifted kids at their convenience. These CACHE-endorsed online courses are of immense help because of their perfectly structured curriculum based on modern and scientific methods.

Why online study is proving excellent for special kids?

One of the biggest assets of online education is that it is focused on individualized education. Special education teachers make sure that students who are participating in this format are not facing any technical or emotional barrier. There are numerous reasons why e-learning for gifted children is doing an excellent job.
 

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:

The problems special students face are countless because some of them are having different behavioral patterns, some have speech problems, a certain number of students lack motor skills, and so on. Generally, inside a class where it is a mixed batch of special and ordinary students, it becomes difficult for special kids to keep up the pace of learning. Also, teachers cannot pay attention to everyone equally when it comes to a mixed batch.

Over here, online education has performed awesome as it becomes very much flexible for gifted children to participate actively. Students having autism, learning disabilities or any other gift often feel shy to expose their talents in front of an entire class. An e-learning platform motivates them to learn, patiently and they can have a one-to-one conversation with teachers as well using video calls.

NO NEED TO TRAVEL!

There are certain students with special needs who have problems with mobility. Traveling every day to school becomes trouble for them because they need constant support and such intensive care is not available every time, to be very honest.

E-learning platform has helped students having problems with mobilities to a great extent. Students get opportunities to learn every detail of what is being taught in the classroom. They get a home environment and also can learn effectively without any disturbance.

SPECIFIC COURSES:

Not every special child has a similar kind of gift. An autism course is perfect for an autistic child whereas a course in learning disabilities is most suitable for a kid having dyslexia. Thus, parents can choose the best-suited course for their children which will be beneficial in the long term.

How to access e-learning properly:

If you aim at creating a course that is accessible to the maximum number of students, there are many easy points to be kept in mind that will help learners with special needs.
 

Audio-visual formats

The content should be accessible in multiple forms. Learners must be given both options and they don’t need to be blind or deaf to have difficulty seeing or hearing different media forms.

Alt tags on images and headers in the copy

Screen readers and tab navigation are designed to work with HTML markup in certain ways. While uploading an image, an alt description should be added that accurately describes what is in the image, so that readers know what it portrays. Also, include headers in the copy so that those using tab navigation can easily skim through content.

Special keyboards and tab navigation

Make sure the course supports navigation tools that will be helpful for students having problems with motor skills. Large and prominent “back” buttons must be used. We all make mistakes and when it comes to learners with special needs, the ability to back up after taking a wrong turn is essential.

Less amount of large, readable text and lots of white space

Small text is never a good idea, to begin with. Students who suffer from Cerebral Palsy or Parkinson’s, or have broken their arm and need to navigate with their bad hand will face huge issues in reading those texts. Not only is cramped text harder to read, but buttons and links that don’t have enough click padding around them are also hard to click.

Descriptive labels with infographics

Colorblindness affects approximately 8% of men and 0.5% of women and the most common form, red-green, makes it difficult for learners to distinguish between colors. Thus graphics or infographics must be created keeping in mind all these factors.

Special education is a very delicate topic and accessing online platforms is a very complex process. Teaching children with special needs requires a lot of patience and dedication and hence, Special education courses have created accurate modules to guide SEN teachers.

Written By: Rimpa Ghosh