Reflect: Consider the general best practices and specific strategies presented in this lesson.

Choose two of the student scenarios below. First, identify at least two difficulties each student may be experiencing in their online class. Then, discuss two best practices or specific strategies that might be helpful to each student. 

Dustin has an IEP with accommodations for a hearing impairment; he is completely deaf. He is not currently doing well in your class and you are unsure why. He has not asked for help or attended live sessions since the class began. When you leave assignment feedback for him, he does not respond, even if you specifically ask him to respond.
What will you do to address this?

Two difficulties this student may be experiencing: Dustin may have difficulty hearing recorded or live class sessions even with hearing aids which sometimes produce static or buzzing, and he also may be inclined to participate less or not respond due to anxiety or self-consciousness over the hearing impairment. It could be possible he’s not getting the assistive devices he needs or other services.
Two best practices or strategies to use: Any videos or films should be captioned plus copies of handouts of course content distributed. The student should be provided with notes or a summary. Lectures and class sessions could be provided as PDFs or other type of presentation document. Another option during class sessions would be to use the features in the visual aid pane of Jigsaw in showing diagrams, charts, graphics, etc. This could greatly assist the student with hearing impairments. Supplementary aids and services would also be researched for possible use.

Hopper has an IEP with accommodations for Dysgraphia. Your class requires written reports in each unit on various topics. Hopper expresses concern over his grade in your class because of the written reports. You know Hopper is putting forth effort, but he still is not passing your class. He asks what he can do to improve his grade. How do you respond?
Two difficulties this student may be experiencing: The actual process of writing and retaining information likely may be interfering with his overall learning. Spelling may also be a challenge for Hopper.
Two best practices or strategies to use: Since the writing portion of assignments are important, a possible solution for improving his grade would be to incorporate a graphic organizer and/or mind maps to reinforce basic concepts and initiate an assignment. Another accommodation would be to shorten writing assignments and allow extra time for completion. Speech recognition programs or applications could be researched as a possible option when combined with a word processor enabling the student to dictate papers rather than type them.