Phase 1- Inspiration

Statement of Purpose

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that there are challenges to distance

learning in Special Education. It is very important to address this problem. Some students with

special needs can feel secluded from other children. The purpose of our project is to create a tool

around the free presentation application, Nearpod. This tool is geared toward educators in

elementary schools who have students with disabilities in their classrooms. As educators, our

goal is to educate students with special needs and remove the barriers of COVID-19. We can

help the students transition to distant learning by providing them classroom instruction utilizing

tools like Nearpod. Constant communication with the parents, guardians and families can be a

great way to help students with special needs manage distance learning. Having a strong line of

communication with the parents or guardians is key in building strong bonds with an educator.

We recognize that in order to achieve this, we must reach out to local educators and conduct

research in order to provide the best resource available. 

A positive aspect of the free online lesson presentation tool, Nearpod, is that it can be

remotely utilized by the teacher. Nearpod has the ability to allow an educator to control the

screen of a student whether the student is in the classroom or at home. The student just needs to

be logged into the Nearpod website with a key provided by the teacher. The teacher can always

monitor what slide or activity that the student is on. They can map out lessons by creating

informational slides and then checking for understanding by utilizing some of the built-in

activities. Overall, this allows a teacher to deliver instructions in various different ways, which is

of great benefit to students with disabilities.

 Due to distance learning, some students may feel like they are not receiving the same

amount of attention as their other peers. This might cause the student and their parents to limit

themselves in their interactions with the lesson; breeding frustration in parents and educators

alike. Another thing that may be both a positive or a negative, would be the resources that come,

or dont come along with Nearpod. There may be some instances where a particular need might

not be met by using Nearpod and thus a teacher may need to improvise a solution utilizing the

tool. This can result in having to spend unnecessary time planning that could be spent teaching.

There may be a learning curve to utilizing a program like Nearpod, not only for the student, but

for the teacher as well. It is vital that there is access to various resources such as high speed

internet for teachers/students and tablets or laptops. Financial constraints on schools may hinder

the possibility of compiling these resources.

Ultimately, the impact that we would like to have through our tool would be for all

students with disabilities to have a smooth and successful transition to distant learning

environments. By creating a great resource around Nearpod, we would like to see educators from

elementary schools utilizing the tools we provide to create an effective lesson presentation. We

believe that Nearpod gives power to educators to create multiple forms of instruction and

engagement. Students with special needs need to be respected and thus they deserve to have their

individual needs met by the educational system during this pandemic.

 
Literature Review

Since Covid-19 is new to us all, and something we are still getting used to, this problem

has not been addressed in the past. The article, “Special Education Resources forTeachers to Use

During Distance Learning” by Heather Nelson provides solutions and resources for teachers to
use during this unknown time. All of the resources provided have technology involved, including

apps, websites and other softwares. 

The article, “New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn from Home” by Nora

Fleming provides solutions and strategies for teachers and parents to 

use for distance learning. This article does not involve technology, but rather tips and strategies

to help special education students learn from home. 

The article, “Distance Learning and Special Education During Covid-19” by Tiffany

Livingston shares the story of a real special education teacher and her everyday experience of

teaching through a screen. This article does not involve technology, but rather a special

education teacher sharing her thoughts and feelings, and how this has affected her students. 

The “Nearpod” website explains how to use the website, while you can also explore a

variety of different lessons. This website does involve technology, and interactive technology

where students can get involved, as well. We chose to do our project using Nearpod because of

the endless features and possibilities it provides. 

Project description

The intended audience of our project is elementary school teachers in Fresno and Tulare

County. The subject we would like to focus on is science; more specifically plant biology. The

topic we would like to present is based on biodiversity and humans. Due to the COVID-19

pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to provide the same types of learning

environments and opportunities for students with disabilities. Our goal is to supplement the lack

of in-person classroom time with distance learning delivered via the internet. Nearpod allows for

the integration of slides, spoken instruction and hands-on activities, in and outside of the
classroom. We would like our audience to have the necessary knowledge and resources to

complete effective lesson presentations for students with disabilities.

As teachers, we can use a nearpod to present a lesson. We are able to take control of our

own presentation as well as control the screen of each student. This gives a teacher the ability to

slow down for students. For students who may be hard of hearing, the need for visual aids/cues

allow them to be able to follow and comprehend the lesson being taught. With nearpod, there is

the ability to provide visual representation of biomes, and the plants and animals associated with

the area. We can begin by displaying an image of a particular biome. As we begin to teach, the

main points and with large labels can begin to appear as we dictate our presentation. Children

with dyslexia may have difficulty reading some of the instructions on the slides, but vocalizing

and narrating what the instructions are can help them comprehend instructions.

 There can be a slide show, complete with labels for the different animals and plant

species. We can provide written explicit instructions on a slide that allows the student to follow

along and move onto the next slide or activity. Nearpod allows students to participate in

activities. There will be a slide in which students must answer an open ended question through

the interactive nearpod presentation. An example of this could be, “List 3 things that you can

find in the environment around your neighborhood.” We can modify this as well by allowing

students who have ADHD the ability to draw 3 things instead of writing them. Nearpod allows

for activities such as drawing. The student can then begin to list their answers by drawing them.

Drawing is a great way to stimulate the brain and allows a student to focus. At the same time,

this allows the student to immerse themselves in the lesson. With nearpod we can also view the

answers in private as educators in order to assess what works for students and identify the areas

of needs.
 Questions/Concerns

Some of the questions that may arise may be due with the availability of the tools needed

in order to accommodate the parents of the students. Equipment such as laptops for the students

and the appropriate materials for the teachers may be an issue. As a teacher, we want to ensure

that we can maximize the tool that we are using in an affordable way. Also, parents of students

may have difficulty in operating computer devices. They may also be limited in the availability

of their internet access. There are a wide variety of disabilities, with so much different needs, it

can be difficult to cater to all the students in class.

About You

Amer: My personal connection with this project would be that it connects with me 

because I have a niece that is in the middle of distance special education learning. And I can see 

the struggle she goes through on a daily basis. She does struggle from all the digital learning and 

researching on how to possibly make the transition smoother is great and hopefully I can put   

what I researched, to the test.

Katherine: I thought learning about special education and distance learning would be a 

great topic to focus on, not necessarily because I want to become a special education teacher,
but 

because I believe special education students should be included in the mainstream classroom. As 

a future educator, I will most likely have special education students in my classroom, and I need 

to know how to meet all of my students’ needs.

Giovanni: Special education is a subject near to my heart. My brother was diagnosed with

ADHD at a young age. Unfortunately, there were many times where I felt as though he was

excluded from learning based on the methods being used to teach. Nevertheless, I believe that
there are ways to teach all students, regardless of their needs. I hope that using projects and

programs such as Nearpod, can facilitate the educational process for children with special needs.

Setting

The setting of our project would take place with the teacher in their classroom and the 

students are distance learning from home. Although this isn’t the ideal set up, this is 

unfortunately  the way classrooms are set up right now. We are trying to figure out the best 

way for covid-19 to interfere with students’ learning as little as possible and allowing 

students to reach their full potential, despite what’s currently going on. 
 References   

Fleming, N. (2020, March 27). New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn From Home. 

          Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-strategies-speci

          
           al-education-kids-learn-home

Livingston, T. (2020, September 08). Distance learning and special education during  
         
          COVID-19. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.smartbrief.com/original/20  
        
          20/09/distance-learning-and-special-education-during-covid-19

Nelson, H. (2020). Special Education Resources for Teachers to Use During Distance  

Learning. Retrieved September 25, 2020 from https://www.apu.edu/articles/special

educati    
        
          on-resources-to-use-during-distance-learning/

Using Nearpod for Response to Intervention. (2018, November 07). Retrieved September 25, 
          
         2020, from https://nearpod.com/blog/rti-response-to-intervention/