E-Learning Platform in Special Education
Hye-Kyung Bae
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore MD 21250
Bae2@umbc.edu
ABSTRACT
This proposal describes the needs of an e-learning platform in
special education and reviews a possible prototyping tool for Web
development. An overview of the work plan and workflow in this
proposal may help to understand how this project will be
progressed and may provide a chance to address any issues to be
considered.
Categories and Subject Descriptors
K.3.1. [Computer and Education]: Computer Uses in Education
– Collaborative learning, Computer-managed instruction.
General Terms
Design, Human Factors.
Keywords
E-Learning Platform, Special Education, Prototyping.
1. INTRODUCTION
Technology in education provides an environment to optimize
students’ learning and to provide more opportunities to teachers to
interact with students in an effective way. Students with disabilities
may also benefit from technology, particularly who cannot
concentrate well in class. Even though many special education
teachers are trying to find ways to help students with disabilities be
successful [5] using wikis or e-learning platforms, there may be still
difficulties in using technology in education [7]. In special
education, interaction and communication among teachers,
students, and parents might be the key of students’ successful
learning. However, communication and sharing information might
not be easy for teachers to handle because each student has different
needs and the information about the students should be protected.
Given circumstances in special education, the aim of this project is
to seek answers to the following questions.
 How do teachers communicate with students and parents,
and share files, such as homework?
 How can teachers manage all of the communication with
individual students and for their class?
 How teachers, students and parents differentiate
communication channels in public or in private to share
resources?
As a main goal of this project, an e-learning platform will be
developed using a prototyping tool for Kennedy Krieger High
School (KKHS). It will be worthwhile to develop a Web platform
because it could provide possible solutions to the school and to
improve its current e-platform.
I have little experience with students who had disabilities and Web
development skills. Thus, I expect that I can be more
knowledgeable about how teachers, students and parents interact
through e-learning platform in special education environment. This
is also a good opportunity for me to develop skills of Web
prototyping in a real situation. I believe that teachers, students, and
parents may benefit from this project by adapting solutions or ideas
to optimize students’ successful learning. The approaches to solve
the problems include examining the current e-platform at the
school, conducing literature review, researching on other
commercial products, and developing a new e-learning platform
using a prototyping tool.
2. RELATED WORK
2.1 E-Learning Platforms in Special
Education
It might be cumbersome for a teacher to take care of each student
and communicate with him or her separately [7] by keeping their
information either in public or in private. Web 2.0 technologies,
such as wikis, blogs, etc., enable users easily communicate and
collaborate online and have been widely used in class. Learning
management systems, such as Blackboard or Moodles, also allow
teachers to manage their courses in an effective way and to
communicate with students. In special education, technology may
play a significant role because each student has different needs and
relevant supports need to be provided accordingly. For example,
one of the articles shows that a student who has autism improved
her self-esteem and demeanor through online classes [7].
Billingsley, et al. [1] also found that the teacher had successfully
used wiki in her students with disabilities. Some other studies
discuss that Web 2.0 applications can facilitate collaboration and
information sharing, enabling teachers and administrators to easily
manage special education data [2, 3]. Considering the environment
in special education where many people are involved in each
student’s education and where Individualized Education Program
(IEP) needs to be implemented, a customized e-learning platform
may help all parties, such as teachers, students, parents, and
administrators, get benefits.
2.2 Usability of E-learning Platform
E-learning services have been changed from monolithic toward
flexible systems, providing more advanced levels of
interoperability, which embrace functionalities, such as
“authentication, course management,… personalization, wiki,
blogging, podcasting, and so on” in order to provide users with
flexibility [15]. This service-oriented architecture enables users to
flexibly access e-learning services and functions [12]. However, a
design of the courseware infrastructure or a platform may have to
be simple and user friendly [11, 13] because a good design
facilitates students to easily access to the content for their learning,
particularly for those who have disabilities [11]. An e-learning
platform with a good usability may support “communication,
personalization and access” to affect students’ learning [13]. An
easy accessible interface as an important feature of an effective elearning system because it draws students’ attention and
engagement [13, 14]. If the interface of the system is poor, students
may have to spend more time in figuring out its usability, rather
than focusing on the content [13]
3. PLAN OF WORK
The first email was sent to Mr. Frank Wright at KKHS on
September 17, 2014. Since then, communication via email has been
made to identify which area of the school’s Web development
projects could be focused, as well as to set up a meeting. Based on
the first meeting with KKHS, I have tentatively planned this project
by the following stages. However, this project would not include
the implementation or teacher training sessions due to time
constraint and budget. Instead, this project will provide the school
with a high-fidelity prototype of e-learning platform, a comparison
report among other existing tools, and recommendations.
3.1 Initiation of the Project
On September 24, the kick-off meeting was held at KKHS with my
mentor and another IT staff who has been working on e-learning
platforms for the teachers. We discussed more details about the
project, such as which e-learning platform the school is currently
using, what problems they have, how we could conduct the project
and which level, as well as which Web design tools I could use.
This meeting enabled me to gain a better understanding about the
school environment, curriculum, current e-learning platform at
school, etc., which are important to develop a prototype of elearning platform for the school. This proposal has been made
based on this kick-off meeting result and some literature review on
how e-learning has been used in special education and research on
prototyping tools.
Currently only four homeroom teachers in 9th and 10th grades are
included on the “FrontPage.” The other teachers might added some
files or pages, but the links are not found on the front page. In order
to share information (e.g. announcements or comments) and files
(e.g. homework assignments, resources, etc.) with students and
parents, those information and resources should be located where
users can easily find. Although the pages look simple, finding the
most updated information seems to be confusing, causing a user to
visit the same pages again and to get lost where to go. More
usability issues are addressed below.
3.2 Analysis of E-Learning Platform Tools
It is important to understand the problems and environment when
developing a new web-based tool or platform. The best ways of
conducing needs analysis for the existing e- It is important to
understand the problems and environment when developing a new
web-based tool or platform. The best ways of conducing needs
analysis for the existing e-learning platform might be interacting
with users and examining the platform that is currently using as a
user. For the need analysis, at the beginning of this project, I
requested for observing a student(s) and an interview(s) with a
teacher(s) at the school in order to find out details about how they
are using the current platform as users, what issues they have, and
how this Website can be improved. Unfortunately, observation and
an interview with a teacher(s) at KKHS were not conducted.
Instead, I have met a 10th grade high school student who has
intellectual disabilities. He used to be a Kennedy Krieger student in
the past, but he transferred to the Siena High School. Although this
school’s special education program is designed for college-bound
students whose levels of disabilities might be different from KKHS.
I think it might be good to expose myself to a student in special
education.
With a limitation of no access to the KKHS’s existing e-learning
platform as a user, I have examined the platform to analyze how the
Website looks, how users can find teachers’ messages or e-files of
the courses, and how teachers can interact with students and parents
in this e-learning platform.
Figure 1. The existing KKHS e-learning platform
Problem found:
1. Log in: It is not easy to find where to log in. The link of “Log in”
can be found on the top right. However, the other indication “To
join…” is more visible, making a user confused.
Figure 2. “Log in” box
2. Page appearance: Each page shows the same tabs: Wiki and
Pages & files. Under the “Wiki” page, “View” and “Edit” tabs
are displayed. However, there is no indication of parent level of
links, such as the homeroom teacher’s link or Home.
In order to visit the other pages, the user may have to find pages
through the “Pages & Files” or clicking on the back arrow right
next the URL several times. It could make the user confused to
go back where the user has started.
3.2.1 Existing KKHS E-Learning Platform
The existing site was created in July 2014 according to the “Page
History” on the top of the content page.
Once a user visits the existing site, a simply design “FrontPage”
under the view tab is appeared, where main links and comments
can be found, such as links of four homeroom teachers and general
information in the middle. On the top only four tabs are shown:
view and edit are under wiki, as well as pages & files. On the right
four boxes are placed: log in, navigator, sidebar, and recent activity.
A search box is on the top right.
Figure 3. Page appearance
3. Downloading files: When clicking on the files to download
under the “Pages & files” page, it moves to the Wiki tab along
with a sentence of “…Download tab above.” However the tab
is not well visible due to the black letter on the dark blue
background.
Figure 4. Download page
4. Finding recent activities can be found under the “Recent
Activity” box on the right, which include recent activities, such
as announcements, comments, file uploads, etc. However, each
activity displays only the name of the page and who posted.
Since there is no indication of the date of post, people may not
pay attention to take a look at the activities. When clicking on
the first activity which includes a comment on the “Algebra I,”
it moves to that page. Since comments section is placed at the
bottom of the page with a chronological order, a user has to scroll
down to find the recent comment. If students have motor
impairments, this could be a barrier to discourage them to use [
ADD].
The followings are recommended for this site. It might not be
applicable depending on how much PB Works allows us to
customize the site.
 “Log in” should be designed in a way of drawing users’
attention (e.g. bigger or bold font, in a separate box, etc.)
 It might be better to have indications of “Home” or other
pages be located where users can easily find.
 The letter font of “Download” should be changed to make
the text more visible.
 Most recent activities (e.g. announcements) should be
presented on the first page, or they need to be displayed in a
reverse-chronological order along with date posted in order
to reduce action of scrolling down the page.
 Pages, files, or resource folders need to be organized by
category (e.g. course)
3.2.2 Other Commercial Products
Many commercial e-learning platforms are available in forms of
Wiki, blog, content management system, etc. The following
products are introduced by staff at KKHS. Some major features of
each tool are below.
1. PB Works: As a collaborative editing system, this product
provides hosted wikis through website to users. While free
version offers 1 wiki workspace and 2GB storage, premium
version ($99/year per classroom or $799/year per school)
provide more features including 40GB storage, as well as custom
security settings, branding, and colors.
Clean and simple interface enables individuals to easy to use.
The feature of a public-facing wiki might be good for internal
groups to collaborate when working together. On the other hand,
this tool does not provide a discussion forum or a blog site where
people can interact. Free version users may need to upgrade
eventually due to its limited functions and storage.
2. Edmodo: This product is a free social learning platform targeting
schools. Users may experience similar to Facebook due to its
features and appearance while they are using the tool online or
on their smart phone.
Figure 5. Recent Activity
5. Pages and files: The pages and files can be found from the tab on
the top or from the “Navigator” box on the right. Pages and files
are listed in the “Pages & Files” page. However, in the columns
names of the files and pages, type (e.g. page, folder, pdf, etc.),
and period (e.g. 3 months). A user might be confused when
finding a file from this list due to a lack of information, such as
who made.
Figure 6. Pages & Files
Suggestions:
Teachers easily communicate with students and parents
individually, in groups, or in public. One of the good features for
teachers might be the calendar. When they post assignments, due
dates are automatically appeared in the calendar. However, many
messages or chats among students might be displayed in public,
which might distract the main purpose of interacting and sharing
resources for study. Although users can install mobile app in
their handheld devices. It might not be easy for students to log in
or upload their works from their iPads.
3. Weebly: This product provides a web-hosting service, allowing
users to build their website with blogging features. After 30 days
free trial, users have to pay $499 per year.
User friendly features, particularly drag & drop, enable users to
easy to use. The product also provides numerous templates so
that users can easily build their website. Despite its benefits, the
product provides basic blog functions. It is not free. If users want
to obtain email account, they need to be partnered with Gmail for
$4 per month.
4. Schoology: As a learning management system, this tool allows
users to create, manage, share, and collaborate academic content.
Free and enterprise versions are available.
Users can use Schoology online or via their mobile devices. One
of the good features might be Google Drive app is available in
Schoology, which allows users to collaborate. Teachers also
easily create content. However, this tool still has limitation not
providing full-features, such as Blackboard or Moodle. It also
does not allow private messaging between students.
5. Moodle: Similar to Schoology, Moodle is a learning
management system and provides a free software e-learning
platform.
Strength of this tool is its numerous plugs and options that users
can customize. Users can get support through community forums
or online documentations. Meanwhile, weakness may include its
excessively complex and difficult when a novice user develops a
platform. In addition, it may not easy to manage groups of users.
3.2.3 Gmail and Google Drive
While I was analyzing the existing platform and the other
commercial tools, I was able to meet a 10th grade high school
student with intellectual disabilities. Although he is not a KKHS
student, it was a good opportunity to learn how he uses the
computer for his schoolwork and how he communicates with
teachers and classmates.
Figure 7. Gmail and Google Drive
He was using Gmail to communicate with his teachers and
classmates for homework. Through Google Drive, he and his
teachers are sharing files. The files are well organized in the folders
by course. Even though his school doesn’t use an e-learning
platform, it seems that the student are satisfied with this
communication method and are pretty good at using these
technologies. Since individuals can share files in groups in Google
Drive and communicate in private using Gmail, it might be good to
be embedded to KKHS’s e-learning platform. I haven’t discovered
if KKHS is using Gmail and Google Drive with students. As
addressed in the first meeting about having two different
communication channels in public and in private, these
technologies integration into an e-learning platform may provide a
solution. This will be consulted with my mentor to find out how
Gmail and Google Drives and the e-learning platform can be used,
not making users to get confused but having them interact either
individually or in groups online as well as share their e-files in an
effective way.
4. FUTURE WORK
4.1 E-Learning Platform Design
The structure of the new platform will be presented to the school.
This design stage may allow both KKHS and me to keep the same
idea and to adapt all requirements as much as possible in the new
platform. This will also help us reduce duplicate jobs while
developing a high fidelity prototype.
Using a prototyping tool, an e-learning platform will be designed.
Since users’ interaction is important when developing a Website, I
will use Heuristic Evaluation (HE) approach by asking teachers at
KKHS. If the teachers are not available, I will ask my mentor or IT
staff to participate in the evaluation. If no staff at KKHS is
available, UMBC’s graduate students in the Information Systems
Department might be invited to evaluate the prototype. Based on
the results of the evaluation, the first prototype will be revised and
will be provided to the school. The same evaluation method will be
used for this second prototype in order to have the final version.
4.3 Wrapping up the Project
Deliverables of this project include a comparison report among
other existing products, as well as a complete prototype even
though it may need further revisions. Recommendations will be
also provided.
5. CONCLUSION
The prototype might not be implemented due to circumstances of
the school, and we may not know whether this tool can be
successfully used or not. However, my efforts of this project would
be worthwhile if this project provides some possible solutions or
ideas that help teachers easily manage the e-learning platform and
communicate with students with disabilities in an effective way.
In order to accomplish this goal, Mr. Frank Wright, my main
mentor, and another IT staff at KKHS will be supporting this
project, such as coordinating school visit, meeting with teachers,
sharing ideas or information related to this project, such as
curriculum, e-learning platforms, etc. We will communicate
whenever there are questions or findings to share. Email will be
mainly used as a communication channel, which allows me to
document the information in relation to the project. Skype or phone
conversations could be also used if necessary.
6. WORK SCHEDULE
The work schedule has been mapped out by milestones to assign a
relevant amount of work each week and to complete the project by
the end of the fall semester. The schedule can change depending on
work progress and circumstances, such as schedule of a school
visit(s) to meet teachers for analyzing the current platform and for
evaluating the prototypes. The schedule will be updated based on
my mentor’s advice, reflecting my weekly progress report.
Table 1. Work Schedule
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content management tool as the solution to a web site
redesign. SIGUCCS '03 Proceedings of the 31st annual ACM
SIGUCCS fall conference. Pages 179-181.
[15] [13] Ardito, C., Marsico, M., Lanzilotti, R., Levialdi, S.,
Roselli, T., rossano, V., & Tersigni, M. (2004). Usability of
e-learning tools. AVI ’04 Proceedings of the Working
Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces. Pages 80-84.
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Wade, V. (2007). Service-oriented e-learning platforms:
from monolithic systems to flexible services. Internet
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Note: the above schedule is subject to change.
7. REFERENCES
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[6] Kennedy Krieger High School Home Handbook 2014-2015.
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