From Two-way Television to the Internet: The Evolution of a Rural Distance Education Program

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that parents who have children diagnosed with autism can obtain and apply knowledge of a research-based support for their children by utilizing a prescribed, self-directed, online program, giving families another possible method of obtaining training to help meet the discrepancy that exists between need and service. The design was a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design that was used to test knowledge obtained from treatment. Additionally, the researcher examined parents' application of knowledge and perceptions regarding the treatment. The results demonstrate that parents who receive training using this method can obtain and apply knowledge of a researchbased support. Furthermore, participant feedback indicates parental support for this method of obtaining knowledge. The results suggest that using a self-directed, online program may serve to give families another possible method of obtaining informational training. Using this method of parental instruction may help fill a portion of the gap between the need for services and the lack of availability of services. Interventions based on the study could give parents the ability to act as their children's direct service provider to fulfill a part their intervention needs, especially when a family is facing a discrepancy between need and service. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like thank the individual members of my committee who helped me come to the completion of my degree and to the beginning of a new career path. First, I want to give a special thank you to Dr. Mayton, my committee chair, for putting up with my "craziness" and steering me through this entire process. I want to thank Dr. Ludlow for accepting me into the program and believing in me. I want to thank Dr. Galyon-Keramidas who told me I could do this even when I believed I could not. I want to thank Dr. Hursh for his valuable input during my committee meetings. I also want to give thanks to Dr. Mitchem. She became my mentor during my Master's degree, encouraged me to obtain my doctorate, and has continued to guide into this new adventure. To my husband of 18 years, Del Suppo, Jr., words cannot express my gratitude for all of the support you have provided me throughout our lives together, and yes, I am finally done with school! Thank you for being the husband and father you are. To my two beautiful daughters, Lauren "Angel Baby" and Rebecca "Becca Boo," thank you for being the wonderful, inspirational kids that you are. Lauren, your kindness to others and determination to be the best in all that you do inspires mom every day. Becca, you changed our family's life and made us stronger, all while you continue to amaze all of us every day. I could not ask for two better daughters and thank God everyday for blessing me with my beautiful family. To my mom, Judy Mattozzi, my first mentor: you have continued to support me, mentor me, and above all else, love me. You showed me how to be both a mom and a teacher. To my brother, Jon Matt...

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Expanding Training Opportunities for Parents of Children with Autism

Suppo

Mayton

2014

“…Special education teacher preparation programs were among the early adopters of distance learning technologies, because the severe need for rural special educators led to the development of programs specifically designed to serve these areas (e.g., Collins, Baird, & Hager, 2009;Glomb, Midenhall, Mason, & Salzberg, 2009;Ludlow & Duff, 2009;Sebastian, Egan, & Mayhew, 2009). Special education for students with severe intellectual disabilities has been identified as a teacher shortage area as far back as 1990 (U.S. Department of Education, 2018).…”

Section: Special Series Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Technology-Enhanced Alternative Preparation for Special Education Teachers

Hager

Fiechtl

2019

In this article, we describe the evolution of a statewide alternative teacher preparation program for teachers of students with disabilities and explain current processes to revise and expand the program to increase accessibility to teacher candidates in rural schools. We will identify important features of the program including (a) significant collaboration with Local Education Agencies, (b) the combination of synchronous and asynchronous course delivery to increase accessibility, and (c) embedded supports for alternative preparation teacher candidates completing a distance learning program, as well as describe the process and collaboration involved in revising the program to increase accessibility and efficiency, while retaining quality. Ongoing challenges to delivering effective alternative preparation programs that are accessible to individuals in rural schools and potential solutions to these challenges are provided.

A Toolkit for Web-Based Course Creation and Conversion

Floyd

Hughes

Maydosz

2011

Web-based instruction is not a new phenomenon. There are 15–20 years of research and literature to support the effectiveness of web-based instruction. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the research in this field in order to determine which factors are critical to the success of web-based instruction. We created a toolkit to assist instructors in creating web-based instruction. First, we attest that one must be aware of web-based students’ performance. Second, social presence should be established through discussion forums and collaborative activities. Third, teacher presence should be moderated. Fourth, web-based courses should base course content in project-based learning activities. Fifth, a web-based instructor must provide optimal feedback. Empirical evidence is cited to support each of the five “tools.”