This website has information on different childhood and adolescent disorders. It describes the characteristics of each disorder and lists available treatment options. Additionally, it provides links to relevant news articles relating to many of these disorders, information relating to parent education and training, and legal considerations relating to supporting children with these various disorders. Of particular value is the set of nine (9) modules available under the Training tab, which cover in great detail information relating to special education.
Type of Material:
Reference Material/Website/Tutorial
Recommended Uses:
• The presented material is recommended for use in out-of-class assignments, group projects, and lecture preparation.-
• This website (or any of its sub-components) could easily be included as a reference link in a course website or course syllabus.
• Students could be assigned to go through the module training on special education.
• Overall, this site may be particularly useful for faculty teaching in flipped, hybrid, and online class formats, as students will benefit from the provided online lectures and handouts.
Technical Requirements:
Two peer reviewers successfully accessed the website and its materials using Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Visitors will need audio capability, Flash, and Java.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The learning goals for the presented material are wide-ranging. This website serves to provide readers with excellent information relating to various childhood disorders that may fall under legal protection, including autism, visual impairment, CP, hearing impairment, developmental delay, emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, speech-language disabilities, SB, TBI, and other health-related disorders. The focus of this site appears to be education of the reader on these topics, including but not limited to means for advocating support for the needs of these children.
Target Student Population:
This site is primarily useful for undergraduate education and psychology classes, and may prove especially beneficial for students pursuing knowledge in special education. It is also a great resource for parents and caregivers of children with special needs.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Only basic computer navigation skills would be needed to successfully use this site. Some basic understanding of developmental disorders and special needs may be useful, but would not be required.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
• The content on this site is highly comprehensive and includes a tremendous breadth of information relating to the topic of child development and also to educational tools for special needs children.
• It incorporates links to a number of external sites, which lead the visitor to additional sources about special needs. Visitors are referred to a plethora of organizations and reference materials.
• The website Include printable syllabi, handouts, and audio lectures. Reference textbooks and organizations are provided via hotlinks.
Concerns:
• Some materials are dated, including the author's use of the DSM-IV instead of DSM-5.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
• The diversity of applications for this material is the most impressive feature. Further, the provision of possible learning exercises to faculty is also incredibly useful. The built-in learning modules and handouts with video are particularly beneficial from the point of view of classroom application.
Concerns:
• Instructors will want to be very intentional about pointing students to the elements of the website that are most useful and appropriate for classroom use (e.g., most closely aligned with course learning objectives).
• Outdated material may require updating and augmentation.
• As the site’s author notes, the nine-unit California Special Education Advocacy Training" is a California specific curriculum.” If/where relevant, instructors will want to address notable differences in state-level statutes or regulations.
• To enhance the applicability of the material to a university curriculum or course, instructors also will want to provide references to special education teacher licensing, relevant school district policies and regulations, and state/federal policies that address issues such as testing.
• At present, the nine-unit California Special Education Advocacy Training” does not contain an acknowledgement of completion that could be presented to a faculty member. If students are required to complete the nine units of training material, instructors will need to design some type of assignment to assess understanding and/or completion.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
• Overall, the site is simple to navigate, and the content is easy to understand.
Concerns:
• The text-laden appearance of the website may make it somewhat less appealing to students.
• At the time of the review, the video lectures embedded in the learning modules were slow to respond (even on a high-speed LAN). As well, the videos do not appear to include closed captioning or even transcripts, which makes this content inaccessible to some viewers.
• Navigation (and website appearance) could be improved if the “news” links were organized under a single tab.
Creative Commons:
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