Carta, Stefano Mariano

Cataudella, Stefania

Masala, Carmelo

Masala, Ilaria

Mascia, Maria Lidia

Penna, Maria Pietronilla

Petretto, Donatella Rita

Piras, Paola

Pistis, Ilenia

English

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education sciencesEditorialSome Lessons Learned in the Use of Distance Learning withStudents with Special Educational Needs duringCOVID-19 OutbreakDonatella Rita Petretto * , Stefano Mariano Carta, Stefania Cataudella, Ilaria Masala, Maria Lidia Mascia ,Maria Pietronilla Penna , Paola Piras, Ilenia Pistis and Carmelo MasalaCitation: Petretto, D.R.; Carta, S.M.;Cataudella, S.; Masala, I.; Mascia,M.L.; Penna, M.P.; Piras, P.; Pistis, I.;Masala, C. Some Lessons Learned inthe Use of Distance Learning withStudents with Special EducationalNeeds during COVID-19 Outbreak.Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030108Received: 2 March 2021Accepted: 4 March 2021Published: 8 March 2021Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralwith regard to jurisdictional claims inpublished maps and institutional affil-iations.Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Via Is Mirrionis 1,09127 Cagliari, Italy; cartast@unica.it (S.M.C.); scataudel@unica.it (S.C.); masalailaria09@gmail.com (I.M.);marialidia.mascia@gmail.com (M.L.M.); penna@unica.it (M.P.P.); paby.piras@gmail.com (P.P.);ilenia.pistis@gmail.com (I.P.); masalacarmelo@gmail.com (C.M.)* Correspondence: drpetretto@unica.itAt the end of 2019, COVID-19 (an infective respiratory disease caused by SARSCoV-2)was discovered in Wuhan, China. It then affected Italy, then elsewhere in Europe, and itbegan to spread all over the world. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization(WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The so-called “not-pharmacologicalapproaches” are widely used to prevent contagion and to limit the outbreak of the disease;they are based on the adherence to the measures such as general lockdown, home quaran-tine, and school closure and distance learning [1]. These measures influenced children’ [2]and adults’ lives (both teachers, other school professionals, and family members) [2], andthe spread of COVID-19 itself influenced their lives. Some authors described the peculiarfeatures of distance learning during the current pandemic, which is mainly based on theuse of e-Learning and some other traditional media (like TV and radio) and they named it“crisis distance education” [3] and they described its positive and negative aspects. From apositive point of view, the spreading of Covid-19 speeded up the use of distance learningby e-Learning platforms, and its use in all the levels of education [3]. But as a consequenceof the time pressure due to the healthcare emergency, the use of distance learning hasbeen in some cases unplanned and sudden. In some situations, teachers had not enoughtime to adapt previous didactic instruments, strategies, and means to the new situation.Moreover, distance learning during lockdown is a “home-based” distance learning, due tothe home confinement and it put a huge burden on family members (mainly mothers orother relatives) [2].In this editorial, we want to discuss the effects of distance learning with students withspecial educational needs (SEN) and with other students with previous known difficultiesand/or and new difficulties developed during the outbreak. Our aim is to increase thepositive effects and to avoid the negative ones. SEN are an overarching group of learningproblems caused by neurodevelopmental and/or other clinical disorders that affects dif-ferent domains of child development and that could affect learning [4]. They representalmost 10% of the school population [4]. There are two different shared approaches in theuse of e-Learning and ICT in the promotion of learning for students with SEN: the useof ICT as assistive technologies, aiming to increase specific cognitive/academic abilitiesand to guarantee “reasonable accommodation” according to Convention of the Right ofPeople with Disability (CRPD); the use of e-learning platforms and other tools with theaim to increase accessibility to information and learning materials, and with the aim topromote participation, inclusion and to keep in contact with other students and withteachers [5]. When trying to use e-Learning and ICT with students with SEN, accordingto both approaches just described, some major difficulties might emerge. There is a greatheterogeneity beyond the term “SEN”, heterogeneity that is related to individual differ-ences in cognitive and functional profiles, abilities, and competences (but also differencesEduc. Sci. 2021, 11, 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030108 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/educationEduc. Sci. 2021, 11, 108 2 of 4in learning path and developmental and clinical history). These individual differenceshave a great influence both on learning and on the way they access information [6]. Someauthors highlight the need to develop a general model, through which it would be pos-sible to consider individual differences in learning and to consider the functional profileof each students with LD when designing and providing tools, learning material, andwebsites [6]. All these aspects are strictly related to each other and they are based on atrans-disciplinary approach, with cooperation between teachers, educators, psychologists,and other professionals. Time pressure during COVID-19 outbreak and the massive useof e-Learning platforms could have a negative influence on the implementation of thiscomplex approach and on the needed attention on individual differences for at least thefollowing reason: during COVID-19 outbreak, due to the tremendous time pressure duringthe healthcare emergency, not every teacher had the time to complete her/his e-teachingknowledge and competency, nor did they receive enough training or support during theCOVID-19 outbreak [3].During the first months of the pandemic, to guarantee continuity in learning andschooling for all children were a priority, whereas we believe that after about one yeara discussion on some lessons learned is mandatory. That is, to improve the impact ofthe use of e-Learning, to prevent the risks of obstacles and negative impacts, to promoteparticipation and inclusion, and to avoid school drop-out. As the COVID-19 outbreak isstill ongoing all over the world, some countries are choosing to reopen schools with “faceto face” lessons, or with blended approaches (“face to face” lessons together with distancelearning/e-learning platforms). What lessons have been learned from the last months’experience with “crisis distance learning” and what are new lessons are we learning now?In the following we report and discuss some main points to be considered in the useof e-Learning and distance learning during the COVID-19 outbreak, within the generalpopulation of students and with a focus on students with SEN [5–9]. We start with somegeneral points on the role of distance learning and e-Learning as a way to keep in contactand support students and therefore we propose some general suggestions to guarantee theaccessibility and usability of lessons provided by e-Learning platforms.Some of the main purposes of the e-learning process are to guarantee continuity inlearning, to keep in contact with all students, and to guarantee information also about somecoping strategies to adapt to the current pandemic emergency and its consequences. Inthis sphere, great attention is paid to students with SEN and students with newly emergedlearning difficulties, due to high levels of stress related to the healthcare emergency and/orsocial and economic difficulties. For teachers, it is important to maintain contacts withstudents with various methods (via emails, blogs, the school’s online learning platform,video, with a priority in face-to-face online contact). It would be worth risking to over-communicating rather than under-communicating with all the students, and with a specificfocus on students with SEN and on their needs. During the outbreak there is a great riskof school drop-out for students with SEN and for students with newly emerged learningdifficulties. An even higher risk emerges for students with social and economic difficulties,where “digital divide” and other difficulties could limit the use e-Learning. The use of otherkinds of distance learning (radio, TV, and other traditional media) could be a way to keepin contact with students and to guarantee them the support they need. The cooperationbetween school professionals and other professionals is mandatory.With reference to usability and accessibility of lessons provided by e-Learning plat-forms, it is important to provide clear instructions (explicit and well-organized information)aiming to prevent students’ cognitive overload or difficulty in comprehension and to over-come the difficulties of some specific students (mainly students with SEN). During “face toface” lessons, for teachers it is simpler to monitor understanding and to assess the level ofthe students’ engagement. So, keypoints in this issue are to provide first basic information,and then to provide more advanced information. Another keyword is respecting theindividual’s pace and rhythm (the “gift of time”). It is mandatory to pay great attention tostudents with SEN and to their individual and specific needs. Another issue is the need toEduc. Sci. 2021, 11, 108 3 of 4provide high quality content and information, with an assessment to its specificity for thelearner’s level. Again, in this field it is mandatory to pay great attention to students withSEN and to their individual and specific needs. Students’ engagement and self-regulationare crucial issues in e-Learning and in learning during learning tasks. There is a list ofpotential risks (like the ones to go off track, to try to do too many things, or focusing oninteresting but irrelevant topics). Once again, the role of teachers and parents or otherfamily members is extremely important in monitoring students’ online activities. As forthe previously mentioned issues, it is mandatory to pay great attention to students withSEN and their needs.ConclusionsIn this editorial, we addressed some topics related to the changes in schools andlearning during the current outbreak of COVID-19. We focused mainly on the use ofdistance learning and of e-Learning as way to guarantee continuity in school and learningduring lockdown. We discussed some hints of analysis that could be useful to increase theadvantages in the use of e-environments now and in the future, with a focus on studentswith SEN. From a general point of view, the current COVID-19 outbreak’s experience couldalso represent an opportunity to schedule specific and deeper training and support forteachers with the aim of increasing their e-teaching competencies and abilities [9] and anopportunity to reflect and re-discuss some aspects of “the traditional educational systems”.We are aware that the use of distance learning and e-Learning is not the only aspectof the complex changes that children are meeting during this pandemic, and we are alsoaware of the effects that these changes could have on their mental health and development,but we believe that school has a central and crucial role in children’s lives and it could alsohave a central role in preventing these negative effects [2,3]. As dealing with the currentpandemic crisis is not an easy task and it needs cooperative efforts at different levels, webelieve that a focus on the effects of the current pandemic outbreak on school and onteaching and learning could be a good way to start [10].Author Contributions: All the authors equally contributed to the design of the study. All authorshave read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.Funding: This research was done within the ATS Sardinia’s project “Profilo Neuro-Psicologico eProblematiche Emotive nei DSA: Una Proposta di Ricerca-Intervento”—“Neuro-Psychological Profileand Emotional Problems in LDs: A Research-Intervention Proposal” (November 2019; June 2021).Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.Ethical Statement: No empirical data were collected to develop this Editorial.References1. Hsiang, S.; Allen, D.; Annan-Phan, S.; Bell, K.; Bolliger, I.; Chong, T.; Druckenmiller, H.; Huang, L.Y.; Hultgren, A.; Krasovich, E.;et al. The effect of large-scale anti-contagion policies on the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature 2020, 584, 262–267. [CrossRef] [PubMed]2. Petretto, D.R.; Masala, I.; Masala, C. Special Educational needs, distance learning, inclusion and COVID-19. Educ. Sci. 2020, 10,154. [CrossRef]3. Al Lily, A.E.; Ismail, A.F.; Abunasser, F.M.; Alqahtani, R.H.A. Distance education as a response to pandemics: Coronavirus andArab culture. Technol. Soc. 2020, 63, 101317. [CrossRef] [PubMed]4. Petretto, D.R.; Pilia, R.; Volterra, S.; Masala, C. Bisogni Educativi Speciali: Uno sguardo sulla complessità. In I Bisogni EducativiSpeciali: Il Diritto All’istruzione in Una Prospettiva Inclusiva; Petretto, D.R., Bariffi, F., Jimenez, E., Volterra, S., Pilia, R., Masala, C.,Eds.; Edizioni Jovene: Roma, Italy, 2019.5. Bjekic, D.; Obradovic, S.; Vucetic, M.; Bojovic, M. E-teacher in inclusive e-education for students with specific learning disabilities.Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2014, 128, 128–133. [CrossRef]6. Pirani, Z.; Sasikumar, M. Accommodation for Dyscalculic Children in an E-Learning Environment. Int. J. Comput. Appl. 2013, 70,2. [CrossRef]7. Alqahtani, A.Y.; Rajkhan, A.A. E-Learning Critical Success Factors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Analysisof E-Learning Managerial Perspectives. Educ. Sci. 2020, 10, 216. [CrossRef]Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 108 4 of 48. Lassoued, Z.; Alhendawi, M.; Bashitialshaaer, R. An Exploratory Study of the Obstacles for Achieving Quality in DistanceLearning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Educ. Sci. 2020, 10, 232. [CrossRef]9. Ebner, M.; Schön, S.; Braun, C.; Ebner, M.; Grigoriadis, Y.; Haas, M.; Leitner, P.; Taraghi, B. COVID-19 Epidemic as E-LearningBoost? Chronological Development and Effects at an Austrian University against the Background of the Concept of “E-LearningReadiness”. Future Internet 2020, 12, 94. [CrossRef]10. Carta, M.G.; Romano, F.; Orrù, G. The True Challenges of the Covid-19 Epidemics: The Need for Essential Levels of Care for All.Open Respir. Med. J. 2020. [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Some lessons learned in the use of distance learning with students with Special Educational Needs during COVID-19 outbreak

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Some lessons learned in the use of distance learning with students with Special Educational Needs during COVID-19 outbreak

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