Learn by distance: advice for choosing an effective and inclusive e- Learning platform

Abstract

In this last eventful year, in order to deal with the health emergency, the logistic problems related to it and the imposition of "distance learning", digital e-Learning platforms and tools have been widely used both for teaching and for autonomous work. However, these technologies were often completely new to users and their parents, who had to quickly adapt to the situation by learning how to handle them, not always in the most efficient way. Moreover, many families were not technologically and economically prepared for this situation due to inadequate internet connection, equipment and related tools (Beaunoyer E. 2020, Van Lancker, W. 2020). In this complex scenario, children and adolescents with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have suffered the most and the already existing gap with their schoolmates has widened further (Asbury, K. 2020). With the aim of both reducing this gap and improving the school inclusion and distance learning experience, we believe it is necessary to provide families and all those involved in learning environments useful information for choosing such platforms. In this work we have analysed some existing platforms in order to highlight and list the most suitable features for better learning that can somehow both fill the many gaps in distance learning and boost the experience of face-to-face teaching when the health emergency will be over. Features such as cooperative teaching, the availability of a wide variety of evaluation types (true/false, quiz, cloze test etc.), digital repositories and the possibility to set specific and guided learning paths and monitor learning trends should help teachers organize daily activities. Working in small groups, having more listening space, receiving effective feedbacks on progress from tutors and teachers, having materials organized with an appropriate search system based on semantic tagging by topic and subject and the presence of gamification principles (rewards, enhanced visuals and interactivity) should also be considered in the decision process. Furthermore, the selection process must pay proper attention to the characteristics of SEND's. Specifically, it is pivotal to stimulate as much as possible their meta-cognitive strategies and provide proper materials to strengthen existing competences and boost new compensatory strategies.