Active Learning Networks: Designing for Computer Supported Social Networks in Special Education Environments

This position paper describes an application of social networks to support the work of special education professionals. In our research, we found that without appropriate professional, social, and personal support, these professionals are unlikely to be able to use innovative technologies with their students, despite the potential benefits that their uses can engender. Teacher professional development as didactical training activities is traditionally the most utilized approach. However, more recently with the development of new collaborative technologies and widespread use of the Internet, new forms of professional development based on ongoing peer-to-peer interaction have become reality as attempts to offer more ongoing and long-lasting support. In this paper, an alternative approach, active learning networks, is presented. It is primarily based on the structure of interpersonal relationships, and aims to facilitate professional development through the support of social “encounters” among special education professionals. A web-based peer-to-peer system, named Web2gether, was designed and developed based on this concept and later deployed in a school district to help special education professionals to receive more appropriate support to use software applications in their classrooms. The major design considerations of this system are presented. Finally, the design, deployment, and evaluation of active learning networks are not without challenges. I thus conclude this position paper describing three major challenges: