Pros+and+Cons

There are many positive aspects to the up and coming idea of virtual classrooms. As this idea is becoming more prevalent in modern society it is important to note both the positive and negative aspects. Not only are these aspects important to consider in regular education classes, but the idea of a virtual environment could bring special education classrooms to a much more productive level. A virtual environment offers convenience such as easy access, timely, and one of the biggest factors is that it is able to cut down on cost factors. A huge factor to consider when applying the idea of virtual education to a special education room is that some of the students might have a hard time commuting to school because of physical disabilities. The virtual environment provides them with an atmosphere in which they can stay in the comfort of their own home and still learn just as much if not more from the online class. Another positive aspect of the virtual classroom for students with disabilities is that it is time independent. The students are able to move at their own pace and sign on to learn at their convenience. Lastly, one of the pros that the virtual environment has to offer to students with disabilities is to be able to communicate using technology. Some of the students might be nonverbal or just have a difficult time communicating their thought and with the progressing technology they will be able to find all different ways to communicate and therefore improve their overall education.

However, among all the advantages that the virtual environment offers there are many negative aspects that could arise when using the technology based learning environment. For students with disabilities it may be hard enough already to get through a day of school and come out with new knowledge. They have many difficulties in their day at school as is, and by adding the need to know how to use technology and other sorts of tools only adds more challenges. Another negative aspect to implementing a virtual environment is the cost of hiring an instructor to teach both the teachers themselves and the students how to use the new technology. In addition, another negative aspect of virtual technology for special education students is that a good majority of the students learn best by being hands on. By touching, feeling, seeing things they are able to move forward in their education and by taking that away from them will only hurt them. Especially with the outburst of students being diagnosed somewhere on the autism spectrum; these students thrive on being stimulated and absolutely need to be in a classroom where the teacher provides them with just that.

All in all there are many positive and negative aspects to the idea of a virtual environment and it is important to take into consideration all of these.It is not only important to take into consideration the pros and cons of the virtual classroom but more importantly, one must consider the idea of the least restrictive environment for students, especially students with disabilities. If a virtual environment can provide a student with more comfort, makes it easier to focus, and provides different ways of communicating that makes it easier for them to participate then a virtual environment should definitely be considered.