Around Town Round Up: Tips for Managing Behaviors in a Technology-Rich Classroom

Many students with autism are highly motivated by access to technology. However, it can be difficult to manage behaviors when the student is asked to do an adult-directed task using technology or when it is time to stop using their device. With schools becoming increasingly more technology-focused, this poses a substantial problem in the classroom. Today's Around Town Round Up will provide tips for Managing Behaviors in a Technology-Rich Classroom.

Today’s students typically have significant experience with technology before they even begin school. In many cases, this experience has been very self-driven with students having free access to their favorite apps, videos, or websites. When the student enters school, the switch to adult-directed tasks is a new expectation which needs to be directly taught. Use these tips to help with managing behaviors in a technology-rich classroom:

• Explicitly communicate with the student what is expected of them. Use visuals to remind students of expectations. 

Technology Stoplight Visual Support 

Stop Sign Visual Boundary
Becky Schwab
Eastmont Elementary, Dayton

Wait Visual Boundary
Peggy Ristau
Brookville Intermediate, Brookville

• Teach clear routines for using technology within the classroom. Establish routines early and provide ample opportunities for practicing these routines. Routines should include how to access assignments as well as how to care for and organize technology materials. Use visual supports such as a task list or video model to provide prompting and encourage independence.

Log-In Task List Visual Support
Anne Rosenbaum
Orchard Park Elementary, Kettering

iPad Center with Tablet Table
Ruby Copley
JFK Elementary, Kettering

iPad Organization Station with Headphones

Headphone Organization
Laura Brown
Perrin Woods Elementary, Springfield

Headphone Organization
Bobbi Jo Chapman
Snyder Park Elementary, Springfield

• Ensure that the student has the skills necessary to access the assigned task using technology. Consider their executive functioning skills and ability to follow multi-step directions or navigate multiple websites. Use adaptive software or equipment to increase the student's ability to independently access needed technology. 

Online Switch Activities with Switch Assistive Technology

  

Clicker Word Processing Software
Karyn Smith
Tri-Village High School, Tri-Village

• Assign engaging tasks that will keep the student interested and on-task. Incorporate special interests or preferred technology tools frequently.

Square Panda Literacy System for iPad
Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

• Ensure that the student can be monitored when using technology at all times through positioning, screen sharing, or use of monitoring systems such as GoGuardian. Click the image below to learn more about GoGuardian.

GoGuardian

• Develop a reinforcement plan so that the student knows when they will be able to engage in self-driven technology tasks. Clearly communicate what the consequence will be for not following technology expectations and be consistent.

Website Restrictions Visual
Bobbi Jo Chapman
Snyder Park Elementary, Springfield

iPad Token Reinforcement System
Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

ALIST Spotlight: Debi Gnau, Mad River Early Childhood Center

Today we are so excited to shine our ALIST Spotlight on awesome preschool educator Debi Gnau from Mad River Local Schools' Early Childhood Center. 

Debi works hard to meet the diverse needs of her district's youngest learners through using engaging activities and differentiated supports. We also love how innovative her approach to in-person preschool during the pandemic has been.

Debi's classroom is full of multisensory, hands-on tasks to engage her young learners. Each day students start their time in the classroom by choosing an activity for their morning work. Materials are proactively laid out as students come in so they can get engaged right away. This system is great for classroom management because it allows students to stay busy as their peers continue to arrive. 

Debi differentiates activities through the use of visual supports and using structured work systems so that all students can participate in morning work. 

Students have so many fun tasks to choose from to work on a variety of skills including sorting, counting, preliteracy skills, and fine motor development. 

Once all of the students have arrived, Debi starts with a routine name sequencing task. This is a great way to ensure practice of this important skill each day. 

During centers time, Debi's students get to choose from different play centers like building with blocks, exploring the sensory table or science center, and the dramatic play area. 

Debi incorporates student special interests to ensure that all students can engage independently in centers time. For a student who loved taking things off the wall Debi created this vertical snowflake velcro wall. And for a student who loved dry erase markers she mounted a large whiteboard at preschooler height. 

Debi offers her students with special needs additional supports to help them be successful such as visual schedules and a safe space to go when dysregulated. 

Now that Debi has returned to in-person teaching during the pandemic, she has done an awesome job of organizing her classroom to allow for social distancing and material sanitization while still giving them the opportunities to play and learn. Debi has color-coded areas of her classroom where students will stay with a designated group of peers. All of the materials and equipment in these areas are color-coded for easy identification and seperation of materials. 

Additionally, Debi found these great wristbands for students to wear to help them remember their color for the day. What a great visual support for all learners!

During circle time, students have scoop rockers to help with social distancing. This is a great physical boundary to help them remember. 

We are glad to have so many awesome examples to share with our teams of a great preschool classroom. Thank you, Debi, for welcoming us into your classroom! 

Organization Station: Home-School Communication For Blended Learning

Communication between school staff and families is more important now than ever as many of our districts navigate the challenges of COVID-19 including using remote and blended learning models as well as managing periodic quarantines. In today's Organization Station, we will feature some of the most popular home-school communication tools we have seen across the Miami Valley. 

Learning Management System Messaging
Many of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) have built-in email or messaging features to allow teachers to communicate directly with parents. This allows messaging and student assignments to be kept all on one site which makes it easier to manage for everyone.

Google Classroom allows teachers to email parents directly about specific assignments or concerns as well as send a summary of the student's work. For more information click the image or link below.

The Tech Advocate: How to Use Google Classroom To Boost Parent Involvement

When using the Seesaw platform, school staff can comunicate with families using the Inbox tab 

Apps
There is no shortage of great apps that can make home-school communication effecient and convenient. In addition to communication features, many of these apps allow users to create a digital portfolio of student work. This is a great way to compile work completed during in-person instruction and during remote learning so that everything is in one place. Click on the images below to learn more about some of the most popular app options.

Google Voice

Another popular communication tool for teachers is Google Voice which allows the user to set up a private phone number to be used for calling, text messaging, and voicemail. Click the image below to learn more. 

Daily Notes
For our districts meeting with students in-person, our teams continue to send home daily notes to communicate activities, events, or special messages to families. We encourage teams to have a system for school to communicate home and vice versa.

Ashley Holtz
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

Lynn York
Kleptz ELC & Montgomery County ESC, Northmont

Quick notes can be a convenient way to communicate supplies that may be needed at school. 

Ashley Holtz
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

Using picture symbols transforms notes home into a communication support for students who have limited verbal or recall skills to be able to report events each day. 

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

For more great examples of Home-School Communication from our teams check out our previous posts:

Home-School Communication

More Home-School Communication