Teach.com' s SXSW Teach of the Day

     I had a great opportunity to go to SXSWedu this year. Attending was one of my goals for the year, so I am on track for doing great things in education this year. You can view the article here. 

     Thank you to everyone who has supported me and given me cool ideas to incorporate in my classroom!

Recording and Communicating Behavior in the Special Education Classroom

     Special Education is an endless mountain of papers. Every year there is progress toward using the newest, most efficient program. However, all of these programs have one major error--- They are all reliant on paper! My student population in Special Education can run from high functioning, to showing motivation for only a single item and a small desire to follow 1-step directives to obtain the item. I don't always have time to run, get a clipboard, record behavioral data (ABC, sample observations (MTS), rating scales (BRS), etc.) legibly. There is not a 100% reliable method to maintain empirical frequency and rate data while also being in the thick of a meltdown. Even after all data is collected, papers can be stored incorrectly and the high risk of broken confidentiality is present. 

     I am currently using Google Forms to record data as behaviors occur during the regular school day. So far I have made an ABC data form, Interval Behavioral Data form, Parent Feedback form.

I started with a simple form that I can use to communicate daily behavior with parents. Very basic in design and the response form is linked directly into the personal student website I made earlier in the year. This response form is embedded to the site so when they visit, a real time description of the behavior is present. The verbiage is reader friendly for the forms directed to the parents. My hope is that it encourages the parents to read the response or fill out the forms more often. The parents can view the response form online as little or often as they wish and easily see how their student is doing. Also, by providing the beginning of a sample sentence, I don't feel the need to always write a lengthy response. 


For students with specific motivators, I have an ABC Form. It has simple headers that any staff, old or new, will be able to quickly identify and understand. 


I made a master of all the forms, then clicked "Make a Copy" under the "File" tab. This allows me to have a different file for each student and tailor the responses to choose from specific to the student. One student will manifest unwanted behaviors differently than the next so modifying the forms is important. 

   My staff and I can access the form via Google Drive, QR Code located on the wall near an area of the room that has reduced stimulants, and also icons on the staff cell phones. The cell phone icons have been very helpful when we are out in another part of the school or when access to the computer is not realistic. 

     Overall, I feel the addition of tracking behavior using the forms has increased my hands on productivity with the students, limited the amount of actual papers I lug around, and also gives me the option of creating a graph using the data in the form within seconds (perfect for IEP preparation). 

SXSW and #edTechWomen

     SXSW for most Austinites means traffic and not being able to do much of anything around town. This is mainly true for me---- Okay, well maybe I still spend my time watching a ton of my favorite bands play and its fun, but this year I switched it up and went to SXSWedu. I had a great time attending the #ETW15 conference and made a lot of great connections with like minded women. The theme among my conversations with others was that there is a need to support each other instead of innately pitting against one another. I think there was some validity in that, but I did not agree when I heard some women saying that those without children need to cut slack for women with children. I don't understand that. I hold everyone to the same standard and some days you choose to work, others you choose to slack. How other women manage their time isn't my concern. If something is done wrong or late that is on the person not meeting expectations. It is not the responsibility of others to cut slack. 

     The rest of the week went really well. I taught a class on the ProLoQuo2Go system to parents and district staff, saw a handful of solid educational films, hung outside of the formal parts of SX with some really great Grrrls, and was able to increase my personal growth. The week left me feeling reaffirmed in my belief that large strides need to be taken toward a technologically enriched classroom for all students, including Special Education students. 

Q: Who Run The World? A:Tech Grrrls

Fun fact about me that also makes me cringe at times--

      I have never been good at tech stuff. I have had males in my life that were excellent at all things related to technology, but they never included me in learning these skills. Being young, it never occurred to me to advocate for myself. It was a boy's club and I wasn't invited.

     Something changed during the last two years. My lead IT was a woman. Not just that, she was a knowledgeable, open minded, and friendly IT. I had never met such a lovely unicorn in my life! I started looking into what she wrote about in her emails, PD sessions, and general information about technology as it related to the classroom. I pick her brain WAY too much and am sure at this point I am coming across as annoying. But I know she is always there for me to learn from or bounce ideas off of.

     Last year, I was overwhelmed with my program. It is all paper! Pictures, data sheets, graphs, lesson instruction, visuals....ALL PAPER BASED. It was a lot to keep track of and I often found myself stuck taking home cartloads of data to analyze. My thoughts were "new program, new school, new district; I am not ready to take risks!"

     In August, I decided to incorporate as much technology into my lessons and data collections as possible. I started by making blank copies of all data sheets organized in my drive. Followed that by taking at least 3 technology PDs a week. This was a lot of commitment because I am a mom, I teach, and I am working on my doctoral dissertation. Somehow I made it work! Now I see other grrrls I work with asking me questions or for help in general. I am glad they have a desire to learn. This tech journey allowed me to see I am not great at it all, and that is okay! Practice makes perfect, so I just keep making interactive lessons my students can enjoy. Without the support of Lisa, Shannon, or Amy I would not have a desire to know about technological skills and various ways to increase efficiency in my classroom.

ProLoQuo2Go Training Tomorrow!