Learners can use technology to create a checklist of tasks to accomplish and put them in order based on what needs to get done first. Checklists provide a visual reminder of what needs to be accomplished. Checkboxes can be used to indicate when something has been completed. Digital checklists can often be shared with educators to provide guidance and feedback. Digital checklists are also often flexible, allowing items to be re-ordered, read aloud with text to speech, and edited. The following are a list of potential tools that could be used to create digital checklists.
Category Archives: Executive Functioning
Supports to Improve Executive Functioning
Managing Time with Alerts and Alarms
When diligently working on a task it can be easy to lose track of time. An alarm or alert helps learners know that something is coming up that needs attention. Learners can set an alarm to go off at a specific time. Educators might need to provide guidance with regard to how much time might be needed to prepare for the transition to the next experience. The following website provide free, programmable alarms.
Managing Time with Timers
Knowing how much time one has left before a transition takes place helps learners understand when the task they are working to complete will come to an end. Educators can guide learners to set their own timers to help them learn self-management skills. Learners can also challenge themselves to complete tasks accurately within the given time frame. Timers can have both visual and auditory components as a cue to the learner about how much time is left like the Candle Timer.
Managing Time with Google Calendar
Learners can use their Google accounts to create and manage multiple calendars. It has color coding, collaboration, and reminder features to help individuals never miss another event. Different views allow the learner to see a schedule for the day, week, month, or even more customized options. At first, educators might need to provide guidance about what types of events should go on the calendar. Over time, using the calendar becomes habitual and part of one’s daily routine.
The video below titled Google Calendar: 8 Little-Known Google Cal Tips shares ideas about how to use Google Calendar.
Defining Executive Functioning
Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive abilities that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control used daily to learn, work, and manage everyday life. People can use technology to help learn how to manage and develop these abilities. This blog often shares specific strategies to people learn how to use technology to build executive functioning skills all of which can be accessed by using the Executive Functioning category on the right.
The video titled “What is Executive Function?” further explains executive functioning.
Using the iOS Notes App to Scan Documents
Sometimes individuals encounter hard copies of documents, such as a paper-based form, that need to be scanned and converted into a digital format. Some individuals might need or prefer to annotate a digital version of that document.
If the individual has an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS version 10.0 or late, the iOS Notes app can be used to scan documents. Here’s how:
- Open the Notes app
- Select the camera icon at the bottom of the screen.
- In the menu that appears, select Scan Documents.
- Position the document in view and select the white shutter button to scan the document.
- You can choose to Retake or Keep Scan. Drag the corners to crop the scan if needed.
- If you choose to keep the scan, a prompt will appear saying Ready for next scan. If it’s only a one-page document, select Save. If it has multiple pages, repeat steps 4 and 5 for each page.
- You will see thumbnails of your scanned pages at the bottom of the screen. When you have scanned all of the pages, select Save. Then, select Done.
- When you look at your Notes, you will see your scanned document, which is automatically saved as a PDF file. You can Send a Copy via email, text message, or AirDrop. Your copy can then be uploaded to Google Drive or Schoology. Another option is to Save to Files, including your iCloud account.
LCPS staff and students have access to TextHelp’s OrbitNote Chrome extension. If your scanned PDF is uploaded to Google Drive or Schoology, you can use OrbitNote to edit the document by adding text, drawings, and more.
Check out the following videos for more information on using the Notes app for scanning, including some advanced features.
Happy scanning!
Audio Recording and Transcription in Google Keep
Google Keep is a note taking application available to any student in Loudoun County Public Schools. One way users can take notes using a mobile device is by recording audio. The recorded audio is both saved and transcribed so the user can access the note again in their preferred modality. They can listen to the recorded audio, read the transcribed text, or do both! Watch this video titled Google Keep: Voice Notes and Transcription.
Organizing Information Using OneNote
OneNote is a tool included in the Microsoft Office Suite of programs. It acts as a digital binder where a user can keep notes in a variety of formats. Users can include text, audio, or photos and organize them using colored tabs in sections within a binder. Additional tabs and sections can be added and then rearranged as necessary. Every student in LCPS has access OneNote. Watch this short introductory video titled “What is OneNote?” to learn more about OneNote to decide if it might help you or a learner you support.
OneNote in Microsoft Office 365
Using a Digital Calendar to Maintain a To-Do List
Digital calendars can be used to create a to-do list and prompt reminders. Putting appointments and due dates on a calendar is what it was made for! Using a calendar as a to-do list and for reminders provides one convenient location for keeping track of everything that needs to be done. Use the following handy tips to get started:
- Set up to-do items and plan out stages of projects by marking events as an “All Day Event”. This puts it on your calendar on a date you want it “due” without a specific time slot.
- Have a big project? Breaking it down into smaller chunks makes it more manageable. “Due dates” can be set for each smaller chunk of the project so that you work on it all along instead of cramming everything into the day before!
- Set notifications to remind you at a certain date and time which can help you remember that the event is coming up.
- Set up a repeating appointment or event, such as setting a consistent weekly reminder to take the trash out on a specific morning.
- Events can be set with a visual reminder, such as an emoji specific to the event, like using a waste basket 🗑️ for the reminder to take out the trash.
- Whole calendars and/or specific events can be shared with others. Parents and/or educators can work with a student to help them learn what types of actions should be events, what reminders might be necessary, and when those should be scheduled on the calendar.
Use the following guides based on the digital calendar you are using:
Color Coding and Adding Emojis to Google Drive Folders for Organization
The human brain 🧠 can recognize images in a matter of milliseconds, according to research at MIT. This information can be useful in helping students (and adults!) in quickly finding information by color and emojis in Google Drive. For example, science folders could be in green and social science folders could be in blue. An emoji of a microscope 🔬 could be added to the file name of the science folder and a globe 🌎 to the file name of the social science folder. Have an important file about organization? Add a file cabinet 🗄️ to it! These colors and pictures can help trigger memory in the blink of an eye 👀 when trying to locate files plus they add an element of fun! These strategies can help students organize their information in a way that they can quickly access later without the need to rely on text. Check out this video from Specialized Instructional Facilitator – Assistive Technology Jean Garrett to learn how to color code and add an emoji from emojipedia.org.