5 Free EdTech Tools To Better Engage ADHD Students
Tips and tech tools to better manage and engage the students with ADHD in your classroom. Use these free effective apps and online tools to minimize distraction and improve the focus and attention of your ADHD students.
If you haven’t known an ADHD student then did you really know your students? Mental health data shows that at least one student in every classroom has ADHD. That student may be the one who repeatedly fails to finish his class worksheet. Or the one who consistently interrupts you while you’re reading aloud a story. You may not even know that they have this condition. It can be a real challenge to engage ADHD students in the classroom. I have curated a list of 5 free EdTech tools to better engage ADHD students. If you struggle to keep them focused and interested in the class, then EdTech can help you. Like it assisted me in teaching and managing my students with ADHD. But first, let me briefly throw light upon what is ADHD and how students with this condition behave in the classroom.
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What is ADHD?
As the name suggests, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition wherein a person has a short attention span and is over impulsive and active. Looks like you have it too? Well, you may. Research points toward the prevalence of ADHD in adults as well. As of 2020, approximately 366 million adults worldwide have this condition. According to the ADHD Institute, 2.2 % of children have been diagnosed with ADHD. We teach these children every day in our classrooms.
What Are The Characteristics Of Students With ADHD?
Before I start, I want to clear out one thing. As much as I stressed over them, I loved interacting with the students who had ADHD. They are some of the most inquisitive and wonderful minds that I have ever taught. Every day I have learned something from them. One taught me to stand up for myself. Another one made me a better teacher. All in all, each day was a learning roller-coaster ride with these ones. I will tell you why!
👉🏻 They can be extremely impatient and impulsive.
👉🏻They have trouble sitting.
👉🏻They can disturb the flow of the instruction.
👉🏻 They are easily distracted.
👉🏻They occasionally forget or lose personal items.
👉🏻They avoid tasks and homework.
In short, students with ADHD can be either very hyperactive, inattentive or both.
5 EdTech Tools To Engage ADHD students
1. EdTechTools To Minimize Distraction
Students with ADHD usually get distracted during reading exercises. They easily lose track. Even a slight disturbance distracts them. Use a Text-To-Speech reading disability app like NaturalReader. It is a free Text-To-Speech online web app that allows students to listen to any text or document. They can also make an mp3 audio file and listen to it at home. This free online Text-To-Speech app even reads pictures and the voice will sound natural and human-like. The paid versions of the app have upgraded features and additional natural voices for a more personal touch.
2. EdTech Tools To Improve Attention Span
You need to use interactive classroom tools to engage children with special needs. Audiobooks are one of the best assistive technology tools to assist ADHD students. How?
Well, reading can become difficult and boring for students with ADHD. They will happily read a few sentences and then lose focus. Many don’t even like to read because of the same reason. Audiobooks have had great benefits for students with ADHD. In her blog, Smart Girls with ADHD, Beth Harvey explains through her personal experience why audiobooks are good for students with ADHD. Justin Novello had suffered from ADHD since grade 1. As reported by Bentech, audiobooks have helped him gain confidence and achieve greater things in life.
Ibook, now called Apple Books is a free smartphone audiobook app that is accessible to any child with an iPhone or iPad. Cool, isn’t it?
3. EdTech Tools For Writing
One of my students with ADHD avoided writing tasks. Then I explored digital interactive worksheets for him. It saved time and engaged him in completing his classwork at the same time as the other students. It is simple. Use TeacherMade app. Convert your worksheet into an electronic interactive worksheet. Let your student complete it on his iPad while the rest of the class does it on paper. Easy for your student to complete and for you to correct!
4. EdTech Tools For Time Management
Students with ADHD also struggle with managing their time. They leave written work incomplete. They are also slow in writing and calculation because they lose focus easily. I found the best time management solution for my students with ADHD- Stopwatch. I know stopwatches are stressful but ADHD students do need constant reminders to meet the timelines. This is how I helped them improve their speed. And to avoid others getting distracted by the beeping alarms, you can ask your students to wear a Vibrating Watch. All smartwatches vibrate!
5. EdTech Tools For Behavior Management
I have dealt with both impulsive and inattentive students with ADHD in my classroom. While it is simpler to manage the rest, hyperactive students with ADHD are the most difficult to manage. They talk out of turn, don’t sit in one place, fidget, and show aggressive and impulsive behavior. One effective strategy to deal with indiscipline and unacceptable classroom behavior is the reward system. ClassDojo is the top free useful app for building an efficient reward system in the classroom. How? You can customize and create your own rewards and punishments for good and bad behaviors, respectively. So when one talks out of turn, one misses a turn to answer a question. When they sit on their seat for a set time period without fidgeting or moving legs, then they get two consecutive turns or a star/badge. The best feature of ClassDojo is that all this can be done and recorded digitally. You can also create digital portfolios and send digital feedback to the students and their parents on the app.
Takeaway
It can be difficult to engage and manage students with ADHD. With assistive technology and effective teaching strategies, it can become less challenging and more interesting. There are many free online Edtech tools for teachers to better engage ADHD students. Use all or a few of the above free online apps and tools to teach the ADHD students in your class.
Can you suggest some free online digital tech tools that you have used to teach your ADHD students? Do tell me in the comments!
Facing difficulty in teaching Math to your students with ADHD?
Do check out my Math Teaching videos to easily explain Math topics using the storytelling method 👇🏻➕➖➗
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