Tag Archive for: social learning software

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Social-Emotional Apps for Special Ed

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November 2, 2015

Photo credit: Jayne Clare

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence, as these abilities do not come naturally for some special education students. Children in special ed settings need to have their confidence, courage, and emotional awareness nurtured in order to successfully play, work, cooperate, and be productive in their studies. We have all heard that technology can be a great playing-field leveler in a classroom with diverse learners. It can also assist in providing social and emotional skills. Let’s face it — the digital lifestyle is here to stay, so using digital technology to enhance SEL makes perfect sense.

However, I have yet to encounter research that focuses on the effectiveness of using apps designed solely to enhance the social and emotional health of children. Researchers and educators have only begun to closely investigate the impact of these technologies on SEL. For special ed teachers, that research can’t come soon enough.

Young children acquire and utilize their initial social skills mostly in the context of play and shared activities. Through play, they form their first interpersonal interactions and develop important social skills related to empathy, cooperation, conflict resolution, and self-control, which will be used throughout life to maintain healthy relationships with others.

9 Skill-Building Apps

Several apps can be used in the classroom or at home to assist in reinforcing social and emotional learning while also helping kids cope with the pressures that we all face. These apps can help teachers and parents in addressing students with special needs, and many are also available in a web format.

    1. Breathe, Think, Do (Sesame Street) teaches children to keep calm and carry on by introducing three possible strategies for working through problems. It touches on familiar emotional challenges such as problem solving, self-control, planning, and time on task. Intended for very young children, this simple app gives players different scenarios in which the Blue Monster character needs to regulate his or her emotions using the breathe-think-do technique.
    1. Touch and Learn — Emotions (Innovative Mobile Apps) is chock full of wonderful photographs representing four different feelings per page. The child is prompted to match the verbal cue with the appropriate photo. This app focuses on helping kids read body language and understand emotions by looking at pictures and figuring out which person is expressing a given emotion.
    1. Avokiddo Emotions provides opportunities for younger children to explore a wide range of feelings through several silly characters and a plethora of props. This app incorporates activities to help children understand the subtle cause and effect of facial expressions. The main idea is exposing young children to a variety of feelings and helping them grasp emotional connections with those feelings.
    1. Emotionary (Funny Feelings) is designed to give a wide age range of kids the tools and skills to express themselves well in our world of emoticons. The app has become a popular resource for the special needs population. This collection of emotions and funny feelings now allows users to draw their own emotionary “selfie” to match how they are feeling.
    1. GoNoodle is a wonderful web-based way to get younger kids out of their seats and moving. These short physical activities provide brain breaks that can help keep them focused throughout a long day. Studies have shown that physical activity increases blood flow, which increases concentration and attentiveness. This enhances students’ ability to acquire and recall information. These activities make them cross the mid-line of the body, engaging both sides of the brain. GoNoodle provides teachers with fun, interactive ways to get kids moving and feeling good about themselves.
    1. IF. . . The Emotional IQ Game (If You Can) promotes teamwork and collaboration, accentuating how to be in touch with our own feelings and the feelings of those around us. With this app, kids (recommended ages 9-11) learn to listen, make friends, and deal with bullying in an adventure story/game format. IF’s motto: “Play Learn Grow: Succeed at school with friends in life!” This pretty much says it all.
    1. The Middle School Confidential series is a powerhouse of SEL lessons by tween/teen expert Annie Fox. The book/app series for ages 8-14 is a graphic novel sequence focused on making stepping-stones out of stumbling blocks on the road to becoming a teenager. Readers follow the adventures of a group of seventh-grade friends trying to navigate the ever-changing drama of their friendships, families, and school. Excellent resource!
    1. Stop, Breathe & Think (Tools for Peace) promotes mindfulness, meditation, and compassion for middle and high school students and adults. Research has shown that people can develop kindness and compassion by focusing on them through mindfulness and meditation practices. You can cultivate your frame of mind in a very short timespan with simple meditation.
  1. I would be remiss if I didn’t include the The Social Express in this collection of apps. Its quality content keeps students engaged and on the path to mastering healthy social and emotional skills. Research-based webisodes give kids the exposure necessary to develop meaningful relationships and become more socially competent in all realms of life. This program covers the gamut from preschool through high school with a robust SEL curriculum.

The Puzzle of Tech Use

Most students with or without disabilities can and do benefit from SEL-focused technology in the classroom. Incorporating these tech tools should increase student incentive to learn through individualized lessons, especially when tailored to a student’s specific needs. When done well, tech not only reinforces key SEL skills that children need to learn, but it can also drive student enthusiasm and promote self-assurance.

This topic may seem like an oxymoron since we want children to learn how to focus during “real time” and how to live with less tech. A wonderful TED Talk addressing this conundrum is Sherry Turkle’s “Connected, but alone?”

Do you know of any digital SEL resources for special education students? Please tell us about them in the comments below.

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Helping Your Child to Understand Idioms

Use pictures to help your child to understand idioms used in conversations.

Use pictures to help your child to understand idioms used in conversations like, “piece of cake”.

Does your child have difficulty understanding idioms? Idioms are commonly used phrases that say one thing but mean something completely different. Like “spill the beans”, “piece of cake” or “it’s raining cats and dogs”.

All age groups use idioms and it’s important that your child Read more

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Teaching Your Child How to Start Conversations: 3 Brilliant Basics

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You may be wondering where to begin when it comes to teaching your child how to start conversations. Here are a couple of great tips to help you: breaking the skill of starting conversations into three basic steps and video recording your role-play session with your child.

Maybe, like me, once you realized your child needed help practicing social skills, and starting conversations you may think, this is a tough problem to teach!

For parents, starting and having conversations is such a basic, ingrained activity. How do you explain starting conversations in a way it that your child will understand? Here are some ideas.

Teaching Your Child How to Start Conversations

I like the way teaching how to start conversations is explained by Kerry Mehaffey Mataya, M.Ed. on this website. She boils the entire social skill—starting conversations—down to three brilliantly simple basics:

1. Asking questions

2. Telling stories

3. Making comments

She reminds us that a balance of these three components is the fluid that makes good conversations start and flow.

Asking questions. When practicing the asking questions step, remind your child to use the “w” words like who, what, when, where, and why (also, how). Explain how follow up questions are used to show the other kids that he’s interested in what they’re saying.

Telling stories. Practice with your child to help him think about the kinds of things he can tell a story about. For example, a family trip to the zoo, a movie he really liked or other fun event. Be watchful for your child’s tendency to tell stories that are too long.

Making comments. Talk to him about how to use good comments during conversations. Brainstorm with your child the words or phrases that he can easily use to make appropriate comments during conversations. Demonstrate for him how a comment made at the wrong time in a conversation can sound like he’s not interested in the other kid’s story. Or can make it seem that he’s not listening.

Video role-plays. Record your role-play sessions using a video camera.  Your child may respond well to watching a video of him and you practicing having conversations. This way you can easily point out skills he is doing well, and those that he needs to practice. As long as you use lots of positive feedback, this could work quite well.

Always, give praise and positive feedback. According to Anxiety BC website, it’s best when role playing with your child to immediately afterwards, give lots of praise about what your child did well. Look hard to find any small, yet noticeable, signs of improvement. For example:

“Well done! You smiled and looked me in the eye when you asked me the question. You looked very friendly!”

You can download the Anxiety BC document here at their website.

Be sure to check out the helpful handout, “Conversation Basics”, created by Kerry Mehaffey Mataya, you can find her handout and download it here.

I wish you and your child many great role-play sessions on starting conversations!

–Marc

Dad, Developer

If you’re looking to help your child learn social skills, our online engaging animated program may benefit your child. Parents tell us that kids love the Hollywood style animation and characters and actually ask to use The Social Express!
To see how it works, click here.   Click here to try our 10-day, no risk trial.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Social Skills Learning Software Aims to Reach Children with Autism

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This article about our social skills learning software was published in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Unhappy with the quality of software games available for children with autism, a team that includes a Leland resident set out to make its own.

The software developed by The Social Express uses animation to help children on the spectrum learn to interact with others in a more typical manner.

Identifying feelings in others, being part of a group and figuring out the hidden rules of social interaction are some of the social skills the software teaches, said Jon Cornick, president and COO of The Social Express.

“One of the big deficits of kids that are on the spectrum is identifying non-verbal social skills. All of the areas are targeted with our program,” said Cornick, who is based in Leland. “We are combining the best practices to create our lesson plans.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines autism spectrum disorders as a “group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges,” and according to a CDC study last year, an estimated 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder.

While scientists do not have a clear understanding of what causes the disorders, parents have found that software can help children learn valuable social skills, Cornick said.

Cornick said that he came to the company after a career of producing movies, joining the founders Marc and Tina Zimmerman when the software launched in 2011.

“One of my dearest friends is Marc Zimmerman, who had this idea to create The Social Express. He needed animators and engineers. I was in between films in 2011, and I came on at the launch,” Cornick said.

The Zimmermans have autistic twin boys and found that they responded well to software used by after-school therapists.

“The children were mainstreamed in their local public school, and the behavioral issues were in check, but their social and emotional skills were a real deficit,” Cornick said.

Marc Zimmerman, a software entrepreneur and professional musician, sought to design a better alternative to the software available for children with autism.

Today, the software is used by more than 200 school districts, Cornick said, and is available on Macintosh, PC and iOS (iPhone and iPad).

The 2.0 version of the software is due out soon and will shift to a web-based, subscription version with new features. Cornick said the web-based model would allow for more frequent updates and more lessons and would include a special protected social network for children who use the program, called the Club House.

“One of the real problems is that most of these kids have few or no friends,” Cornick said. “We have created the Club House to have a way for kids to connect.”

Websites used by children under 13 are required to follow special guidelines outlined in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the software requires parents to approve their children’s access.

“Because the parent’s email is attached to the child, we have a parent portal, and they can see every conversation their child is having. Children have the option to flag inappropriate conversations, and both parents are notified,” Cornick said.

The Social Express has offices in Leland (with Cornick) and California (with the Zimmermans) and employs between 12 and 17 people depending on workload.

“We have 16 lessons with 30 interactive scenes, and we are animating 10 more now,” Cornick said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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The Social Express Readies New Web-Based Social Skills Program

The Social Express Web-based Version Coming SoonThe new Internet-based version of the popular social skills learning program, The Social Express, will be offered soon for Families, Professionals and School Districts.

An added feature, ‘The Clubhouse’, provides a safe environment for kids who are members to connect with each other and engage while practicing social skills.

Quote startThe upcoming Web-based, subscription version of The Social Express makes it easier to reach many more children and young adults who need help learning and practicing social skills. We want to help as many kids as possible to better interact with others.Quote end

 
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) January 25, 2013

Brighten Learning, makers of The Social Express®, is pleased to announce that a new Web-based version of its social skills learning program is coming soon.

The Social Express, winner of the SIIA Innovation Incubator Award in Ed Tech, is an interactive program that targets core deficit areas that stand in the way of school, social, and life success for children and young adults with social learning challenges.

Marc Zimmerman, CEO, said, “We’re so humbled by the community of parents, professionals and teachers that have gathered around The Social Express. We’re thrilled to be able to convert our social skills learning software into an Internet-based program. The upcoming Web-based, subscription version makes it easier for us to reach many more children and young adults who need help learning and practicing social skills. We want to help as many kids as possible to better interact with others.”

Families, Professionals and School Districts will be able to access the new Web-based version of The Social Express from all desktop computers, laptops and selected mobile devices. The new program retains the wonderful characters that users love and offers the same interactive learning environment for children to use along with their parents, teachers and speech language professionals.

Parents, school districts and professionals who become members of the new Internet-based program from The Social Express will be able to create custom learning plans around their children’s needs for social skill improvement. They’ll also have access to new content each month and the popular built-in teaching tips.

Jon Cornick, President and COO, said, “We developed the Web-based version to make it easier for children who need help with social skills to learn, connect and engage. One example, ‘The Clubhouse’, is a new private social network exclusively for children registered in The Social Express program. Inside The Clubhouse they can engage with each other while practicing the very skills they have learned in The Social Express. The goal is for them to generalize these new skills and ultimately make friends. The Clubhouse provides a safe and fun environment for this, and there is even a Parent Login for observing the child’s progress.”

Cornick added, “We’re developing exciting new tools and ways for kids to get involved with both learning and practicing social skills in our upcoming version of The Social Express. We invite our community of parents, educators and professionals to stay tuned to our exciting announcements. “

Since beginning in November of 2011, The Social Express has received wide support and heartwarming testimonials. Stories of progress and success have poured in from Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), parents and teachers of children diagnosed with Asperger’s, ADHD, autism and related disorders who have found help using the program.

The Social Express is an interactive video-modeling, social skills learning and education for autism program. Parents, professionals, and educators of special needs children like the high-quality, Hollywood-style animation that holds their attention without over stimulation. They also like the scenes that reinforce the best choices for kids to make in social situations. Learn more about The Social Express by visiting: thesocialexpress.com Twitter: @TheSocialExpres
Or follow the company on Facebook

Join our mailing list to hear exciting about new announcements and special offers from The Social Express! Click here to join our mailing list.

About Brighten Learning, Inc.:

Brighten Learning®, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2010, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California. The company develops The Social Express® and other interactive social skills software and learning management systems. The company’s mission is to help special needs children with social-emotional deficits to improve their lives. The company’s video modeling social skills learning programs help children with ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s, and related disorders to improve their interactions with others. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

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Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism & Social Learning Startup Donate to Schools with Autism Classes

The Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism Partners with The Social ExpressSan Diego, CA and Framingham, MA—(PRWeb) October 23, 2012—The Social Express™, creators of new interactive social skills programs for special needs children, has partnered with The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism and donated copies of its program to schools who teach children with autism.

“We’re very proud to donate The Social Express learning program to The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism,” said Marc Zimmerman, CEO and Founder of Brighten Learning. “After using our program, teachers tell us that students are extremely receptive to its social skills lessons like ‘talking about what others like to talk about’ and ‘being part of the group’.  Many ask to use the program everyday.“

Zimmerman added, “Educator feedback also tells us that The Social Express characters engage students so well, they’re able to begin learning tough social concepts. We’re excited to share the program with more schools!”

The importance of technology to enhance children’s learning in the classroom is widely accepted. For children with autism, laptop computers are especially helpful but are out of reach for many schools with autism specific classrooms.

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism has long recognized this fact. In 2000 the Laurie Flutie Computer Initiative was created for the purpose of donating computers to underprivileged families of individuals living with autism as well as to schools with autism-specific classrooms.

Chris Chirco, Program Director at the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, stated that, “The Flutie Foundation is excited to partner with The Social Express.  Computer technology has become a key component in the education of many individuals with autism spectrum disorders and The Social Express offers a very visually stimulating and engaging interface that is sure to appeal to children on the autism spectrum.  Learning social skills can be critical for an individual with autism to succeed independently.”

Computers are given to schools with autism-specific classrooms that could not otherwise afford to purchase them. To date the foundation has distributed close to 500 computers to families and schools in New York and New England.

In its initial phase, The Social Express is a 16-lesson interactive video-modeling social skills learning program. Parents, professionals, and educators of special needs children like the high-quality, Hollywood-style animation that holds their attention without over stimulation and the scenes that reinforce the best choices for kids to make in social situations.

Children with autism, ADHD, Asperger’s, and other social-emotional deficits find the characters engaging and many ask to use it every day. Learn more about The Social Express by visiting the website: http://thesocialexpress.com/

About Brighten Learning, Inc.:

Brighten Learning™, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California.  The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social skills software and learning management systems. The company’s mission is to help special needs children with social-emotional deficits to improve their lives. The company’s video modeling social skills learning programs help children with ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s, and related disorders to improve their interactions with others. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

About The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism:

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. was established in 1998 by Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, in honor of their 20  year old son, Doug, Jr. who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. The Flutie Foundation’s mission is to support families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Foundation is committed to increasing awareness of the challenges of living with autism and helping families find resources to help address those challenges. We provide individuals with autism and their families an opportunity to improve their quality of life by funding educational, therapeutic, recreational and advocacy programs. For more information on The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, please contact Maria Baez at the Ebben Zall Group at (781) 449-3244, or visit www.flutiefoundation.org.

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Autism Software: Engaging New Way to Learn Social Skills, in Autism Digest

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our autism software is featured in the July/August issue of the Autism Digest print magazine! Being highlighted by this wonderful publication is a terrific honor for us! Autism Digest is focused on providing the latest in help for autism.

They titled the article about our social learning software: “Engaging New Way to Learn Social Skills”

According to its website, Autism –Asperger’s Digest provides helpful information for teachers, families and therapists who support children and people diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

From the Autism Digest article:

The Social Express has wrapped best practices for learning social skills into an exciting platform.

The Social Express is educational software designed to teach users how to think about and manage social situations, helping them to develop meaningful social relationships and succeed in life.

The interactive content teaches social skills as it follows characters through social interactions around town. The Social Express is based on best practices for helping children and young adults with ASD to learn social skills—and has wrapped them into an exciting platform.

The lessons build on each another to teach skills that include perspective-taking, understanding that others have feelings, and coping before an impending meltdown. It is designed to start discussions on social situations giving opportunities for parents to interact with their children frequently throughout the program.

We’re also excited because they told us in an email, that they “really enjoyed reviewing The Social Express”.

About Autism Digest

The company that publishes Autism Digest was established in 1996. Its founder talks about what an inspiration his son, Alex, had on him and the reason he started the company. Nearly everyone who works at the company, Future Horizons, has a friend or family member impacted by autism, according to the website.

This quote sums up their mission, from the Autism Digest website:

It is our strong belief that every child and adult with autism can improve and contribute to the lives of those who love them and, in many ways, contribute to society.

You can learn more about Autism – Asperger’s Digest at its website here: http://autismdigest.com/

Join our free newsletter! Get insider updates from The Social Express, click here to join us![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Social Learning Software Firm Presents at Autism Society Conference

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our team is going to be at the Autism Society National Conference next week. We’re excited about sharing what we’ve learned about social learning software as an educational tool for children with autism.

Please visit us if you’re attending the Conference. We’d love to meet you! Here is our news release:

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 19, 2012—Brighten Learning, a developer of interactive social learning software, will demonstrate its new program, The Social Express™, at the 43rd annual Autism Society National Conference and Exposition on July 25-27 in San Diego.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for children between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation, socially valid dialog, and original characters that children find engaging.

Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments and builds on the previous lesson. The teachable moments assist professionals and parents to reinforce social skills learning.

Children with autism, Asperger’s and ADHD enjoy and request the program. They enjoy its realistic social dialog, Hollywood-quality animation, and interactive components.

According to President Jon Cornick, “Brighten Learning team is excited to meet and share our social learning best practices with professionals Read more

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Mom Calls Social Learning Software Amazing

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 19, 2012

Katie Holler, a mother of five daughters including three diagnosed on the autism spectrum, finds that The Social Express is a valuable educational tool in her toolbox. She believes there are lots of learning apps available, but nothing that presents the skills she has set as goals for her daughters like The Social Express™.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for children between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation and original characters that children find engaging. Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments to help parents reinforce learning.

The Social Express Is Movie-Like

According to Katie Holler, “The Social Express is pretty amazing. When you use it, it’s almost like watching an animated Hollywood movie. Except it’s interactive and I can stop the program at any time to talk with my daughters about the choices the characters in social situations can make.”

Holler continued, “The teaching tips included in The Social Express Guide are one of the best things for me. I’ve learned how to reinforce the social lessons when my daughters and I are out and about. As a mom of special needs children, I just try to use every resource I can. Especially one that helps me teach and reinforce the skills we are working with the children on in school and therapy sessions.”

Holler finds that The Social Express works equally well for both her higher functioning children with autism and her lower functioning daughter.

This Social Skills App is a Good Investment

Holler considers the program to be one of the best tools that she’s found because it’s helpful and informative. Holler said, “I highly recommend it to other parents of children with special needs. It helps me a lot. I consider The Social Express a worthwhile investment because it hits on all of the major social skills goals we have for our children. That includes learning social cues, pragmatic skills, non-verbal skills, and inferencing.”

About Brighten Learning, Inc.

Brighten Learning, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California. The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social learning software. The company’s mission is to help children with ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s to improve their lives by teaching social skills using video modeling. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Social Learning Software Startup Presents at ISTE 2012 in San Diego

Social-Learning-Software-Presents-ISTE12We are excited to be sharing our social learning software program at next week’s ISTE conference with tech educators coming in from all over the planet.

It’s the 33rd annual ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference and exposition June 24-27 in San Diego. That’s right here in our home town of San Diego.

Here is our news release. If you’re attending ISTE12 next week, stop by our booth (5226) and say hello!

Social Learning Software Startup Presents at ISTE 2012 in San Diego

Brighten Learning to share new interactive social skills development program with educators.

 

Brighten Learning, a developer of interactive social learning software, will demonstrate its new social learning app, The Social Express™ at the 33rd annual ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference and exposition June 24-27 in San Diego.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for students between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation, socially valid dialog, and original characters that students find engaging. Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments that assist educators to reinforce social skills learning.

According to President Jon Cornick, “Brighten Learning team is excited to meet and share ideas with the tech savvy educators that are coming from across the globe to participate in ISTE!”

“Brighten Learning will show educators how easy it is to use our social learning software program, project it on a classroom whiteboard, and pause the program when needed. The pause feature makes it easy for educators to discuss the social situation choices available to the characters in each scene of The Social Express,” Cornick added.

Educators in a wide variety of environments and populations use The Social Express. Students enjoy and request the program because of its realistic social dialog, Hollywood-quality animation, and interactive components.

Based on feedback from educators, The Social Express works equally well for students with a wide variety of levels of social skill deficits. Students with autism, Asperger’s, ADHD as well as more typical children experiencing social learning challenges will benefit from interacting with the program in a classroom environment.

The company’s ISTE12 booth (#5226) will provide iPads with demonstration versions of The Social Express social learning software app.

About Brighten Learning, Inc.

Brighten Learning, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California. The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social learning software. The company’s mission is to help children with ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s to improve their lives by teaching social skills using video modeling. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

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