6 Ways Educational Technology Supports SEND

Educational technology – or edtech as it is often referred to – offers children with special needs many benefits. In this blog, we look at six ways, in which educational technology supports teaching and learning in the SEND setting. These are:

1. Personalised learning
2. Group learning
3. Independent study
4. Structure
5. Engaging content
6. Content covering the areas of needs in special education

1. Personalised learning

SEND pupils, just like any pupils, learn in different ways and have differing strengths and weaknesses, which means that they can learn at different rates. Educational technology platforms can take this in their stride much more easily than traditional teaching materials.

Busy Things’ vast range of over 1,600 activities can accommodate all types of learners. From traditionally structured games with clear progression to more open-ended experimental activities, there’s a resource for every learning style.

Activities can also be tailored to individual children via their settings. This can mean limiting the activity’s content or simply focusing on a particular element within the content.

2. Group learning

The range of different needs in any SEND classroom can be huge, which can make finding an activity that the whole class can get involved with very tricky.

Busy Things’ activities have huge appeal and are exceptionally motivating to play, making them a favourite for all pupils. They also gradually build in terms of difficulty, so there’s the opportunity for everyone to take part at a level appropriate to them.

3. Independent study

Having a special educational need often results in adult intervention. While this can be helpful and necessary in the long term, it can also be frustrating and demotivating for the learner.

Busy Things includes communication tools called blasts, which can remove this barrier to getting started unassisted. Depending on the pupil’s preference, they can receive verbal or written instructions, along with links to the activities, so they can get started themselves. This is fantastic for a busy SEND setting with a limited number of adults!

4. Structure

Children with special educational needs, such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) typically respond positively to routine and structure. While planned lessons can offer this, they can all too often get derailed. Similarly, learning in a traditional classroom setting can be distracting for children who struggle to focus, such as those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Working on Busy Things can limit the distractions at play, especially if teachers set limits for their pupils. Using the padlock device, teachers can ‘lock’ pupils into a particular target activity or a specific section of the platform.

In addition to this, Busy Things’ activities show one question on the screen at a time, so unlike worksheets and textbooks, the focus is clear at all times.

5. Engaging content

Engagement is a key element to effective learning, particularly for children with SEND, who may need additional motivation and support to learn. Education technology excels at providing interactive and engaging learning experiences that capture pupils’ attention and encourages curiosity.

Busy Things’ interactive games and activities make learning enjoyable, motivating and fun, as well as accessible to learners of all abilities. There’s a huge number of activities available and if children find it upsetting to see the academic level they are operating at, the labelling can be hidden easily.

The result: engaged pupils, who actively participate in the learning, and improved learning outcomes.

6. Content focused on the areas of need in special education

The targets set for each area of need in special education mentioned in children’s EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plans) are the principal benchmark against which the children’s progress is measured, so although many schools attempt to cover the National Curriculum, the NC learning objectives are of secondary importance.

Busy Things’ activities cover all four areas of need in special education (‘Cognition and Learning’, ‘Communication and Interaction’, ‘Sensory and/or Physical’, ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health’) and recently added a new section to its Curriculum browser to help our SEND users find suitable activities quickly and easily.

Below is an activity for each area of need to give you a taste of what Busy Things provides:

What our SEND schools say

Busy Things offers a fun and engaged approach to learning that fits perfectly alongside the National Curriculum. It has educational games great for those working at age 3-11 years academic level who need an alternative approach.

Jordan Garratt, ARB, Camelford Primary School, Cornwall

Our pupils with ASD love it! We bought Busy Things to support learning and increase engagement of students on interactive whiteboards. It’s brilliant! It supports lessons well and we often use it as a starter or a reward after finishing a task. At the moment, we are looking at habitat and the mapping/rainforest material is awesome.

Steven Crawford, Currimundi Special School, Australia

Summary

We hope this blog post has outlined the benefits of educational technology for SEND learners, and in particular Busy Things’ strengths.

For more detail, please click here for our SEND page.

If you would like to see the activities and tools that Busy Things includes for yourself, please take a free trial here. It will give you 28 days to look around with no commitment to proceed and you can share your login details with your colleagues at school.