5 Innovative Tools for Aided Education
Classrooms and How They Support
Soft Skill Development

The Best Tools for Exceptional Student Services

Investing in social, emotional and mental health can reduce challenges facing students regardless of their disabilities.

Assistive technology and programs are a great way to make such investments and foster inclusive environments. Here's where you can find some of the most innovative tools for aided education classrooms.

1. Enabling Devices

Enabling devices provides a range of products for people with functional needs. Parents, teachers and therapists often use a variety of these devices to make learning and play more fulfilling. You can find almost anything from augmentative and alternative communication devices to specially designed toys. Here are some products for assistive education:

Sensory wall panels: Sensory wall panels utilize visual, tactile and auditory experiences, from musical fireworks to infinity mirrors and more. They can increase students' awareness and help them work on their concentration.
Weighted blankets: Weighted blankets are another adaptive product for autism geared toward improving sensory integration. Putting the blanket on a student's lap or covering their body with it is calming, making it ideal for those with sensory processing disorders.
Talkables: Talkables offer a simple mode of communication that can help put educators and students on the same page. You can record up to 48 messages that learners can later listen to by pressing a button.
Ball end wobble switch: This tool is an adaptive switch that can be programmed to turn on lights and activate appliances. It gives wheelchair users and other people with movement-limiting disabilities confidence and independence.

2. Fun and Function

Fun and Function supplies kid-friendly sensory tools to improve the lives of those with functional needs. The owners are both pediatric therapists and educators who design their own products and understand the importance of empowering children's growth and development. Here are several products for the classroom:

Break boxes: Students may lose focus in the middle of the learning day. Encourage them to take a break with these boxes filled with sensory tools that focus concentration and improve fine motor skills.
Raindrop swings: Swings can be a therapeutic fixture. Kids can climb in and bounce or sway while compressed, self-regulating their emotions when they feel overstimulated in the classroom.
Bubble tubes: If a student is understimulated, consider bringing them into a sensory area. Bubble tubes are great for providing vibration, color and lighting. It's designed to support kids with ADHD or sensory integration disorders.
Peanut balls: Peanut balls are a different take on the classic therapy ball, providing more of a curved saddle seat with an elongated base. Kids can take different seated positions or lie down without worrying about losing balance.

3. Kahoot

Kahoot is a learning and engagement platform that makes learning sessions more appealing by introducing different games. Sessions can be held on various devices with an educator leading the way. Aside from using Kahoot's unique, easy-to-play games, you can also integrate interactive quizzes and challenges to test students' knowledge.

4. Magic School AI

Magic School AI is a hub of different AI tools that teachers can use to prep and plan lessons. With more than 80 tools, Magic School AI can save teachers valuable time by assisting them in lesson planning, writing assessments, communicating with students, building instructional materials and more.

5. MindMeister

MindMeister is a mind-mapping tool that can empower educators and students to visually organize their thoughts and ideas. It can be particularly useful for those with learning differences that pick up information better when there's visual representation. Utilize it for brainstorming, lesson planning and other stages of the teaching process.

What Soft Skills Are Important to Work On?

Innovative tools for aided educational classrooms are ideal when developing different soft skills. However, it helps to know what skills should get the most attention. Here are some of the most important soft skills to work on and why.

Communication

Specific learning difficulties can make conversational awareness more challenging. Thankfully, schools can incorporate adaptive learning tools and programs to improve communication skills.

For instance, reading and listening help students receive and process information, while speaking and writing help with understandably conveying thoughts, allowing people with functional needs to better express themselves. Reading body language and other non-verbal cues can also help in select situations, especially social ones.

Communication boards and apps are best for developing communication-based soft skills. Students can use recorded messages in a device as a reference for what they want to say. You can also seek speech-to-text software or writing assistants to improve students' communication.

Patience and Empathy

Students should learn how to extend their patience and empathy within the classroom and throughout life. It's an important emotional and social skill that can help students establish deeper connections with friends, classmates, family members and anyone else they encounter.

Educators can use assistive tools to communicate the importance of patience and empathy to students.

Time Management

It can be easy to lose track of time. Kids with learning differences are privy to such experiences when they're overwhelmed by their amount of school work. Time management skills — such as breaking down tasks into smaller steps — are paramount to student growth and future success.

You can encourage kids to use different communication tools to signal that they need help with creating timelines. Visual timers — whether physical or digital — can also improve overall time awareness and help students stick to their schedules.

Adaptability

Developing students' adaptability can ensure they feel comfortable and confident in a variety of situations. People with functional needs and other learning differences may already experience pressure to adjust to the curriculum that all learners are expected to undergo.

Adaptability goes beyond what happens in school. Employers typically gravitate to people who can adjust to fast-paced and ever-changing workplaces. Life will also be full of personal changes or challenges that require flexibility to navigate and overcome.

One way to exercise students' adaptability is to introduce more interactive learning. Educational games can introduce new concepts and lessons, inviting students to adapt to new ideas. The competitive dynamics involved in educational games can also make learning more fun and engaging.

Emotional Regulation

People with learning disabilities may struggle with many emotions when in the classroom, from fear or shame to emotional sensitivity. Introducing tools to calm them down can help them come to terms with their thoughts and feelings.

When people improve their emotion regulation, it becomes easier for them to recognize why they may be feeling this way and what would help them feel better. Emotional regulation ties into their communication and adaptability skills.

Some innovative tools for aided education classrooms that can help improve emotional regulations are sensory items like weighted blankets and calming corners. Fidget toys can also offer tactile stimulation to minimize restlessness.

Teamwork

Students will come across all sorts of different people with different personalities in their lives. It's important to build strong teamwork skills that can teach them how to collaborate and work toward a shared goal. These skills also teach them to respect their peers.

There are layers to developing teamwork. For instance, building relationships and trust is important to create a sense of unity and support with one another. There's also conflict management, which focuses more on solving disputes and other disruptors.

Mind mapping is one activity that can spark collaboration. Have your students discuss a topic and create different branches of thought around it. The discussion will spark critical thinking and group communication.

How to Implement Classroom Tools Effectively

Innovative tools for aided education classrooms only yield results when you execute thoughtful decision-making and implementation. Consider these factors when integrating them into the curriculum.

Individualization	Many tools and programs are designed for a specific purpose, making them more suitable for some students than others. Confirm what tools or programs would bring you closer to your teaching goals and best serve your students. Assess who your students are to narrow down what they actually need. For example, if you are mentoring kids with autism, sensory integration tools will likely be more impactful compared to mobility-assisting devices.
Collaboration	Soft skill development requires long-term work. While educators can offer plenty of knowledge and assistance, individuals with learning differences will only learn when they are working in collaboration with you. You can also request extra assistance from other parts of a student's support system. Parents and professionals — such as speech therapists or counselors — can give you insight into a student's growth opportunities and needs.
Environment	Create a supportive classroom environment by practicing positive reinforcement. As a teacher, you have a responsibility to maintain inclusivity and acceptance. Establish rules that will make everyone feel safe. You can also promote, encourage and reward positive social interactions.
Instructions	Some educational tools may feel foreign to students with functional needs, especially if they are younger and coming across these fixtures for the first time. When introducing new tools or programs into the classroom, share information with your students about what the tools are and how to use them. For example, communicators can help people play messages. Outline what kind of message recordings are available for students to play and let them know when they can use those models. Indulge their questions and offer clarity.
Structure	Create a structured routine when using these tools and programs. Organized routines can calm students and reduce meltdowns. Keep in mind that the ideal structured routine will be different for everyone. People with sensory processing disorders may require more breaks compared to people with other functional needs.
Feedback and reflection	Constructive feedback can allow students to reflect on their behavior within the classroom and discover different areas where they can improve. You can provide your evaluation or ask students to assess themselves. Once you collect that information, it's time to discuss progress and set goals. Remember to approach these discussions with empathy and care — the goal is to work together rather than against one another and you can empower students to take ownership of their own growth and goalposts.

Why Soft Skills Matter for Students with Functional Needs

Soft skills allow all students to better navigate relationships and other dynamics throughout life. However, they can have added benefits for those with disabilities and learning differences. These benefits include:

Academic success: Having stronger soft skills can help enhance learning outcomes. For example, emotional regulation can empower students to control their feelings while managing academic responsibilities.
Social and emotional growth: People with functional needs may feel a lack of independence. However, using innovative tools for aided education classrooms and developing soft skills can build self-confidence.
Future readiness: Developing and nurturing soft skills is about more than just building resilience for the present. It also prepares students for future aspects of life like employment and independent living.

Mitigating Challenges

Introducing innovative tools for aided education classrooms can have several drawbacks at first. Some students may resist these devices and programs because they are new to them. However, this reaction may be due to fear and misconceptions. Teachers must showcase how helpful these new tools can actually be for people with functional needs and be willing to be adaptable themselves when introducing assistive tools and programs into the classroom.

Another factor to consider is the required costs and resources. Some schools may face budget limitations that make integrating new devices into their curriculum challenging. Gradual integration is often the best approach, as you can still make the learning environment more inclusive at your own pace.

Empower Soft Skills Within All Classrooms

Embracing these tools and strategies can help students with functional needs develop important soft skills. The moves you make within the classroom can make an impact on your students' academic journeys and futures.

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5 Innovative Tools for Aided Education Classrooms and How They Support Soft Skill Development