In my three years of teaching I have encountered many students who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I have researched how to best accommodate my students with ADHD, but I would like to be more deliberate in the types of assistive technology I use. I would like to explore ADHD further and discover how I can best support my students. Kuntsi, McLoughlin and Asherson(2006) define ADHD as, “a behavioral diagnosis based on the presence of developmentally inappropriate levels of impulsivity, overactivity, and inattentiveness” (p. 461). Kuntsi, McLoughlin and Asherson (2006) estimated that 3-10% of children have ADHD I have seen even larger percentages reflected in my own classroom.
In searching for an assistive technology that would best serve the needs of a student with ADHD, I found Flocabulary. Flocabulary was not specifically created for students with ADHD, but its engaging and interactive platform would meet the needs of many students that struggle with maintaining attention. Flocabulary boasts that they present academic content in a high-engaging, contemporary format. They have over 500 videos for all subjects for grades K-12. The hip-hip educational songs bring the lessons to life.
Each flocabulary lesson begins with a video. The video appeals to both students visual and auditory senses. The videos are stimulating and hold attention of the viewer. The videos can be selected by topic, Common Core Standard, grade level or popular events for each month. Selected videos can be saved to a favorite category so they can easily be revisited or saved by teacher for student. The videos are relatively short in length. Most elementary videos are around 3 minutes and upper grades are around 5 minutes long. Since maintaing attention and sitting still for a prolonged period of time is often difficult for a child with ADHD the video length is accommodating to their needs.
Once the students have viewed the video they will answer a set of challenge questions. Once the students click next, they are immediately given the answer to the question which is beneficial for a child with ADHD. Following the challenge questions students are prompted into an interactive lyrics page. On this page students can see the lyrics in print and also listen to the music. This allows for students who might be distracted by the visual stimulation to just focus on either the reading or listening. It is accommodating to the students that might be distracted by over stimulation.
After the students use the interactive vocabulary, they are invited to use a fill in the blank activity. The students can re-listen to the song to decide which word should go there or recall the key terms on their own. When the students are done they can write their own rhymes on the topic. Flocabulary will let the students choose from a variety of beats. The students are interacting with the material in a variety of mediums so they are able to maintain their attention. Each video also have exertions with include graphic organizers, lesson ideas and games to support instruction.
This Common Core based site allows content to come to life in an engaging manner. This is not a site students would spend hours on and is more in tune with the needs of a learner with ADHD. Using this multi sensory approach to learning through music promotes memorization as well as recall. I will definitely be trying this in my own classroom.
I was able to use Screencast-O-Matic for my first time to address the problem of practice using Flocabulary HERE!
Resources:
Kuntsi, J., McLoughlin, G., & Asherson, P. (n.d.). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. NeuroMolecular Medicine, 8(4), 461-484. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from http://link.springer.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/article/10.1385/NMM:8:4:461
Songs & Videos. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from https://www.flocabulary.com/subjects/
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