Executive+Functioning+and+Web+2.0

Executive Functioning Overview
As a teacher, I feel that there is always that fine line between wondering if a student is simply lazy and choosing to do as little as they can to get by or if in fact, they have memory retention issues. I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve heard students talk about remembering information just long enough to take the test. On the other hand, I think that knowing more about ways to help students with retention issues will ultimately help all students to be more engaged learners.

According to Glenda Thorne, head of the [|Center for Development and Learning in Lousiana],“In order for information to be encoded into memory, it must first be attended to. Thus children who have deficits in attention often have trouble with this first memory process.” She goes on to talk about how this often makes them reluctant to engage in tasks that require “sustained mental effort” and that they may only engage at a superficial level causing problems such as an inability to activate prior knowledge, remember directions or what they just read, or recalling what was just taught by the teacher during class.

[|The National Center for Learning Disabilities]states that many people with LD “struggle with executive function [a set of mental processes that helps connect past experience with present action], which can make activities like planning, organizing, strategizing, remembering details and managing time and space difficult.” Fortunately, the integration of technology into the classroom has been greatly beneficial for students with an EF disability.

Assistive technology that enables students with an EF disability to be more pro-active in their own learning is readily available as apps on iPads and smartphones. These include:

1. Graphic organizers and templates for data collection and organizing information. A simple online web-based calendar can act as a "dock" for a students academic life. Even something like Google Calendar can give the EF child an immediate location to write down assignments and project dates. It can also function as a "big picture" secretary, showing a week or a month view so students can see long-term assignments. This makes the planning steps easier and more accessible, both big helps for the EF student.

2. Embedded prompts for categorizing and systematizing. A system like Diigo allows students to bookmark webpages on the fly. Instead of missing the main point of a website in class, a student could bookmark it through Diigo so they could reference it later at home or in study hall. Any ability to categorize information in class will give the EF student a better chance at retaining that information.

3. Checklists and guides for note-taking. There are many programs and apps that help organize note-taking by setting up a standard flow or system. One of these apps is Evernote. Evernote has an easy tier based note system that does much of of the executive functioning for you. First off it helps manage the time and space for you. Dates and times are already connected to everything you write which is a common problem when looking through the notebook of a student who struggles with EF. Evernote also creates notes under easy headlines so that notes can be sorted by key words. This gives the student the ability to search and jump right to a note that mentions the word(s) they were searching for.

In addition to these working memory supports, students can also use assistive technology as organizing supports and for metacognition to see how they are doing. ([|kooltools])

In my own classroom, I’ve seen an increased use in applications such as MyHomework, Evernote, Notability, and the use of screenshots when taking notes off the board. While I am still conflicted that the use of screenshots can be an “easy out” for students, I will say that I mostly only saw it being used when time was running out and therefore believe that these types of assistive technology can be beneficial to all students in regards to accessibility.

Executive Functioning and Audio Podcasting
The [|Autism Consortium]also describes executive functioning as the "how of knowledge." The Consortium suggest that the following four areas are the priority for addressing executive functioning deficits: shifting cognitive set, inhibition, working memory and planning. [|Autism Speaks] lists planning, sequencing, and self-regulation as main deficit areas in executive functioning. Both sites recommend visual supports and strategies as the way to assist those with executive functioning deficits.

Podcasting presents a challenge to those with executive functioning deficits, because it requires the ability to sustain auditory attention, process the spoken information, and retain the information heard, which is a relative weakness for most with poor executive functioning skills. Ways to overcome this barrier include providing a transcript of the audio podcast for the listener to follow along with, ability to pause audio to allow time for note taking and processing, allowing subscription to the podcast for repeated listening on a computer or mobile device. [|WebAIM] lists Guideline 1.1 for web accessibility as "Text Alternatives: Provide text alternatives for any non-text content." If a podcast is required as an educational activity, the instructor could provide a guided note taking page, so the student is filling in the blank to gather information, rather than requiring them to pick out the important details in the podcast.

Executive Functioning and Video Podcasting
Conversely, video podcasting has the potential to be a significant support for those with executive functioning deficits. Video modeling has been recognized as a strategy for teaching task sequences and target behaviors modeled for the student for frequent viewing. [|Florida Gulf Coast University] lists video modeling as a strategy for teaching social skills to students on the autism spectrum. Research has shown that video modeling is equally effective when the viewer is watching a cartoon, a peer model, or themselves performing the desired task or behavior. Please see brief from the [|NPDC on Autism Spectrum Disorders] for links to specific research studies.

Posting a video model podcast on a educational blog or website, with a subscription link, would allow the student access to the video at home, at school, or virtually anywhere, if loaded on a mobile device.