Thriving School Psych Thriving Students

Go On, Win Yerself Something Purdy.

I love getting emails from readers, especially when they offer something pretty for my readers. I tend to not pimp out things to buy on my blog, unless it is shamelessly something I wrote, of course. But in this case, you get something freeeeeeeeee and who doesn’t like free? You guys don’t have to pay $29.99, I give it to you for FREE99.

Enough hooplah. Enter my contest and win an app for tracking behavior during classroom observations! Some momtrepreneurs/school psychs in my home state of Colorado developed this app and wanted to share it with all y’all:
The Behavior Lens app. The app has four observation types: Interval Recording, Duration, Frequency, and ABC. The look and design is very sleek and sophisticated, yet extremely intuitive and easy to use. The best part is that it automatically generates graphs from your data which can be easily shared with parents and teachers through email or attaching them to documents.

Now, of course you have to be fancy and have an iPad to use it. I am still sans iPad, and I do think people kind of rub it in my face when their emails end with “Sent from my iPad,” but who am I not to share the iPad app love?

So how do you enter the contest? You can enter in one of three ways (or all three!)

1) Write a comment at the end of the post telling a story about the craziest or most inspiring thing you have ever observed in a classroom (don’t use names or identifying info, please!)

2) Pick your favorite post on NFtSP about behavior and share it on Facey Face or Twitter. Use the button at the end of the post. Be sure to tag @Notes from the School Psychologist Blog (Facebook) or @studentsgrow (Twitter) so I will be able to see who re-posted it.

3) If you aren’t already a fan of the blog on Facey Face or Twitter, sign up and then return here and post a comment that you are signed up.

I will then put your names in a numbered list and use a random number generator to pick the winner. I will announce the winner of the app on the blog. The app is valued at $29.99 so go forth and enter! Or…is it actually priceless because you get to show a fancy graph on your iPad at IEP meetings? So jealous.

Sharing is caring!

Comments on Go On, Win Yerself Something Purdy.

  1. Kristen says:

    The most inspiring thing I have ever observed is a 3 year old boy who has had more surgeries and medical procedures than I could ever imagine having. He has a shunt in his brain, a feeding tube,is in a wheelchair,and has a variety of serious medical conditions. Despite all of this, he is one of the happiest and positive little boys I know. He is in the pre-k program at my school and knows all of the names of his teachers and classmates. He always greets eveyone by name and always has a smile on his face. This little boy has progressed so much in the time that I have known him and is wise beyond his years. It is children like him that inspire me : )

  2. Heidi Alicia says:

    I became your (biggest) fan on facebook!!! Thanks for all your inspiration and insights! 🙂

    -Heidi

  3. Kasandra Aristizabal says:

    i am now an official faceyface fan!

  4. The craziest behavior I've seen is a student, from the "quiet space, said, "I'm ready to come out Mrs. F$&?!ing B$&?!"

    I'm already a facey face fan.

  5. seblazar says:

    School psych practicum student here! I have a knack for walking in on "good days" haha but once I observed a little guy in a pre-k program climb a bookshelf and beat his chest while standing at the top.

  6. The most inspiring thing that has happened to me so far this school year was witnessing a special education 3rd grader at our program. She stole the show!! Between songs, during the speaking parts, she went to the side to take a break, but she was ready to go as soon as she heard the music! She knew the dance moves and rocked them like she was performing with a superstar! When the rest of the 3rd graders watched their performance at their "Cast Party," they were so supportive and encouraging towards her! They're growing into such wonderful human beings! 🙂

  7. Lauren says:

    I'm now a fan on twitter! I'm only a prac student, but the best thing I've seen so far is a 3rd grader telling me "okay, this is the part I want you to write down…" before all her answers during an assessment. How do they get so observant?

  8. Terri says:

    I have an inspiring one! There was a student I tested when she was in Preschool. She didn't walk (used a stroller), was deaf, nonverbal, and had vision problems. The parents were told that she would be in a practical vegetative state for her life. I observed her in Kindergarten (her third year with us), walking to an assembly with her walker. Her interpreter was sitting on the floor in front of her… well, interpreting! This girl was responding back with ASL and laughing at appropriate times. It was such a wonderful sight to see!

  9. Just started following on Twitter!

  10. Diana W. says:

    I recently did a classroom observation as part of a triennial assessment for a student with reading difficulties. He volunteered to read aloud and did an AWESOME job, and one of his peers patted him on the back afterward.

  11. Diane says:

    The following occurred all in one day…in a rich, white, Jewish suburb in Illinois…
    * A 3rd grade student, M, with Asperger's begged me to buy him a puppy. He promised he would behave. He pleaded with me to set up a behavior plan so that he could earn a puppy from the school. I told him sorry pal, talk to your parents.
    * I was called into the intensive resource room for support, and saw that all students had been evacuated, except for S, who was screaming and throwing pieces of a board game across the room. Furniture was flipped over and the room was a mess. He was yelling, "I HATE LAUGHING! YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT ME!"
    * After getting S calm and started on cleaning up the classroom, a TA came in and announced, "M just peed on the floor." I went to the bathroom and asked him, "M, why did you pee on the floor?" He looked at me and said, "Because you won't buy me a puppy." "Well, now you don't have a puppy AND you have to clean the floor. So how'd that work out for ya?"

    …just another day in the life…

  12. EAH says:

    Looking forward to hearing about pros and cons about BehaviorLens. would love to try the app but hate to spend 30 if it is buggy or less useful then paper and pen. Craziest stuff I see are the classroom management techniques or lack there of that I see when I observe students.

  13. Rebecca, I am so glad to "Like" you on facebook, maybe it will help my friends and family really understand what I actually do on a day to day basis. During classroom observations I have seen a lot of crazy stuff, but I am most inspired by teachers who go into their class every day and find new positive ways to deal with challenging behaviors. It is wonderful to see teachers who are able to take the insults, slights, and occasional hits as part of the student's learning process.

  14. Jenny says:

    We rarely see what we're wanting to see in observations, but I did have one that could not have been more perfect for our ASD eval. Lots of social quirks and sensory issues. At one point he wiggled his way beneath a bean bag chair two students were sitting on! He was reprimanded for this and responded by throwing his desk and yelling / pacing at the back of the room. The teacher said, "I'll call someone to help." I said, "Wait… What do you think I do here!?"

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