Using Tech Tools to Promote SEL

Every Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. I announce, “Namaste, Long Branch Public Schools! It’s Miss Amy!” as part of my weekly “Wellness Wednesday Zoom” show. Students in all grades, along with district staff, tune in to 20 minutes of community and connection. Each month I choose a theme that connects to current academic content, along with a mudra (yoga hand gesture) and a variety of yoga activities, video clips, meditations, and other mental health exercises.

As a wellness coach, I integrate technology platforms into the weekly lessons I teach. Through these tech applications, the CASEL social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making become more accessible and inclusive.

Integrating these technology platforms with wellness creates mindful moments at the click of a button. These activities foster creativity and communication specifically for self-awareness and self-management.

Tech Tools to Promote SEL

Mote: Mote is an audio player with a built-in translator and transcription feature. My students use Mote to record affirmations and meditations for brain breaks. Mote gives the students the opportunity to use their voice to record, or they can click “Generate” and choose the digital voice.

Adobe: Adobe is a creative and collaborative tool for teachers and students. My students have used the “voice animator” tool to pick a character and background and then record their voice to match their design. Adobe syncs their voice to the animation, and you can have single or multiple voices for each character. I have used these as lessons to create affirmations and guided meditations. Students have also used the “Generate Image” feature, where they create a picture for a meditation and then import a recorded Mote meditation to create a digital guided meditation.

This is inspired by popular meditation websites such as Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace. These websites have a variety of guided meditations. Some have just music, a guided script, or a combination of both. Calm offers 30 Days of Mindfulness in the Classroom. Headspace offers free access to K–12 educators by signing up with their school e-mail, and Insight Timer has a free database of meditations available to anyone.

For the holiday season, my students designed “Attitude of Gratitude Pumpkins” and “Healthy Elfie Selfies” using the Voice Animator “Mouth Only” option. It makes the Pumpkins and Elves come to life with the student’s voice as a festive SEL activity.

Book Creator: This is a multimodal educational platform where students learn how to use digital tools to create their projects. They learn how to record their voice with the audio feature, record videos, use text (whether they type or use the speak to text feature), and add images. It also has the Google Translate feature, making it accessible in any language.

I have created templates for students to design their own virtual vision boards and to create movement and meditation videos, guided meditations, digital coloring pages, and more. My favorite feature is the digital art tools. I upload coloring pages as PDF files, and my students are able to digitally color to calm. Coloring is a soothing technique to regulate the nervous system. This can activate the parasympathetic nervous system for relaxation. 

I have used this as a tool for the annual “March Madness Mindfulness Challenge.” The goal of this project is to connect wellness with the CASEL SEL competencies in a friendly competition within the district, inspired by the annual NCAA March Madness tournament. The 200-point activities focused on self-awareness and self-management. This included designing a basketball jersey, sneakers, and a team mascot with an affirmation. There were also LeBron James and Kobe Bryant coloring pages from Monday Mandala.

The 600-point activities focused on social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. This included an “Around the World” trashketball game (writing down any negative thoughts/feelings) and throwing them away; using STEM to design a basketball hoop tower and ball with recycled materials; and creating a “Winning Wellness Game Plan” for achieving one’s goals with an affirmation, goal, and self-care tool. Students also gained points by recording LeBron James’s “I Promise” poem or Kobe Bryant’s “Dear Basketball” as a guided meditation. Students also listened to James’s guided meditations on Calm. Book Creator made this cross-curricular-content SEL activity a huge success.

Wakelet: Wakelet is a free website where students and educators can curate and organize information. Wakelet collections are a great tool for creating a hub of favorite online wellness videos, audio mediation links, or pictures, or even adding your Mote and Book Creator projects.

I made a Wakelet page of the collection of “Peace” videos where I use Edpuzzle to make interactive video lessons for the staff to easily use. The Wakelet page makes it an accessible library with the following categories: Breathing Techniques, Meditations, Yoga Movement, and heARTwork Mindfulness (arts and craft activities). I’ve made a Canva landing page link (connected to a QR code that is posted in faculty rooms) with a monthly Edpuzzle Peace Video, Mote-itation, Wave Wellness Wisdom Quote, and Daily Wellness YouTube video to make wellness accessible on the go.

I have created weekly Wellness Wakelets for the March Madness Mindfulness Challenge. There is a new SEL challenge each week, and teachers remix my Book Creator template and share it with their students. When the students are finished, the teacher uploads the Book Creator link to the Wakelet.

I have created Wakelets for vision boards. Vision boards are a creative tool for achieving goals. Students put pictures of their vision, inspirational quotes, and affirmations, and they can even add audio or video. Students can create their virtual vision boards using Book Creator, Google Slides, Canva, and Adobe. They can also make a tangible vision board using magazines, newspapers, and pictures. Teachers can take pictures of the vision boards or upload the file to the Wakelet.

I also have a Wakelet of Mote-itations. Students have recorded their own meditations using Mote. I use the Mote link and upload it to the Wakelet. I have recorded meditation flash cards using Mote and added them to a Wakelet. I made a poster on Canva and included the QR code to share the image districtwide.

All of these tech tools can be accessed from a smartphone, tablet, or computer. They help make mindfulness and yoga more fun for children to develop strength, flexibility, and balance, both physically and mentally. The brain is the most powerful organ in the body. When the brain can rest, students can do their best. Students can use these tech tools as a brain break during the school day, before a sporting event, or for homework help. These tools help students to disconnect from stress and reconnect to themselves. Like technology, humans need to recharge their own batteries so they can reach their full potential.