Special needs · Dyspraxia (DCD)
Online lessons that don’t depend on a steady hand
Pencil Spaces helps students with dyspraxia (DCD) take part with less fine-motor effort, through keyboard shortcuts, typed answers and worksheets that stay put.
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Area
Cognition and learning
Who it helps
Students with dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder, tutors, schools and families
What lessons need
Fewer fine-motor demands, a clear layout, help with organization, time, movement breaks
In Pencil Spaces
8 features available today
Part of
What do students with dyspraxia need from an online lesson?
Dyspraxia, also called developmental coordination disorder or DCD, affects coordination and the planning of movement. Many students also find organization and keeping their place hard. Online lessons help when precise clicking, dragging and copying matter less.
- Less precise clickingKeyboard Shortcuts · AvailableMore than 30 keyboard shortcuts cover tools, cursors and locking items, so less depends on precise mouse control.
- Hands at work, in viewDocument Camera · AvailablePoint a document camera or phone at the desk, and you see cutting, threading or writing as it happens.
- Materials that stay putLock Items · AvailableA locked worksheet doesn’t slide away when a student writes on it, so nothing has to be chased around the board.
- Never lost on the boardLead & Follow · AvailableEveryone’s screen follows the teacher’s view, so nobody gets lost on another part of the board.
- Typed answers countText · AvailableTyped text goes anywhere on the board and stays editable, so nobody has to handwrite to take part.
- Undo without fearUndo & Redo · AvailableAny change can be reversed with a click, so a slip never wipes out work.
- Whatever input suits themPen & Touch · AvailableSome students find a stylus or finger easier than a mouse. Others prefer the keyboard. Pencil Spaces takes all of them.
- Big tools, fewer choicesChild Mode · AvailableChild Mode cuts the toolbar to five tools and keeps the screen clean, for students of any age.
Why can online lessons be hard for students with dyspraxia?
Online lessons quietly add motor tasks: dragging, drawing with a mouse, scrolling to find the right part of the board. For a student with dyspraxia, each one is effort taken away from learning.
Getting organized is harder too. Finding the link, the right file and the right place on the board can use up the start of every lesson.
What does a lesson look like in Pencil Spaces?
The student opens the same link as every week, and the lesson is already there. The tutor locks the worksheet so it can’t slide away.
When she moves to the next part of the board, Lead & Follow brings the student’s view along. The student types answers and uses undo freely.
How do therapists use Pencil Spaces with students with dyspraxia?
Occupational therapists work on fine motor skills, coordination and motor planning online. With a document camera or phone on the desk, the therapist watches cutting, threading and writing and coaches the movement live.
On the board, mazes, tracing paths and copying tasks build visual-motor control, and Undo makes mistakes painless. Persistent Spaces keep each activity ready to repeat, so progress is easy to compare from week to week.
Tips for teaching students with dyspraxia online
- Keep the same routine and layout every lesson, so less needs planning.
- Cut down on dragging and precise drawing, and offer typing or talking instead.
- Teach two or three keyboard shortcuts, such as undo, and use them often.
- Break tasks into short steps and build in movement breaks.
- Check the student’s seating, screen height and device before the lesson.
Good to know
Freehand drawing needs a mouse, touchscreen, stylus or writing pad. Typed text, sticky notes and the Equation Editor are the alternatives for students who find drawing hard.
Questions people ask
Is Pencil Spaces easy to use for students with dyspraxia?
Pencil Spaces cuts the fine-motor work of online lessons. There are more than 30 keyboard shortcuts, and typed text and sticky notes stand in for drawing. Locked worksheets don’t slide away, and Lead & Follow means nobody scrolls to find the teacher.
Do students need a mouse?
No. Pencil Spaces works with a touchscreen, stylus, Wacom pen, mouse or keyboard. Students choose what is easiest for them, and typed answers count as much as handwriting.
How do you stop students losing their place on the board?
Lead & Follow makes every screen follow the teacher’s view. Move & Zoom jumps back to fit everything in view, and the Viewport Indicator shows the teacher what each student can see.
Can the lesson stay the same every week?
Yes. Each Space has a permanent link and keeps every board between lessons. Students come back to the same place, with last week’s work where they left it.
Related needs
- Visual-motor and visual-perceptual difficulties
- Dysgraphia
- Executive function difficulties
- Dyscalculia
- Physical disabilities
- ADHD
- Every special need
Related problems
- Losing their place on the board
- Writing math and diagrams with a mouse
- Getting lost on the way into class
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