How to use Handy ABA Tools

Tool index

All tools work in guest mode. In guest mode, the app saves no data. If you set a tool to On for a learner, the app saves the responses of that learner automatically.

Learner activities

Give these tools to the learner during sessions.

Naming & recognitionFlashcardsNaming pictures (tacts) in discrete trials

LanguagePronouns PracticePronouns: select the picture, or find and read the written word

ListeningFind ItListener responding: the learner hears a word and taps the picture

ListeningWhich One?Listener responding by function, feature, and class

MatchingMatch ItVisual matching to sample

MatchingSort ItSorting pictures by class, function, or feature

ListeningPut ItFollowing instructions with in, on, under, next to, and in front of

SocialFeel ItReading feelings in social situations: how a person feels, why, and what to say

MathCount & CompareEarly math: numerals 1–5, counting, matching numbers to amounts, more and less, and size

ReadingWord MatchEarly reading: matching printed words to pictures, and letters

WritingTrace ItPre-writing and handwriting: tracing lines, shapes, letters, and numbers

CommunicationMy WayA functional request (mand), for example in FCT

CommunicationSay ItA talker (AAC) for requests and first sentences, with every press counted

Daily routinesToothbrushingA 9-step toothbrushing chain (task analysis)

Daily routinesTiny BitesBite shaping for food selectivity, with a choice board

MotivationToken BoardA token economy: a themed token board or a gem jar, with a picture menu of how to earn

For BCBAs & adults

Tools for probes, observation, and assessments. You operate these tools yourself.

ObservationObserveInterval recording of play, social behavior, and group skills

DataProbe DayCold probes, mastery by probe, and maintenance across every trial tool

AssessmentMilestones TrackerScoring and graphing 170 milestones across 16 domains

AssessmentBarriers ChecklistScoring 24 learning barriers from 0 to 4

AssessmentTransition ReadinessScoring 18 transition areas, with tool data alongside

Learner profiles: the full procedure

A learner profile keeps responses, assessment scores, and dates. The profile has a generated name and a learner ID. A generated name does not make these records anonymous.

Part 1 · Create a learner BCBA, one time for each learner

1. 1

   Open the learner menu

   On the home page, tap Select learner.

   You can also tap Select learner at the top of the sidebar, or the learner button in an activity.

   

2. 2

   Select “Create a new learner”

   If you have a code from a BCBA, go to Part 3.

   The first time, the menu opens on Enter a learner code.

   1. Tap Back to see the options.
   2. Tap Create a new learner.

   

3. 3

   Select a generated name

   1. Tap Shuffle name until you see a name that you like.
   2. Tap the box I am an adult. Create works only after you tap the box. Handy ABA Tools is not for real names or protected health information (PHI), and it is not HIPAA compliant.
   3. Tap Create Blue Otter. The button shows the generated name.
   4. In your own records, write the real learner next to the generated name. Do not write real names in Handy ABA Tools.

   

4. 4

   Save the code

   Handy ABA Tools shows the code, the join link, and the QR code of the new learner. You can open this screen again at any time from Share. You do not have to copy the code at this time.

   Tap Select the tools for Blue Otter.

   

Part 2 · Select the tools BCBA

1. 1

   Add the tools in the program

   The new dashboard lists all tools under Select the tools for Blue Otter, in groups by skill area. Each row tells what the tool saves.

   1. Tap Add only for the tools that this learner works on. The list stays on the screen. Each tool that you add shows On. To remove a tool that you added, tap Remove.
   2. When you have all the tools, tap Done at the bottom of the screen.

   

2. 2

   Each tool that is on gets a card

   Each tool that is on shows as a picture card under Start a tool on the dashboard. When the learner is selected, the cards also show at the top of the home page.

   To start a tool, tap its card. The sessions of the tool then show under Sessions, below the cards.

   To change the tools or their options later:

   1. Tap Settings at the top of the dashboard.
   2. To add a tool, tap Add next to it in Add a tool.
   3. To change a tool, tap it in Tools that are On. Then tap a level card. The other settings are in More settings.

   The app saves these presets for this learner on all devices automatically.

   

Part 3 · Share with the team BCBA shares, BT adds

1. 1

   Open Share

   On the dashboard, tap Settings, then tap Share code. You can also tap Share next to the learner in the learner menu.

   Give the code to the BT in one of these three ways:

   • QR code: the BT scans the QR code with the camera of the tablet.
   • Join link: tap Copy link. Then send the link privately to the BT.
   • Code: read the code aloud or write it on paper. The app accepts letters and numbers that look alike (I and 1, O and 0) as the same character.

   

2. 2

   On the device of the BT, open the link or scan the QR code

   The join page shows the name of the learner and asks to add the learner.

   Tap Add Blue Otter. The dashboard of the learner opens, and the learner is selected.

   

3. 3

   Alternative: type the code

   1. Open the learner menu.
   2. Tap Add with a code.
   3. Type the 12 characters. Dashes and spaces are optional.
   4. Tap Add learner.

   

Part 4 · Record a session BT, each session

1. 1

   Select the learner

   1. Tap the learner button in the sidebar or in the activity bar.
   2. Tap the name of the learner. The app highlights the selected name.

   When a learner is selected, the button shows Change · Sign out. To change to a different learner, tap the other name. To go back to guest mode, tap Sign out. The learner stays on this device.

   

   Each browser tab keeps its own selected learner. You can use two tabs for two learners at the same time. A new tab starts with the last learner that you selected.

2. 2

   Start the tool and examine the save status

   1. Tap Start on a dashboard card, or open the tool from the sidebar.
   2. If the tool has levels or modes, it opens on a setup screen. Tap a level card.
   3. To change other settings, for example Praise, tap More settings. When it is closed, the row shows the values of these settings.
   4. Tap Play. Play is always at the bottom of the setup screen.
   5. Before the first trial, examine the label next to the learner button.

   The setup screen shows whose settings these are: Settings for Blue Otter, or Guest. Only on this device. The app keeps the last settings of each learner. If items are on the Next time list, tap Next time to see or remove them.

   

   

   

   

3. 3

   Use the tool as usual

   The app saves responses in the background. If the connection stops, the device keeps the responses. The app saves them when the connection is available again. Until then, the label shows a count, for example “3 not saved.” The app does not lose a response or count it two times.

   A session ends when you reset the tool, change the learner, or tap Play on a setup screen. A session also ends after 30 minutes with no activity.

Part 5 · Read the dashboard BCBA and BT

1. 1

   One page: start a tool, then the sessions

   To open the dashboard, tap Dashboard in the sidebar, Open dashboard on the home page, or Dashboard in the learner menu.

   The dashboard is one page. At the top, Start a tool shows a card for each tool that is on, with the setup of the learner. The tools that you used last on this device are first. To start a tool, tap its card. The cards show no statistics.

   Below the cards, Sessions shows a list of all sessions. The newest session is first, and the sessions are in groups by day. Each row shows the time, the tool, the level or mode, and the result, for example 8/10 · 80%.

   

2. 2

   One tool and one session

   To show one tool only, tap the button of the tool above the list. To show all tools again, tap All tools. The device keeps your selection.

   When the list shows one tool, a simple graph is above the list. The graph has one dot for each session, with the oldest session on the left. To open a session, tap its dot.

   

   To see a session, tap its row. The session opens in the list, with its data. To close it, tap the row again. To open the session on its own page, tap Open the full page.

   

3. 3

   A session, trial by trial

   The data of a session has the same layout as the data at the end of a Pronouns Practice round:

   • By target: for each target, the number correct, the number of trials, the percent, and the skips. A Total row is at the bottom.
   • Graph: the percent correct after each trial. A filled dot is a correct trial. A hollow dot is an incorrect trial.
   • Trial by trial: all trials in sequence, with ✓ or ✗. An incorrect trial shows the item that the learner selected, for example Spoon → Cup.

   

   Toothbrushing shows each step in sequence, with the time that the learner did it. My Way shows each press. Observe shows the percent of intervals for each behavior. Then it shows all intervals in a grid.

   

4. 4

   Export the raw data

   Next to Sessions, Export all (CSV) downloads all responses for all tools. The first column is tool. The Settings page also has Export all (CSV).

   When the list shows one tool, Export CSV downloads the data for that tool only. In an open session and on the page of a session, Download CSV saves only that session.

   Each file has these columns: date, time, session, condition, event, target, response, correct, detail. You can open the files in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.

Part 6 · Change the settings of a learner BCBA

1. 1

   Open Settings

   Tap Settings at the top of the dashboard. The Settings page has all changes for the learner: the tools that are on, add a tool, sharing and the code, the name, and remove or delete. On a wide screen, the list on the left goes to each section.

   

2. 2

   Add or remove tools

   To add a tool, tap Add next to it in Add a tool. The tool then shows in Tools that are On and on the dashboard.

   To remove a tool, tap it in Tools that are On, then tap Turn off. The dashboard does not show the tool, and the app stops the save of its data. The app keeps the data. If you add the tool again, the data shows again.

   

3. 3

   Set the presets for each tool

   In Tools that are On, each row shows the presets of the tool, for example Level: 6 pictures, scattered. Tap a tool to change them. Only one tool is open at a time.

   The settings look the same as the setup screen of the tool. Tap a level card to select the level of the learner. The other settings, for example Praise, are in More settings. When this learner is selected, the tool opens with these settings on all devices.

   To use the last choice on the device, select No preset.

   If you change a setting in a tool when the learner is selected, the app also changes the preset of the learner. The next session starts with that setting. In guest mode, each tool uses the last choice on the device.

   

4. 4

   Share, reset the code, rename, or delete

   Use these sections of the Settings page. You can also tap Manage next to the learner in the learner menu.

   • Share code: shows the code, the join link, and the QR code.
   • Reset code: use this if an incorrect person has the code. All other devices and teams that added the learner with the code lose access. To get access again, they must add the new code from Share.
   • Export all (CSV): one file with all sessions of all tools.
   • Rename (in Name): select a new generated name. The progress and the code do not change.
   • Remove from this device: the app removes the learner from this device only. The data of the learner does not change. The other devices do not change.
   • Delete for everyone: the app permanently deletes the learner and all data of the learner on all devices. To confirm, you must type the name.

   

   

Questions