Dide is an online system that offers a complete service to help teachers with the observation, knowledge, and empowerment of aspects of their students’ learning and development.
The objective of the DIDE method is for children to successfully take advantage of their educational stage and for none of them to be excluded due to LEARNING, DEVELOPMENTAL, OR BEHAVIORAL DIFFICULTIES that are not identified in time.
Currently, we have excellent guidance counselors who, together with teachers, tutors, and other specialists (PT, speech therapists, etc.), try to do their best so that minors can maximize their potential.
However, they encounter realities starting with excessive student ratios, “cases escape us” – say the counselors – , continuing because the valid psychological tests have the main function of technical evaluation for diagnosis and treatment and must be carried out by specific professionals. It is not viable for a pedagogue, psychologist, or educational psychologist to administer psychological tests, neither due to time constraints nor the cost of obtaining a general early detection.
Let’s give an approximate practical example of exploring 50 children in the Infant-Primary stage, the most suitable ages for early detection, if we carry out a series of specific Adaptation-Behavior, Reading-Writing, Intelligence-Development, School-Infant Aptitudes, Neuropsychological tests, we would need an average of 180 hours to carry them out and a cost of over €1000, without counting the correction time, report preparation, or communication with families.
Paola de la Cruz, considered Best Teacher in Spain 2020 in Early Childhood Education (Educa Abanca Awards) and pedagogical director of the Dino School Early Childhood Schools, highlighted the importance of knowing students in depth to offer each one what they need “Education can no longer afford to ensure the total success of each and every student. We cannot spend an entire year to find out that one student is shy, another is hyperactive, and yet another has family problems. Dide allows us from minute zero to know each and every one of our students, and that is fantastic! Because we must provide everything they need from moment zero.
The best pedagogical innovation we can apply is to return to those simple things, those invisible things that allow us to work on that BEING, on their emotional needs. Tools like dide allow us from moment zero to know the profiles and who that child is through markers that will tell us each and every one of the needs, not only special educational needs, but also high capacities. Paola de la Cruz (Best teacher in Spain 2020, early childhood education).
Global vision of the student’s profile to identify their educational needs
What is NOT dide?
Preconceived ideas about what is already known in detection and guidance can generate doubts among professionals about the new information. Therefore, we are going to start by mentioning what dide is NOT:
- It is not a TEST like the usual ones, it is an observation methodology
- It is not a diagnostic test, but rather a pre-diagnostic one; it is the starting point since it collects a multitude of hidden and very important information about the child so that the teacher, counselor, and family have a global vision of their needs.
- It does not label children, because it does not use diagnostic labels such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, etc.; this corresponds to the competent professional.
- It is not a specific test for a single difficulty, dide works on the knowledge of the complete profile of the minor’s difficulties (up to 35 indicators), not only if they present indications of ADHD or dyslexia. Knowing the map of characteristics makes it easier to help them more effectively.
- It does not ask the minor, but rather the people in their immediate environment (parents and teachers). It is a non-invasive methodology for the minor, which is what most differentiates us, and, therefore, we can begin to obtain information from 2-3 years of age.
- It does not alarm families, great care is taken with the discourse and vocabulary towards families in the questions, reports, and guidance guidelines so that they are informed without being alarmed.
- It does not supplant the work of the counselor, but rather complements it and helps the counselor’s work to be much more effective, to know the students more thoroughly, to reach a diagnosis more quickly, if necessary, and to be more direct in resolving the difficulties they present. The scope of dide is immense; assessing more children implies the need for professionals for early care.
What is dide?
Now that we know what dide is Not, it will be easier to understand what this innovative methodology consists of.
Dide is the first digital and automated tool aimed at the educational counselor in which teachers and family participate to facilitate a global vision of the student’s profile with a guiding assessment to know and enhance their abilities in all areas, whether in education and learning, development, as well as social and behavioral. Applicable from 2 to 18 years of age.
dide allows a simple and quick observation task of signals, also with low cost in a large population percentage that unfortunately with current resources cannot be carried out with traditional methods even though professionals put their best will.
This innovative methodology identifies the signals that interfere with the child’s learning and development, up to 35 indicators, thanks to the observation of the people around them, their parents and teachers. All through a simple, secure, mechanized, and online system.
dide helps schools through the guidance office and also the teacher to:
- Streamline the initial assessment
- Collect valuable information in less time (mechanized system. Up to 80% time savings in detection). From 2 to 18 years old.
- Global vision of the study results. Up to 35 indicators are observed and from different points of view (home, school…)
- Immediate results with a report of guidelines for action from minute 1
- Non-invasive for the child since he/she does not participate in this detection phase
- Participation of fathers, mothers, and teachers
- Management of guidance guidelines for families and teachers according to the result. Action from minute zero.
- The school board obtains live data for decision-making and according to the needs of its students, learning difficulties, mood, or the social or family situations of all your students.
- With historical data to be able to monitor and track the evolution.
- With the Seal of Excellence from the European Commission and the support of Microsoft, Google, and Edelvives, as well as the endorsement of Universities.
Who is it aimed at or who manages the tool?
Educational counselors and/or the teacher/tutor can initiate a dide study.
Who participates in the study?
The people who know the child best: their parents and teachers. Up to 8 observers at no added cost.
The child does NOT intervene, that is why early detection is possible.
What indicators can be observed with dide?
How does dide work?
- ENTER WWW.DIDE.APP
and select your version (depending on whether you use the platform as a FAMILY or as a PROFESSIONAL). - START A STUDY AND INVITE PARTICIPANTS(parents and teacher/s)
The counselor or teacher starts the study by entering the list of children to be evaluated into the dide platform and invites their corresponding observers to participate (on paper or by email). Dide proposes the most appropriate questionnaire depending on the age of the children. - THE PLATFORM SENDS THE INVITATIONS WITH THE DIGITAL QUESTIONNAIRE:
The platform sends the invitations to the observers (parents and teacher/s) with a digital questionnaire that takes into account up to 35 indicators of learning and development. - THE PARTICIPANTS ANSWER THE QUESTIONNAIRES AND SEND THEM WITH A CLICK
The dide questionnaires activate the observation of the participants, who make visible the knowledge that their experience with the child at home and at school gives them. - THE COUNSELOR OR TEACHER AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVES THE PREVENTION REPORT
The dide report shows the assessments of all participants in the study. This organized information helps them understand the student’s context and their difficulties to complete their diagnosis. Individual and group graphs and statistics. - THE COUNSELOR OR TEACHER DOWNLOADS THE GUIDANCE AND/OR GUIDELINES REPORT
The guidance is configured in dide based on the results obtained in the prevention report. These are guidelines, activities assigned to families and teachers. They do not replace professional recommendations in any case because it is not a final diagnosis. Putting them into practice helps families to actively participate in the proper development of their children. The professional will assign the corresponding guidelines after the psycho-pedagogical diagnosis.
The truth is that dide is a great advance. For us, it is a fundamental help because with this system both parents and teachers are on the same page, we know what the needs are and what the potentialities are in which we have to influence in all children, which means full individualized attention.
(Ana Marín, director of the Marni bilingual school, Valencia, Spain)
