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“When they started using these technologies, they started telling in detail to their parents the activities that they accomplished in school,”

autism spectrum, who struggle with social skills. The students create avatars, digital versions of themselves, and then articulate a story about one of their social challenges—and their plans for coping with it in the future.

In one of the videos, 10-year-old Trevar Grisham, a high-functioning student on the autism spectrum, discusses his tendency to lose focus in class. “I am responsible for hearing the directions and paying attention and doing my work,” Trevar said while making a video last year as a fourth-grader. “To be sure this happens, I will do a better job of concentrating when the teacher is teaching.”

“This is a great way to get the child to really pay attention and to get that social-skills training. It’s just been phenomenal.

At Weller Elementary, where Popa works, teachers incorporate the technology into lessons in math, reading, social studies, science, music and physical education. For example, as students simulate playing darts, they count their tosses and hits, then calculate fractions, percentages and decimals. In physical education, students barely realize they’re exercising as they mimic digital dancers.