Guide

How to use abatools

What each tool is for, when to reach for it, and how to run it. Then a step-by-step guide to learner profiles, so every response lands on the right learner’s dashboard.

Tool index

Every tool works as a guest with nothing saved. Turn a tool on for a learner and it saves their responses automatically.

Learner activities

Hand these to the learner during sessions.

Naming & recognitionFlashcardsNaming pictures (tacts) in discrete trialsLanguageWe & TheyPronoun discrimination: we, they, he, sheListeningFind ItListener responding: hear a word and tap the pictureListeningWhich One?Listener responding by function, feature, and classMatchingMatch ItVisual matching to sampleMatchingSort ItSorting pictures by class, function, or featureMathCount & CompareEarly math: numerals 1–5, counting, matching numbers to amounts, more and less, and sizeReadingWord MatchEarly reading: matching printed words to pictures, and lettersCommunicationMy WayA functional request (mand), for example in FCTDaily routinesToothbrushingA 9-step toothbrushing chain (task analysis)

For BCBAs & adults

Probes, observation, and assessments you run yourself.

ObservationObserveInterval recording of play, social behavior, and group skillsDataProbe DayCold probes, mastery by probe, and maintenance across every trial toolAssessmentMilestones TrackerScoring and graphing 170 milestones across 16 domainsAssessmentBarriers ChecklistScoring 24 learning barriers from 0 to 4AssessmentTransition ReadinessScoring 18 transition areas, with tool data alongside
ToolBest forData typeSaves
Learner activities
FlashcardsNaming pictures (tacts) in discrete trialsTrials · accuracyevery scored card
We & TheyPronoun discrimination: we, they, he, sheTrials · accuracythe first touch on every trial
Find ItListener responding: hear a word and tap the pictureTrials · accuracythe first tap on every trial, and skips
Which One?Listener responding by function, feature, and classTrials · accuracythe first tap on every trial, and skips
Match ItVisual matching to sampleTrials · accuracythe first tap on every trial, and skips
Sort ItSorting pictures by class, function, or featureTrials · accuracythe first bin chosen for every picture, and skips
Count & CompareEarly math: numerals 1–5, counting, matching numbers to amounts, more and less, and sizeTrials · accuracythe first tap on every trial, and skips
Word MatchEarly reading: matching printed words to pictures, and lettersTrials · accuracythe first tap on every trial, and skips
My WayA functional request (mand), for example in FCTFrequency · countevery button press
ToothbrushingA 9-step toothbrushing chain (task analysis)Task analysis · stepseach step as it’s completed
For BCBAs & adults
ObserveInterval recording of play, social behavior, and group skillsIntervals · percent of intervalsa yes or no for each behavior in every interval
Probe DayCold probes, mastery by probe, and maintenance across every trial toolProbes · first trial each daynothing new; it reads the first trial of each target each day
Milestones TrackerScoring and graphing 170 milestones across 16 domainsAssessment · scoresyour score for each milestone
Barriers ChecklistScoring 24 learning barriers from 0 to 4Assessment · scoresyour score for each barrier
Transition ReadinessScoring 18 transition areas, with tool data alongsideAssessment · scoresyour score for each area

Learner profiles: a complete tutorial

A learner profile saves one learner’s responses across every tool and every device on their team, without storing anything that identifies them.

🦦 Generated names only

Each learner gets a color-and-animal name such as “Blue Otter.” Names can’t be typed, so no personal details are ever stored. Keep track of who is who in your own records.

🔑 One private code

Each learner has a 12-character code such as K7QM-4XR2-P9TW. Anyone with the code can see and save that learner’s progress, so share it only with their BTs and BCBA.

📱 Remembered per device

Each device keeps its own list of learners. There’s no sign-in and no public list. Add a learner once with their code, then pick them from the learner menu.

🎛️ Tools are opt-in

A new learner starts with no tools. Turn on the ones they’re working on. Only those tools save, and each one gets a card on the dashboard.

Part 1 · Create a learner BCBA, once per learner

  1. Open the learner menu

    On the home page, tap Select learner. You can also use Choose learner at the top of the sidebar, or the learner button in any activity.

    abatools home page with a “Who are you working with?” banner and a Select learner button

  2. Choose “Create a new learner”

    The first time, the menu opens on Enter a learner code. Tap Back to see the options, then Create a new learner. If you have a code from a BCBA, skip to Part 3.

    Learner menu with no learners, showing Create a new learner, Add with a code, and Create a learner buttons

  3. Pick a generated name

    Tap Shuffle name until you like one, then Create. Write down which real learner this name belongs to in your own records, not in abatools.

    Pick a generated name dialog showing Blue Otter with Shuffle name and Create Blue Otter buttons

  4. Save the code

    abatools shows the new learner’s code, join link, and QR code. You can come back to this screen at any time from Share, so there’s no need to copy it now. Tap Set up Blue Otter’s dashboard.

    Blue Otter is ready dialog with a QR code, the learner code, a join link, and a Set up Blue Otter’s dashboard button

Part 2 · Choose their tools BCBA

  1. Turn on the tools in their program

    The new dashboard lists every tool with a switch. Each row says what the tool saves. Turn on only what this learner is working on.

    Choose Blue Otter’s tools, a list of every tool, each with an off switch

  2. Each tool gets a Start button

    Every tool that’s on appears in the Session view with a Start button. Its sessions appear in the Data view. To change tools or their options later, tap Tool settings at the top of either view. Turn tools on or off, and choose levels and other options under each enabled tool. These presets save automatically for this learner on every device.

    Blue Otter’s Session view with Tool settings and Start buttons for Find It, My Way, and Toothbrushing

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

  1. Open Share

    From the dashboard, tap Share code. You can also tap Share next to the learner in the learner menu. There are three ways to hand it off:

    • QR code: the BT scans it with their tablet’s camera.
    • Join link: Copy link and send it privately to the BT.
    • Code: read it aloud or write it down. Letters that look alike (I and 1, O and 0) are treated the same.
    Share dialog with the QR code, learner code, Copy code, join link, and Copy link

  2. On the BT’s device: open the link or scan the QR code

    The join page names the learner and asks to add them. Tap Add, and their dashboard opens with the learner selected.

    Join page asking Add Blue Otter to this device? with Add Blue Otter and Cancel buttons

  3. Or type the code

    Open the learner menu, tap Add with a code, enter the 12 characters, and tap Add learner. Dashes and spaces are optional.

    Enter a learner code dialog with a code typed in and an Add learner button

Part 4 · Run a session BT, every session

  1. Select the learner

    Tap the learner button in the sidebar or the activity bar, then tap the learner’s name. It’s highlighted when selected. No learner switches back to guest mode.

    Who are we working with? menu with Blue Otter selected and Mint Koala below, each with Dashboard, Share, and Manage

    Each browser tab keeps its own selected learner, so two tabs can run two learners side by side. A new tab starts with the last learner you picked.

  2. Start the tool and check the saving status

    Tap Start on a dashboard card, or open the tool from the sidebar. Tools with levels or modes open on a setup screen: choose one, then tap Play. Before the first trial, check the label next to the learner button:

    Find It activity with a green Saving to Blue Otter label in the top bar
    Saving to Blue Otter: responses are being saved.
    Word Match top bar with a Not saved · Add to Blue Otter button
    Not saved · Add to Blue Otter: this tool is off for the selected learner. Tap it to turn the tool on and start saving.
    My Way top bar with a Guest · not saved label and a Choose learner button
    Guest · not saved: no learner is selected. Everything works, and nothing is sent.

  3. Run the session as usual

    Responses save in the background. If the connection drops, they wait on the device and save when it’s back. While they wait, the label shows a count such as “3 waiting to save.” Nothing is lost or counted twice.

    A session ends when you reset the tool, switch learners, tap Play on a setup screen, or after 30 minutes idle.

Part 5 · Read the dashboard BCBA and BT

  1. Session view, for running sessions

    Tap Dashboard in the sidebar, Open dashboard on the home page, or Dashboard in the learner menu. The dashboard has two views, switched at the top. Session is for BTs: a big Start button for each tool, and nothing else. There are no stats, graphs, or settings to get in the way.

    Blue Otter’s Session view with Tool settings and Start buttons for Find It, My Way, and Toothbrushing

    Each device remembers which view it used last, and opens that one.

  2. Data view: every session

    Data lists every session, newest first and grouped by day, with the time, tool, level or mode, and result, such as 8/10 · 80%. Use the menu at the top to show one tool. Tap any session to open it.

    Blue Otter’s Data view with Tool settings and sessions listed by day for Find It, My Way, and Toothbrushing

    With one tool shown, a simple graph appears above the list: one dot per session, oldest on the left. Tap a dot to open that session.

    Find It percent correct, session by session, as a line graph

  3. A session, trial by trial

    Each session opens on its own page, laid out like the data at the end of a We & They round:

    • By target: correct out of tried, the percent, and skips for each target, with a Total row.
    • Graph: the percent correct so far after each trial. Filled dots are correct, and hollow dots are incorrect.
    • Trial by trial: every trial in order, with ✓ or ✗. An incorrect trial shows what was chosen instead, such as Spoon → Cup.
    A Find It session with a table by target, a trial-by-trial graph, and a row of trial chips

    Toothbrushing lists each step in order, with the time it was done. My Way lists each press. Observe shows each behavior’s percent of intervals, then every interval in a grid.

    A Toothbrushing session listing nine steps, each done or not done

  4. Export the raw data

    In the Data view, Export all (CSV) downloads every response for every tool, with a tool column first. With one tool shown, Export CSV downloads that tool only. On a session’s page, Download CSV saves just that session. Every file has the columns date, time, session, condition, event, target, response, correct, detail, and opens in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.

Part 6 · Manage a learner BCBA

  1. Add or remove tools

    Tap Tool settings at the top of the dashboard’s Session or Data view. Turning a tool off removes it from the dashboard and stops saving. Its data is kept and comes back if you turn it on again. The options under each enabled tool set this learner’s presets; choose No preset to use the device’s last choice.

    Tool settings for Blue Otter with switches, a level preset for Find It, and a reward preset for Toothbrushing

  2. Preset each tool’s settings

    In the same panel, every tool that’s on and has setup choices, such as a level, shows them under its switch. Pick the learner’s level there, and the tool opens on it whenever this learner is selected, on any device. Leave a choice on No preset to use whatever was last picked on the device.

    Changing a setting inside a tool while the learner is selected also updates their preset, so the next session picks up where this one left off. As a guest, tools remember the last choice on the device, as before.

  3. Rename, reset the code, or delete

    Tap Manage in the dashboard’s Data view or in the learner menu.

    • Rename: pick a new generated name. Progress and the code stay the same.
    • Reset code: use this if the code went to the wrong person. Every other device is cut off until it gets the new code from Share.
    • Remove from this device: forgets the learner here only. Their data and other devices aren’t affected.
    • Delete for everyone: permanently deletes the learner and all their data on every device. You must type the name to confirm.
    Manage learner dialog with Rename, Reset code, Remove from this device, and Delete for everyone sections

Questions

The learner menu says “Code reset: ask your BCBA for the new code.”

Someone reset this learner’s code. Get the new code or link from their BCBA, then tap Enter new code next to the learner. Their data is all still there.

I ran a session but nothing is on the dashboard.

Check the label in the activity bar. “Guest” means no learner was selected, and “Not saved” means the tool was off for that learner. Guest responses are never sent, so they can’t be recovered. If it said “waiting to save,” the responses are still on that device. Open abatools on it once it’s back online and they’ll save.

How do I open the same page on another device?

Tap Share in the activity bar or the sidebar. Scan the QR code with the other device’s camera, or copy, send, or print the link. When a learner is selected, the link can include them: the other device adds them with their private code and then opens the same page. Choose As a guest to share only the page. A dashboard is always shared with its learner.

Can I use dark mode?

Yes. On a computer, abatools follows your system’s light or dark setting. Phones and iPads stay light so the tools look the same for every learner. To change it on this device, tap Theme at the bottom of the sidebar (the moon or sun icon at the top on a phone). It cycles through Auto, Dark, and Light.

Two BTs use the same iPad. Whose data is it?

Data belongs to the learner, not the adult. Whoever is selected in the learner menu gets the responses, no matter who is holding the device.

Can I use a tool without a learner?

Yes. Every tool works fully as a guest, and nothing is saved.

Where do the milestone, barrier, and transition scores come from?

From you. Milestones Tracker, Barriers Checklist, and Transition Readiness are scoring grids for 170 milestones, 24 barriers, and 18 transition areas. They don’t include protocol text or scoring criteria, so score each item from your own copy of the protocol. abatools is not affiliated with AVB Press or the VB-MAPP publishers.

What exactly is stored?

Only the generated name, the tools that are on, and choices from each tool’s own lists: targets, pictures chosen, conditions, and steps. Nothing can be typed in. The server keeps a scrambled (hashed) copy of each code, never the code itself.

A code was shared with the wrong person.

Open Manage and tap Reset code. The old code stops working at once. Then share the new one with the team.