Social-Emotional Learning Technology: A Guide for K–12 IT and Curriculum Leaders

The center focuses on teaching adults — teachers and administration — so they can apply the learnings in their own classrooms. Hoffmann provides the example of a child being angry that they can’t play outside when it’s raining. Rather than the adult responding to the anger, they can realize that it’s actually disappointment that the child is feeling and respond appropriately to that emotion.

“Kids build the skills as they go, so as adults, we have to be ahead of them in our emotional education,” says Hoffmann. “Behavior doesn’t equal emotion. You’ve got to get the diagnosis right to get the regulation strategy right.”

Tools, Technologies and Programs That Support SEL in K–12

Fridley Public Schools in Minnesota has received praise for its SEL curriculum, especially for students with disabilities. Brenda Lewis has been leading the charge during her three years as superintendent for this district, which serves grades pre–K through 12. The district has a self-contained special education program, and among their novel edtech tools in the classrooms are Think Nooks, large cubbies designed to regulate the senses. The nooks offer a separate, calm space from the busier classroom environment, using design elements to reduce noise and stimulation. Lewis compares the feeling to using a weighted blanket. 

“It transforms into a place that helps you regulate if you become dysregulated, or if it’s a time when maybe I feel myself getting a bit triggered,” explains Lewis.

While Think Nooks are helpful, there’s even greater power in the students’ ability to recognize their feelings and take steps toward emotional equilibrium. 

“It’s about setting the environment up for student success,” says Lewis. 

Daily Check-In and Mood-Monitoring Tools

Digital tools that teach students emotional intelligence include the Yale Mood Meter, which prompts users to identify and articulate their feelings. Over time, the data may reveal patterns that students can use to modify their settings or situations. 

Similarly, Microsoft has Reflect, an emotional check-in app that can be added to Microsoft Teams, a web browser or a learning management system. Teachers can ask students how they’re feeling today, this week or about an upcoming test. A 2023 case study from a school in Australia found that these insights into students’ actual feelings, rather than perceptions or outward projections, gave teachers data to structure how they approached a student, lesson or upcoming test.

“Social-emotional learning is fundamentally about belonging — helping every learner feel seen, heard and able to participate,” says Deirdre Quarnstrom, vice president, Microsoft education. “Our focus is on empowering educators to foster healthy, inclusive learning environments, supported by technology but always grounded in human connection.”

Yale SEL Programs That Build Prosocial and Civic Skills

In 2023, research from Yale University’s School of Medicine discussed the value of social-emotional learning in K–12 education. After analyzing more than 500,000 perspectives from K–12 students across the globe, researchers found that SEL programs created positive benefits for students in both the short and long term over their educational journey.

“This study is believed to be the first to systematically tease apart the statistically significant distinctions between prosocial behaviors, such as being a good friend, and civic behaviors and attitudes, such as understanding civic processes and systems, social justice, understanding of current events, and moral or ethical reasoning,” the article highlights.

Yale’s Michael Strambler, associate professor of psychiatry and director of child well-being and education research, created a web-based app called Sway Classroom to help middle and high school students learn how to navigate difficult conversations. Students are matched with peers who expressed differing opinions on the topic; then, guided by artificial intelligence prompts, the students chat and discuss their differing perspectives.

“We have to rebuild in our population this skill of conversation with people with whom you disagree,” says Hoffmann.

A final program from Yale, called inspirED, encourages students to identify a problem and create a solution for the benefit of their school, whether it’s safety, relationships, diversity or the supportiveness of teachers, explains Hoffmann. “InspirED layers emotional intelligence on top of the creative problem-solving process.”

As these examples illustrate, sometimes the most effective or beneficial change is evaluating an existing system or process and deliberately adding a focus on SEL.

LEARN MORE: Classroom modernization in a CTE setting requires constant communication.

Infrastructure Fit: Evaluating SEL EdTech Against District Systems

The first step in a tool selection strategy is clearly identifying the issue or the desired outcome, explains Quarnstrom, such as “improving student engagement, supporting mental well-being or giving educators better visibility into classroom dynamics.”

Next, Quarnstrom recommends sourcing solutions that “integrate naturally” into the existing infrastructure. This approach aids in the adoption process: Teachers don’t have to access another new platform. Lewis echoes this advice but offers a different reason why: It’s often more cost-effective to analyze existing vendors for add-ons than establishing a relationship with a brand-new vendor, including the lengthy conversations around data, privacy, policies, cybersecurity and insurance.

Quarnstrom recommends IT leaders prioritize the following:

• Ease of deployment and management, especially at district scale
• Alignment with existing identity, security and compliance frameworks
• User experience for educators and students, especially age-appropriate design
• Extensibility, so the solution can evolve as needs change

Ultimately, “the most effective SEL solutions work as part of an ecosystem rather than a standalone tool,” says Quarnstrom. “In many cases, districts already have capabilities within their current platforms, like Teams or OneNote, that can support SEL.”

EXPLORE: How K-12 schools can create a clear cybersecurity roadmap.

Student Data Privacy in SEL Technology

Given the prevalence of artificial intelligence in SEL technology, IT leaders should ensure that any new tools don’t allow the AI to speculate on emotional states. Rather, educators should be the ones analyzing the data and speaking to students and parents.

For example, Microsoft’s products are “designed with privacy-first principles,” Quarnstrom says, meaning that the schools own the data, there is no AI model training with student information and all tools use age-appropriate settings. IT leaders should seek products that allow them clear control over how the data is managed, as well as any other district- or state-specific requirements.

“For SEL specifically, we take a particularly thoughtful approach,” says Quarnstrom. “Our goal is to give educators and IT leaders confidence that they can support student well-being while maintaining the highest standards for privacy and trust.”