Erica-Aide
Laura-Aide
Elaine -Aide
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Photo Story
Photo Story is wonderful tool that is a lot of fun to use. This is a program that allows you to put pictures into a slideshow and play music in the background. Also, you can do additional formatting to make words show on the screen at certain times, to clip together different music together, and record your voice and have it play in the slideshow as well. It is kind of like making a mini “movie” of anything you want. With this program the possibilities are endless as to what you can create and use it for. In the classroom I use it in many different ways. I find that the students love to watch themselves on the TV so I take advantage of this and include it in as many different ways as I can. One way I use it in the classroom is I introduce our new units in PE with it. I take pictures of the students doing the upcoming activity (baseball, Special Olympics, bowling, etc.) and I put these into a Photo Story with some upbeat music and have the students watch it, they love it! It can also be used to help students learn colors, objects, how to wash their hands, the possibilities really are endless. Here is a link to a step-by-step guide on how to create a Photo Story of your own http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/firststory.mspx. Remember to just have fun with it; this can be a great tool that will help motivate your child to learn so many different things.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Talking PowerPoints
Talking PowerPoints are an excellent tool to use with students to actively engage them in learning. I find them to be especially useful and effective for my students with motor impairments. With this tool favorite children’s books can easily be made into an interactive tool for students. Pages from books can be scanned into a computer and then imported into a PowerPoint presentation. Once the pictures are into the PowerPoint a voice can be recorded to coincide with the words on each page of the story. Here is a link to step-by-step directions about how to create a talking PowerPoint http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/Tutorials/talkingBooks/ppt_ace.pdf. I find these to be a great tool for my students with physical impairments because a Big Mack switch can be attached to a computer and then the switch, when hit, acts like a mouse click and advances the pages on the PowerPoint. This allows the students to control the story, when they hit the switch the page turns and the voice recording begins to play.
Materials Needed:
Here is some information on the materials needed for a talking PowerPoint presentation.
Enabling Devices http://enablingdevices.com/catalog offers a great online store that has numerous assistive technology devices. Here is a link on the Enabling Devices webpage to an adapter that will allow a capability switch to be hooked up to a computer http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/computer-aids/mouse-switches/interactive-mouse-for-pc. Here is another link from the Enabling Devices webpage; this one for capability switches http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/capability_switches.
Materials Needed:
Here is some information on the materials needed for a talking PowerPoint presentation.
Enabling Devices http://enablingdevices.com/catalog offers a great online store that has numerous assistive technology devices. Here is a link on the Enabling Devices webpage to an adapter that will allow a capability switch to be hooked up to a computer http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/computer-aids/mouse-switches/interactive-mouse-for-pc. Here is another link from the Enabling Devices webpage; this one for capability switches http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/capability_switches.
Boardmaker
Boardmaker: Pros & Cons
I had heard of Boardmaker many times before I actually took the time to explore it. I thought that Boardmaker was just a program that was used to make icons, but after I took the time to look through it I found that there is so much more. One of the best functions that I like about Boardmaker are the icons. This program allows you to make custom icons and name them anything you want. The icons can be used for so many different things, for example visual schedules, labeling, communication, the possibilities are endless. One con of the Boardmaker program is that the pictures can be limiting, for example if you want a picture of a dog you may only have 3 choices and none of them may be exactly what you are looking for. However, you can upload actual pictures into Boardmaker and use them, but often the picture shrinks considerably and can be difficult to see. There is a paint program in Boardmaker that allows you to take uploaded digital pictures and turn these into picture representations, but I have found it to be time consuming. Another aspect that is useful are the calendars. These are so great, and they can be used to help prepare children for upcoming events, both at home and school. Another thing that I found to be very useful at school is being able to make story and song boards. This allows students to be more interactive when we are reading or singing songs. Also, you can make tests or task sheets. These task sheets could be particularly useful at home, for example a chore task sheet that children have to complete. The possibilities really are endless, pretty much whatever you can think of you can do! Although Boardmaker does have many great qualities, there are some things to be aware of that are limiting. One aspect in particular is that the pictures you create look very juvenile, and while this is great for young children, it can be limiting for high schoolers and adults. The pictures do not look socially appropriate for the older age groups and it can make them look different or weird. Another con in regards to Boardmaker is that the emotion pictures are often not very realistic. They do a good job of trying to convey the feelings, but I think it would be hard for children to transfer these ideas into the real world with real peoples’ faces. These are just a few of the pros and cons about Boardmaker and I encourage you to explore it yourself.
Boardmaker Links
There are lots of great materials and resources out there to help you use and expand your knowledge of Boardmaker. There are some great tutorials that walk you through how to use Boardmaker on www.teachertube.com, one specific one is at http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video id=78937. Another great resource is the Mayer Johnson sponsored website (who makes Boardmaker) located at www.adaptedlearning.com. This is an excellent site that allows you to connect with other parents and/or teachers. It allows you to share boards you have made as well as access boards that other people have made and posted. It greatly reduces the amount of work you have to do when creating templates because chances are someone had already made one similar to the one you are looking for. Like the old adage goes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! This site is amazing but you do have to own a copy of Boardmaker to be able to be a member and access all of the great material it has to offer. Another great recourse is the website http://www.childrenwithspecialneeds.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=66. This site has pre-made icons that you can print out and use in the areas of grooming, food, body parts, toys, feelings, animals, actions, and holidays. It also has actual photo pictures of common clothing items, food items, and actions which can be used for many different things including labeling or identifying. Another great resource is the site http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/boardmaker/adapted_library.asp which gives you access to almost 800 boards that are used to help learners with special needs access books with pictures. Lastly I want to give you the information on an all inclusive site that lists the links for the websites I have just described and in addition lists many, many more websites that will be useful to you as you get to know and use Boardmaker. The website is entitled Free Boardmaker Boards, Activities, and Tutorials and it is located at http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/2008/02/free-boardmaker-boards-and-activities.html.
Boardmaker v6 verses Boardmaker Plus v6
Boardmaker v6 differs somewhat from Boardmaker Plus v6. Both are version 6 of the program which is what the v6 refers to; however Boardmaker v6 is the standard version and Boardmaker Plus is the more advanced version that can do more things. Both versions allow you to create symbol based materials such as icons, visual schedules, story boards, calendars, books and many more items. But with Boardmaker Plus you have the ability to add animation and sound to these different applications. This can make items highly motivating to students because the animation and sound will engage the students more. They will be more likely to pay attention to it and thus be more interested and learn more. I as a teacher would prefer to own Boardmaker plus because I could incorporate many of the applications it has to offer into learning lessons. However, as a parent you might want to consider Boardmaker v6, it has many basic applications that I feel you all will be looking for, most importantly the ability to make icons for communication and visual schedules. In addition Boardmaker v6 is priced at around $330.00 and Boardmaker Plus is more expensive at around $400.00. Either one you chose they are both excellent programs that will help your child with special needs grow, learn, and develop!
I had heard of Boardmaker many times before I actually took the time to explore it. I thought that Boardmaker was just a program that was used to make icons, but after I took the time to look through it I found that there is so much more. One of the best functions that I like about Boardmaker are the icons. This program allows you to make custom icons and name them anything you want. The icons can be used for so many different things, for example visual schedules, labeling, communication, the possibilities are endless. One con of the Boardmaker program is that the pictures can be limiting, for example if you want a picture of a dog you may only have 3 choices and none of them may be exactly what you are looking for. However, you can upload actual pictures into Boardmaker and use them, but often the picture shrinks considerably and can be difficult to see. There is a paint program in Boardmaker that allows you to take uploaded digital pictures and turn these into picture representations, but I have found it to be time consuming. Another aspect that is useful are the calendars. These are so great, and they can be used to help prepare children for upcoming events, both at home and school. Another thing that I found to be very useful at school is being able to make story and song boards. This allows students to be more interactive when we are reading or singing songs. Also, you can make tests or task sheets. These task sheets could be particularly useful at home, for example a chore task sheet that children have to complete. The possibilities really are endless, pretty much whatever you can think of you can do! Although Boardmaker does have many great qualities, there are some things to be aware of that are limiting. One aspect in particular is that the pictures you create look very juvenile, and while this is great for young children, it can be limiting for high schoolers and adults. The pictures do not look socially appropriate for the older age groups and it can make them look different or weird. Another con in regards to Boardmaker is that the emotion pictures are often not very realistic. They do a good job of trying to convey the feelings, but I think it would be hard for children to transfer these ideas into the real world with real peoples’ faces. These are just a few of the pros and cons about Boardmaker and I encourage you to explore it yourself.
Boardmaker Links
There are lots of great materials and resources out there to help you use and expand your knowledge of Boardmaker. There are some great tutorials that walk you through how to use Boardmaker on www.teachertube.com, one specific one is at http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video id=78937. Another great resource is the Mayer Johnson sponsored website (who makes Boardmaker) located at www.adaptedlearning.com. This is an excellent site that allows you to connect with other parents and/or teachers. It allows you to share boards you have made as well as access boards that other people have made and posted. It greatly reduces the amount of work you have to do when creating templates because chances are someone had already made one similar to the one you are looking for. Like the old adage goes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! This site is amazing but you do have to own a copy of Boardmaker to be able to be a member and access all of the great material it has to offer. Another great recourse is the website http://www.childrenwithspecialneeds.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=66. This site has pre-made icons that you can print out and use in the areas of grooming, food, body parts, toys, feelings, animals, actions, and holidays. It also has actual photo pictures of common clothing items, food items, and actions which can be used for many different things including labeling or identifying. Another great resource is the site http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/boardmaker/adapted_library.asp which gives you access to almost 800 boards that are used to help learners with special needs access books with pictures. Lastly I want to give you the information on an all inclusive site that lists the links for the websites I have just described and in addition lists many, many more websites that will be useful to you as you get to know and use Boardmaker. The website is entitled Free Boardmaker Boards, Activities, and Tutorials and it is located at http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/2008/02/free-boardmaker-boards-and-activities.html.
Boardmaker v6 verses Boardmaker Plus v6
Boardmaker v6 differs somewhat from Boardmaker Plus v6. Both are version 6 of the program which is what the v6 refers to; however Boardmaker v6 is the standard version and Boardmaker Plus is the more advanced version that can do more things. Both versions allow you to create symbol based materials such as icons, visual schedules, story boards, calendars, books and many more items. But with Boardmaker Plus you have the ability to add animation and sound to these different applications. This can make items highly motivating to students because the animation and sound will engage the students more. They will be more likely to pay attention to it and thus be more interested and learn more. I as a teacher would prefer to own Boardmaker plus because I could incorporate many of the applications it has to offer into learning lessons. However, as a parent you might want to consider Boardmaker v6, it has many basic applications that I feel you all will be looking for, most importantly the ability to make icons for communication and visual schedules. In addition Boardmaker v6 is priced at around $330.00 and Boardmaker Plus is more expensive at around $400.00. Either one you chose they are both excellent programs that will help your child with special needs grow, learn, and develop!
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