Follow these easy steps to access this collection:

1. Become a member and logon to www.boardmakershare.com
2. Enter the search term “powertemplate” (all one word)
3. The collection of Power Templates will be displayed.
4. Select the template you want and download it. Power Templates are .zip files. So you will need to save to your computer and then “unzip” the files.
5. Open the folder you just downloaded to your computer to select the specific activity you want to create. Copy the folder. Paste it and rename it. Note – you may be used to doing a “Save As” when utilizing templates. In this instance, you need to copy and paste the entire activity folder.
6. Each activity includes a Sample Activity to view before you create your own activity.
7. Each activity includes an activity specific PDF instruction sheet. Print this out as a reference while you are making your activity.
8. Open up the “Main” board of the activity.
9. Follow the instructions on the screen (from Use Mode) to edit the activity.

Have fun creating some nifty activities for home, school or in the community. And make sure you share with others! Upload the activity you created on BoardmakerShare.com.

The book was officially launched by the Hon. Mr Simon Crean, MP, Federal Minister for Social Inclusion and children from the Glen Allen School Choir sang the popular football song “Up there, Cazaly” in key word sign.

This little book is the ideal companion at an AFL footy game as it fits in your pocket and and contains 120 essential signs for all aspects of the game including all 16 teams with colour logos, popular football stadiums, common footy terms, food, numbers and much more!

In addition to the Footy Book, the Key Signs: A Supplementary Vocabulary – Auslan Edition CD-ROM is a fabulous new resource for further developing your key word signing skills. This is the companion to the green Key Signs: A Supplement to Makaton Vocabulary – Auslan Edition. It includes video clips of 250 signs and real life video examples of signing in use with infant, school aged and adult persons, showing early interaction, developing language and functional use of signing.

Be sure to check them out!

some Web 2.0 tools

Creating your own Personal Learning Network – PLN Using Web 2.0 Tools

Creating your own PLN (Personal Learning Network) has now become more exciting, global and, accessible for everyone using Web 2.0 tools.

Many people are familiar with using “social media” and are using web based technologies and tools such as Facebook, My Space, email and Twitter to keep connected with friends and family.

These same tools are also used by thousands of people everyday to connect with others from around the world who are involved in similar areas of work or study to share ideas, collaborate on projects and problem solve.

Some people are a little intimidated by the thought of joining a Blog, or creating a Twitter or bookmarking account – one of the great things about the internet is that you don’t have to contribute to any discussions – you can “lurk” quite happily and comfortably in the background: read blogs, Tweets and investigate links and bookmarks without contributing until you feel comfortable to do so.  

I use a variety of Web 2.0 tools to gather and collect information. I bookmark a website I’m interested in using Diigo or Delicious, then I link the websites and blogs to my Twitter site if I want to receive regular updates – usually this is easy, just by clicking on a graphic such as this on websites 

stay connected web 2.0

 This means the information about updates and changes comes to me, rather than me needing to visit each of my favourite sites and Blogs. Each time a website or blog is updated a brief message and link will appear on my Twitter page – I can then decide if I’d like to read more, or if I’ll ignore it for now.

I’d like to share a few ideas and links that I use in my PLN

For bookmarking, sharing and tagging

Diigo http://www.diigo.com/user/anitaraftery

Delicious – http://www.delicious.com/araftery

Twitter-  @anitaraftery

Understanding what web 2.0 tools can do and how to use them

Web 2.o tools in Plain English http://www.commoncraft.com/social-media-pack An introduction to a wide selection of social media tools and ideas   using Brief and engaging videos.

A free online course in using web 2.0 tools ! http://www.slq.qld.gov.au:80/services/learning/looking If Facebook fills you with fear, Twitter sounds like twaddle and Flickr seems as though it is spelt incorrectly, this is the course for you. Jump online, have a go and learn a bit about 2.0.

Twittering not Frittering http://www.edutopia.org/twitter-professional-development-technology-microblogging 
Explanation of how Twitter can be used as a professional development tool.

TwittGroups ADE and Teachers http://twittgroups.com/groups/ade and http://twittgroups.com/groups/teachers Listing of many Apple Distinguished Educators and Teachers who are using Twitter
Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals  http://www.briansolis.com/2008/10/twitter-tools-for-community-and.html

Here’s just a few of my favourite Blogs & websites.

Click on the links to visit them, if you want to include them in your PLN, bookmark them and follow them on Twitter! I haven’t described each one as it would take up too much space in this blog… Take a web journey and explore!

http://natri.uky.edu/assoc_projects/qiat/index.html Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services in School Settings Wonderful, Wonderful resources and sharing – + great listserve to sign up to!

 http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/

http://www.classroom20.com

http://www.futureofeducation.com

http://slpsharing.com/  Speech-Language Pathology Sharing

http://speedchange.blogspot.com/ by Ira Socol, always an interesting read https://sites.google.com/site/iradavidsocol/  

http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/ Teach Paperless great educational challenges and ideas – inspiring

http://shawnram.wordpress.com/ inspire change in teachings and preceptions of Special Education

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/  fantastic resources!

http://www.cast.org Universal Design for Learning

http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/

http://disabilities.temple.edu/tech/

http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/at/chalcycle.htm

http://www.setbc.org/  wonderful resources and tutorials for everything related to using inclusive technologies

http://www.learnitin5.com/ demonstrating how to use Web 2.0 applications like blogs, social networks, podcasts, interactive videos, wikis, slidesharing and much more

http://www.connsensebulletin.com/

http://aacliteracy.psu.edu/Home.html

http://www.makeuseof.com

http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/author/whatedsaid/

http://www.ted.com/ inspirational and innovative presentations by amazing people from all over the world -Ted Talks

http://www.educatoral.com/wordpress/

http://maccessibility.net/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/  & http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/

http://www.teachscienceandmath.com/

http://www.simplek12.com/ helping teachers  students to build 21st century classroom experiences.

http://www.pwd.org.au/

http://sites.google.com/site/buildingapln/

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?page_id=1280

http://twistynoodle.com/

http://www.hiyah.net/index.html

http://momswithapps.com/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/intro.html

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/ The principal of change

http://www.stevehargadon.com/  

http://www.edutopia.org/ &  

 http://www.edutopia.org/blog/twitter-expanding-pln

http://www.davebanesaccess.com/

http://www.UseVisualStrategies.com.

http://www.tobincls.com/learningnetwork.htm

http://www.teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/

http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/author/whatedsaid/ 
http://www.LindaHodgdon.com
http://www.AutismFamilyOnline.com

http://www.hackeducation.com/

http://speirs.org/blog/tag/theipadproject

http://teachingwithsoul.wordpress.com/

http://cybraryman.com/voicethread.html

http://nolimitstolearning.blogspot.com/

http://readingk12.pbworks.com/

http://numbernut.com/index.html

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

By visiting our Spectronics Blog, you’re also including us in your PLN ! I hope you find something of interest in the links included in this Blog.

This story begins with Shannon Rosa, mother of 9 year old Leo, winning an iPad in a raffle. This is what happens next:

Leo is Rosa’s 9-year-old son, and when people ask her about him, she is mindful to explain him in a way that will set appropriate expectations. He is a boy with intense autism, she says. He is not conversational, he learns very slowly, and he has been prone to violent outbursts. He is essentially a triple-sized toddler. Leo had shown interest in the iPod Touch, but its 3.5-inch screen was difficult for his fingers to navigate.

For all those reasons, Rosa had no expectations when she handed her son the iPad — a half-inch-thick, touch-screen tablet computer three times the size of its smaller cousin, the iPod. Though scrolling through the icons is easy for most users, the device was not created with special-needs consumers in mind.

So when Leo took it in his small hands as if it were an old friend, and, with almost no training, whizzed through its apps like a technology virtuoso, his mother gasped in amazement. After he began spending 30 minutes at a time on apps designed to teach spelling, counting, drawing, making puzzles, remembering pictures, and more, she sat down at her own computer.

“With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills,” Rosa typed into an entry for BlogHer, a blogging network of women for which she edits and writes. Her blog was one of the first to bring widespread public attention to what one expert has called “a quiet revolution” for the autism community.

Read the full story at http://www.sfweekly.com/content/printVersion/2090215/

I hope you will enjoy reading this story, I certainly did!

__________________________________________________________________

Two great apps mentioned in the story are

• First Then Visual Schedule (currently available for iPhone and iPod only, hopefully an iPad update soon) – http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/first-then-visual-schedule/id355527801?mt=8

and

• Stories2Learn – http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/stories2learn/id348576875?mt=8

For an overview of apps for communication and learning see Jane’s blog posting on the 16th July – http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/new-technologies/2010/07/iphoneipad-apps-for-aac/

Are you totally confused as to the range of options that are available?

In the last five years, eye gaze technology has improved dramatically. Many people with significant physical disabilities can use this access method to control computers or speech generating devices to do such things as chat to their classmates, order a meal, email at work, listen to their favourite music or change the channel on their TV!

There are a number of eye controlled SGDs available now and choosing the “right” one for the clients that you support has become increasingly harder.

I have put together an eye gaze comparison chart, downloadable from our FAQ section, that compares the features of three eye gaze systems that are currently available from Spectronics:

• The Dynavox Vmax with Eyemax;
• My Tobii P10; and
• Tobii C12 with CEye

These devices are also available for loan to anywhere in Australia or New Zealand through our Equipment Trial Scheme. You can try the equipment for up to two weeks for FREE to ensure that you are making the right decision (an extra two weeks is available at a cost).

Of course, if you have any further questions about any of these devices, you can always call us and ask to speak to one of our three Speech Pathologists, Jane Farrall, Charlene Cullen or Katie Lyon.

I really love these new low tech alphabet boards called the Frenchay Alphabet Board or FAB for short! What is really unique about them is that they have a non-slip surface and a built in keyguard which is a bonus for people with a tremor or other access problems which makes it difficult to isolate where they are pointing.

They are suitable for anyone who can spell and can be used as the person’s primary AAC system or can be a useful emergency back-up for users of high technology when their device runs out of batteries, is being repaired or can’t be used for some other reason.

They also have an antibacterial rubber base and can be washed in the sink or go through the dishwasher!

It is also available in a couple of different layouts and sizes:

• ABC layout
• QWERTY layout
• Pocket size (228mm x 108mm x 10mm)
• Tabletop Size (310mm x 165mm x 10mm)

They really are a simple and FAB idea!!!

Oh, and don’t forget – in Victoria, there is also some funding available to access these and other non-electronic communication aids for individuals through the Non-Electronic Communication Aid Scheme (NECAS). This is a scheme that provides funding for adults with complex communication needs in Victoria to access individualised non-electronic communication aids.  For more information about this scheme, please see the NECAS page on the Scope website.

I have listed all the AAC Apps I am aware of below – along with some salient features. Keeping in tune with the idea of user ratings encouraged by iTunes, I have also added my own rating column from one to three stars.

I have also put the Apps into three groups – Apps with symbols/pictures only, Apps with symbols/pictures and text-to-speech and Apps with text-to-speech only.

It has ended up being a long table – but I hope you find it useful.

*Many of the iPhone/iPod touch emails will run on the iPad but run at iPhone size on the larger screen.  Most of these can be expanded to double size to fill the whole iPad screen but the program may be distorted when run at double size.

And there is also a write up of iPod AAC Apps written by CALL Scotland at http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Common-Assets/spaw2/uploads/files/Using-Mainstream-handheld-devices-as-communication-aids.pdf

It would also be great to get feedback from anyone else who has used these.

The popularity of downloading video clips from YouTube has become possible with high speed internet connections. This can be a very simple process if you have the right tools. There are numerous website and add-on options that allow you to capture video from the internet. I am going to describe and explain how to use Download Helper which is an Add-On for Mozilla Firefox and a website called Media Converter.

Media Converter

You can either install this as a Firefox Add-On or if you have restrictions to using Firefox then you can just go directly to the website for Media Converter.

If you use the Firefox Add-On then once you have found a video file in your browser the Media Converter icon will become illuminated. You can click on it and a series of pop up boxes will prompt you to choose the output file type and then download the file.

If you are using the Media Converter website you need to:

1) Choose from:

• Entering a link of the location of theYouTube clip
• Upload a video file from your computer
• Browse YouTube to find the video clip

2) Select Go to the next step (with the green arrow)

3) Select the output file type (common ones are avi, wmv, mov and mpeg which you can convert later using programs like Format Factory if you need other file formats)

4) Click on OK

5) Click on Start to convert the video clip to your chosen output type

6) Select Download from the Selected File(s) section to download it to your compter.

Download Helper for Firefox

Once you have installed the Firefox Add-On this tool will help you capture video and image files from many sites.  When you find a video that interests you, DownloadHelper detects it and the icon on your toolbar gets animated. The dropdown menu gives you several video formats to choose from and when you select one it will begin to download the video in that format. You can use programs such as Format Factory to convert the files to alternative file formats.

Once you have your file converted you can use it in powerpoint presentations, or show it in the classroom or share it with your colleagues for a laugh. Enjoy!

You may be aware of our FREE Online Training Sessions that are available for a number of different software programs including Boardmaker, Communicate: Symwriter, Clicker 5 and Texthelp Read and Write Gold.

The sessions go for about an hour and are delivered by either one of our teachers or speech pathologists who have had experience using the software. You can attend as many as you like and yes – they are ALL FREE!

Never attended an online training session before? It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Decide what session you want to attend and register online;
2. You will receive an email with the details of your session and a link to the software that you require (which is Adobe’s Macromedia Flash Player 6.0.79 or higher- a free download and already installed on many computers);
3. Join us at the specified time and you will see our computer screens and hear our voices – but you will be listening from the convenience of your own computer, maybe at school or even at home!

All you need is a computer, the internet (the faster the better!), the free software and speakers or a headset. You can ask us questions throughout the session by typing in a chat window that appears on your page.

We have recently added some new topics which may be of interest and include:

• Boardmaker with Speaking Dynamically Pro: What’s the difference?
• Boardmaker Plus Moveable Buttons: making interactive sorting and sequencing onscreen activities
• Write Online: An Introduction
• Ginger
• Classroom Suite 4
• Clicker Paint

Definitely worth checking them out – and if there is a topic missing that you think you and others might benefit from, you can certainly make your suggestions by contacting Eliza. We are always looking for new ideas!

DynaVox have written a tutorial on using the eBook pages which can be found on our website at http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/downloads/activity/dynavox/09-Ideas-for-Successful-Use-Jan-2010.pdf

The eBook pages in the DynaVox V and Vmax work beautifully with Bookshare – and can also be used with other sources of free eBooks, such as Project Gutenberg.

For a suggestions of other eBook sources you can go to my Delicious bookmarks at http://delicious.com/Jane_Farrall/ebooks.  You can also check out the list of eBooks compiled by Spectronics staff and updated by Greg O’Connor at http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/category/permanent-resources/

Happy eBooking!