Speaking Dynamically Pro - CTG - 2003
One of the first items I saw at the Closing the Gap in 2003 conference was an application that was a lot like Boardmaker. This is what I wrote about it.
The Mayer-Johnson company has made available on the web a series of templates that make the creation of new activities using the Speaking Dynamically Pro software faster. The session was a hands on lab with SDPro and they assumed some knowledge of the software prior to the session. I had never used SDPro or its companion Boardmaker, but found the interface intuitive and easy to use. I quickly learned the software and we created our template-based product (a Halloween book with animations, spoken text and links between boards) in a hurry. The templates are FREE and available from their website.
The sales group there suggested that SDPro could be used for a number of applications. I got the impression that teachers typically use the software only at the most literal level to create “power point like” presentations for students to use. In later sessions I was able to see some interesting uses of the software. The presenters suggested us in the software for:
- Testing (like a multiple choice test)
- Training a student to use their switches
- Lauching applications or web sites
- Teaching writing by allowing students to choose words and phrases.
- Creating a photo album or a simple story with images and movies.
It struck me that, while the software was easy to use, the teachers using it took the better part of an hour to make this simple activity with it. I doubted that teachers had that sort of time. I asked if there was a site where teachers could share their SDPro and Boardmaker files. The Mayer Johnson rep looked at me funny and then went and asked his boss. I guess they tried a “forum” and “file sharing” site, but it was poorly used and it is no longer in use. They did say that there is a yahoo group that is actively involved in this sort of activity though.
The Mayer Johnson group also suggested going to www.news-2-you.com to get symbols compatible with Boardmaker and SDPro. The news2you site publishes a weekly kids paper in pdf format dealing with current events that use a lot of symbols for beginning readers. News2you had a vendor booth that I visited. The site is a subscription service and they sell their CD of symbols. Nothing for free I guess.
Another site I heard of as a source for symbols for symbols was www.symbolworld.org. I visited the site and wondered if these were all really good symbols. The symbols that came with boardmaker seemed to be high contrast line art with simple solid color designs. I gathered that the idea was to make simple art that was easy to see. Many of the symbols I saw on this site were grainy with subtle colors. They appeared to be scanned crayon drawings and digital photos.
The take home message for me wasn't about the use of the software. I was surprised by the supporting sites that existed to make news and symbols available. Every one of these I wrote about then, still exists and looks better than when I went there in 2003.