Boardmaker Studio-taking boardmaker to the next level

I attended a training session at the UATT conference about Boardmaker Studio, the latest product in the great Boardmaker line of products.  Boardmaker Studio includes all of the great features of the original Boardmaker, but includes lots and lots of activity templates to create interactive lessons with relative ease.  It also costs the exact same amount as regular Boardmaker, (or you can upgrade to Boardmaker Studio from Boardmaker for half the cost!).  You can access the notes from the presentation I attended by clicking here.  You can also get more info at the Boardmaker website.

Simple, yet effective 1 page communication boards

We sometimes have the idea that alternative/agumentative communication (AAC) involves an expensive device or a fancy book with lots of velcro and laminated picture cards.  But, in reality, AAC can be very simple.  Sometimes all a student needs for effective communication is a simple, 1 page, laminated piece of paper.  This cheap and easy 1 page communication board could then be posted in a particular area (fridge, kitchen cabinet, door, window, etc.) or used in a particular setting (restaurant, watching TV, grocery store, etc.) to facilitate communication.

In this post, I have included several examples of simple 1 page communication boards that can be used in a variety of settings.  All of these boards were found online using Boardmaker Share, and then adapted for my purposes using Boardmaker software.  A colleague and I spent less than 5 minutes for each board!!  I hope these ideas will inspire you to create your own boards for your students to use in your classroom, at home, and in the community.

My first example is a simple "snack time" laminated place-mat with symbols to help a student make food/drink choices, request more, and comment about the food. Now your place-mat serves a far greater purpose than simply keeping the table clean!!

The next example is a page that could be taped to the door of the refrigerator.  You could even make various symbols for the different kinds of food that could be in the fridge (even if they aren't at the moment) and attach them to the page with velcro (or remove them) as the contents of the fridge changes every time you go to the store (or your teenager and his friends raid the fridge!)

These next two pages are designed for communicating while watching TV.  One is simply for choosing the type of show to watch (I LOVE the sumo wrestlers!).

This TV board incorporates a lot more communicative intents.  I wish I had made this board!

These next two pages are designed to post by the door.  Now the child can communicate where he/she wants to go when leaving the room.  The communication partners can also use the page to communicate to the child where they are going next.  This would be easy to adapt to a home setting instead of school setting.

 This next picture is actually more of a visual organizer than a communication board, but I just liked it so much I couldn't help but include it!

The last page I've included in this post is designed for use at McDonald's, of course.  A similar page could be made for any other restaurant you frequent.

I hope as you've read through these examples that you have thought of ways you could adapt this concept for use in your classroom, home, etc.  These really take very little time to make, yet could have a PROFOUND impact in the life of a child who struggles to communicate verbally.  I would love to hear in the comments section the other ways you have successfully used the concept of 1 page communication boards.

 

Boardmaker Share-Find and share Boardmaker activities

I don't think I could find anybody in education that would argue with me that teachers and SLP's have too much free time!  We all would love to do so much more for our students if only we could find the time.  This blog post today is about a great resource to save some of that precious time, called Boardmaker Share. It can be accessed online at www.boardmakershare.com.

Boardmaker Share is an online community where teachers, therapists, and parents share activities they have made using Boardmaker software.  What I love about it is I can search the online library, find something that someone else has already made, and download it for my own use.  What used to take 20-30 minutes to create from scratch can now be found, downloaded, and printed in less than 5!  I can also open up the activities I have downloaded from Boardmaker Share and edit them with my own copy of Boardmaker so it is exactly how I want it.  A colleague and I recently downloaded and edited 8 completely different boards in less than 45 minutes.  I'd hate to think how long that would take if we'd tried to make them all from scratch!

Boardmaker Share is also a great place to look for ideas and inspiration.  I know many teachers really like using Pinterest to find great ideas from others.  Boardmaker Share not only lets you see great ideas, but you can download it and use it as well!  If you are the sharing type, you can also upload and share activities you have made so others may enjoy them as well.

One thing I should note about Boardmaker Share is that you may NOT be able to use all of the activities you find there, depending on what version of Boardmaker software you have.  When you view an activity on Boardmaker Share, it will tell you if that version is compatible with Boardmaker, Boardmaker Plus, Boardmaker Studio, Boardmaker Print Editor, or all of them.  Many interactive activities made with Boardmaker Plus and Studio will not work with good old Boardmaker. 

I hope you will enjoy this great way to share and borrow ideas and boards from other teachers and therapists.  Boardmaker Share is a GREAT way to maximize your time!