Tek-merchandise!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! I hope you all will indulge me in a moment of self promotion. 

Over a year ago I made myself a pair of custom shoes to wear for trade-shows and conferences that celebrated PECS and AAC. I received a lot of positive feedback, and people inquired where they could buy them. 

I now have those shoes and a few T-shirts available for your acquisition here, or above in the menu Tek-merch. 

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Snap Core First Integrates the Boardmaker Player!

Hey Tek-ninjas! One of the new updates that just came out for Snap Core First is the integrated Boardmaker Player in Snap. This update allows you to play preloaded and interactive activities from Boardmaker right in your Snap software. To use this new feature, you DO NOT have to have a Boardmaker account. 

If you are unsure if you have the latest updated version of Snap Core First, click on the Sync Cloud in the top right corner - if you have an update to run, it will inform you so there. 

My colleague, Adam Slota, the Chicago Pediatric Solution Consultant for Tobii Dynavox does a really terrific job showing how well this works in the video below. 

To access the Quick Guides, please use the following two links: Boardmaker Player - How to Use Boardmaker Player - Adding Activities.

If you'd like to learn more about this exciting new update, reach out to your area Solution Consultant. You can find that individual here. 

Happy Therapy!

Light it up!

Update Light Bulb

Hey Tek-ninjas! Here's a short and sweet post. 

If you use Snap Core First, have you noticed the little light bulb up in the top right corner? It was part of an update a few months back. 

Do you know what it is for? Well... let me tell you. When the light bulb is lit (or yellow), it indicates that there are new updates! 

Update Popup

When you click on the bulb, you get a descriptive pop-up. For example, yesterday Tobii Dynavox released the latest Snap Core First updates. And man... it is pretty impressive. The integration of Boardmaker Activities INTO Snap is pretty amazing. Less flashy, but still really nice is the new vocabulary search filters, and that your PCS symbols can download in automatically. 

I'll post more after I get a chance to look more closely at the integration of Boardmaker Activities, but on a cursory glance, I'm very excited. 

Happy therapy!

Spicing up your teletherapy!

Hey Tek-ninjas! Here's a quick chat about something fun... Video conference backgrounds! Most of us have played with different backgrounds. They are fun, and can capture an audience, which may be really important with younger clients.

You can download wallpaper from various sites, and most platforms allow you to upload any jpeg or png. Well. Tobii Dynavox has some really fun pictures that you can add to spice up your teletherapy, and they are available here for free. I'm pretty sure this is official Boardmaker art!

If you are uploading them to Teams you will need to store them at this link:
C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams\Backgrounds\Uploads.

Have fun, and remember, wash your hands!

30 years as the industry standard!

Hey Tek-ninjas! Do you work in Special Education? How long have you been around? (You don’t have to answer that)

Are you "I remember when we made Xerox copies from our Boardmaker Book and cut & paste (literally) to make picture schedules" old?

If you are, you are as old (or maybe older) then me!

Well, 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of Boardmaker! That's 30 years of being the "industry standard" in education. There a several different ways a subscriber can access Boardmaker tools to increase your efficacy as an educator/therapist. Including robust free tools that I blogged about last December.

It has been a long time since Boardmaker was "just" a picture symbol generator. Boardmaker Online provides a multi-level approach to creating engaging print and interactive materials for your special education needs. Start with convenient, ready-made print activities or just imagine, make, print and use. Extend learning by adapting curriculum to the unique needs of your learner with easy-to-use enhanced features. Then, increase student engagement by making your favorite print activities interactive on smart boards, computers, tablets and communication devices.

Take a look at all the different offerings and price structures here.

Happy therapy!