Clicker5-Writing from a Photo Prompt

Teachers at Galway ES, have been working with students with whom they wanted to try writing with Clicker5 talking word banks from a photo prompt. Pairing word banks with a photo can be an effective way to help emergent writers have greater engagement with a high interest picture, make inferences from a picture, or creatively construct a narrative based on a photo.
Teachers created the Clicker5 grids below (click on the link to donwload a copy).

GirlCakeWordbanks.clkt

CatsFishingWordBanks.clkt

InferencesPictures.clkx (contributed by Ms. Jones)

PictureWritingQuestionTemplate.clkt

PictureWritingWordBankTemplate.clkt

A video on how to edit the "PictureWriting" templates can be found at the following location: video

How are you using pictures with technology to prompt writing experiences for your students?

Keyboarding Training and Fun for Home

Looking for high interest online keyboarding activities for students to work on at home? Educators in MCPS and throughout the country have contributed an online list of online keyboarding activities: Keyboarding Resources Diigo Group.

The list includes links, comments on activities and tags/labels to help you see which activities may work for your students.

Be thinking what skills are appropriate for your students as you check the sites:
- just learning the basic location of keys?
- learning the 2-handed motor patterns of combining letters to make words?
- developing speed and accuracy when copying longer text?
- becoming proficient in home-row finger placement and touch-typing?

Also,
- which activities may be too frustrating (time constraints, too much negative feedback)?
- which may be too overstimulating or visually distracting?
- which have higher interest topics?

One size does not fit all. Luckily we have lots of options and new ones come around every week! Make sure you share good ones you find that aren't on the list.

Which strategies have been most successful in getting your students to be proficient keyboarders?

Kurzweil v10 Bubble Notes - Settings for Motor Access

Many teachers use Bubble Notes in Kurzweil to set-up multiple choice questions to automatically pop-up as text is read. Students select the correct answer, select "OK" and the text continues to be read. All their answers are recorded and can be extracted as a separate document for a study guide or to hand-in as a comprehension check.

2 important settings to make this work well for students who use alternative input methods to the mouse (e.g. AAC device emulating the keyboard):

1) In order for the Bubble Notes to pull up automatically, make sure the reading mode is set to "Continuous" ("self-paced" will cause the note to not pop-up automatically)

2) If the student needs to make selections for answers in the Bubble Note using "tab" or arrow keys and "Enter" key to select, you need to make sure the type of Multiple Choice question is set to "Radio Button" and not "Checkbox".

Comment below and let us know how you have used Bubble Notes!

Using a Fusion with a Flash Drive

The new Fusion comes with a USB port for easy file saving to a flash drive and transfer to the computer.
If your have been unable to save files to a USB there are several helpful tips to consider.

First, not all flash drives will work!

The following is a list of compatible flash drives:
Emprex 2GB, HP 2GB, iLogic 1GB, Imation 4GB, Kingston Data Traveler 2GB (Newer white case), Kingston Data traveler 4GB, Lexar 2GB (Micro), Lexar 256 KB, PNY Attache GB, PNY Attache 4GB, SanDisk Cruzer 2GB, SanDisk Cruzer 1GB, Sony Microvault 2GB
The following is a list of NOT compatible flash drives:
Memorex traveler 2GB,Kingston Data Traveler 2GB (Older Black Case), Lexar 2GB (With memory Indicator), Patriot Memory 4GB, Staples Brand, TDK Trans-It 4GB, Office Depot Brand.

Second, try using a clean (previously unused) flash drive and dedicating it to files created on the Fusion.

Third, there are two ways to save using the flash drive on the fusion

1. On the desktop screen use the arrows to highlight the desired file (do not open the file),
Press the menu key and select “Save file to USB,” an information file should pop up to alert you that the file has been sent to the USB.

2. Highlight the desired file press the Menu key, scroll to “Save File to USB” and press ALT and SEND. You should get the same pop up alerting you that your file has been sent to the USB.

This link will take you to the Fusion operator manual if you need further details http://www.writerlearning.com/support.php

Let us know if you have any advice or tips using a fusion with a flash drive by adding a comment about your experiences!