Clicker Docs for iPad Updated

You can read my original review of Clicker Docs, which adds considerable writing supports for students that need word prediction, text to speech, and talking word wall support. Since my review, Crick Software has released an update to the app which adds some powerful new features. The latest version of Clicker Docs now supports external Bluetooth keyboards, Dropbox, as well as spell checking. While the word prediction feature was well implemented in Clicker Docs- it is now more powerful in that any word that is included in the grid automatically comes to the top of the prediction list when a student is typing. So for example if the student was writing about the rainforest and you had created a grid that included the following words: canopy, orangutan, understory, sloth, opossum, emergent layer, forest floor, etc.- these words would automatically come up to the top of list as the student was typing and could be selected from the prediction bar. You can see from the screen shot above the list of words and in the screen shot to the right-see how the word prediction engine suggested the word "orangutan" in the list. This is a very powerful feature and will allow teachers to build customized grids on specific topics so that students are better supported when they are doing writing a particular topic. Clicker Docs also added a feature called Show Touches which is great for those of us who are doing training, it adds a small yellow highlighted circle whenever you touch the screen at that location. Likewise, Clicker Docs now supports Dropbox which will be fully integrated with the desktop version of Clicker 6. If you have downloaded Clicker Docs to you iPad make sure that you update your version so that you can take advantage of these new features.

Crick Software Releases Clicker Sentences & Clicker Docs for the iPad

Just today Crick Software released two new apps for the iPad, Clicker Sentences and Clicker Docs. Both apps are are great for supporting writing on the iPad and each one offers a unique set of features to support students in the writing process. Lets start with Clicker Docs, an easy to use writing program for students that need a variety of supports and scaffolding. When you first open up Clicker Docs you will immediately get a sense that Crick Software spent a great deal of time thinking through  the user interface and the user experience. Clicker Docs is very inviting and aesthetically pleasing to the eye and adds some real innovation in terms of the supports it includes.

Clicker Docs adds text to speech as well as word prediction which are just two of the supports which many students with learning disabilities can benefit from. Clicker Docs lets the user adjust the number of words to load into the word prediction tool. Starting out with a base of 250 words and going up to 60,000 gives students a wide array of words to choose from when doing written work. Students can turn on the SoundsLike Prediction feature on so that the predictor will suggest words that might be spelled phonetically. When I typed the sentence "I am using the fone," with the SoundsLike Prediction feature turned on, it did predict the "phone." Students can turn the Predict Next Word feature on and off and control the number of words that are predicted that appear above the keyboard. Students can listen to any of the predicted words by tapping on the Sound Shift Key and then tapping on the word. If you double tap the Sound Shift key-it will lock it, and then you can then tap on each and every word that is predicted to listen to it. The word prediction feature worked really well and is an important feature for lots of students that I work with, with writing disabilities.

Clicker Docs can also provide students with customized Word Banks which can add another level of writing support. Creating Word Banks is rather straight forward and easy to use. It is as simple as naming your grid and typing some words separated by a space. If you need to have two words grouped you can accomplish this by putting the words in brackets. You can also copy and paste text into the Grid Content dialog box which makes it easy to create from text you might have copied from the web. If you want to create a Word Bank with words that placed alphabetically you can do that by clicking on the Paste A-Z button. Creating Word banks is fast and easy and provides students with another level of support especially when they are writing a specific topic. Teachers can also quickly go out to LearningGrids directly from Clicker Docs to download and run new Word Banks that are available. This is a great resource and one that I know both teachers and students will love to use.

To get a feel for the Clicker Docs app I have included a screencast

Clicker 6 - A Whole New Game!

I have been meaning to write about Clicker 6 for some time now, but it has been an incredibly busy spring and summer and I didn't get a chance to sit down and reflect on the latest release. Truth be told I have been a big fan of Clicker for a long time now and with the current release I am even more excited with the potential of this program with students with a wide range of abilities. Having worked with a lot of assistive technology over the years one of the key criteria for me is that it has got to be easy to use. If it takes me awhile to learn how to use a software program then I know that it is doomed in the classroom. The latest release of Clicker 6 now includes Activity Wizards which make using the program a real dream. Just this morning I had the chance to use Clicker 6 with a student I was working with who had underlying cognitive and language disabilities and within seconds of selecting a Talk About Wizard I had developed a picture based activity that he could use to tell a story about the pictures on the screen. It was incredible just how engaged the student was and how exciting it was to see the expression on his teacher's face as he told his story. Using the Activity Wizard the activity was created within 15 seconds. In today's, fast paced classroom having tools at your disposal that can create rich curriculum based materials is more important than ever.

After I created this Talk About activity, I decided to create a picture to word matching activity to see if the student could match the pictures to the word. To create this activity, I selected the Matching Wizard, followed the on-screen prompts and selected the pictures that I had downloaded to a folder on my desktop. Again within 10 seconds my matching activity was up and running and the student could give it a try. The teachers were very impressed and were able to see just how easy it was to create the activity. Clicker 6 provides students with high quality text to speech supports and with the integration of the webcam, audio and multimedia it is my go to program for students that have a wide range of learning challenges. If you have not looked at Clicker for awhile I would urge you to take a look at the current release which has a lot to offer. I am planning another post to talk about the other supports that are now integrated into Clicker 6 namely, word prediction, switch support, and drawing tools. So watch for another post about Clicker 6 to be coming soon!

Write Online Adds a Mind Mapping Workspace

I have been impressed with Write Online from Crick Software since I first saw it, and initially remarked that this Web 2.0 application breaks new ground for assistive technology. Write Online provides the user with a rich feature set for writing that is accessible from any web browser. Just this past week John Crick alerted me to the addition of a mind mapping workspace to Write Online which I had a chance to use this past weekend.

When you open Write Online you will notice a Document and a Workspace tab. If you click on the Workspace Tab you will see that it puts you into a mind mapping mode that lets you do some quick brainstorming using a variety of different shapes to get your ideas down. Using some of the short cuts I was able to quickly prepare my mind map and link my ideas. You can see from the screenshot that you can add linking text to the ideas and add color to the various shapes that are provided. You will find it an easy to use addition to the program. Once you are done you can quickly transfer your mind map to an outline in the Document space- which is a great feature. But it even gets better than that! With one click you can create a Wordbar with the words you used to generate your mind map. Imagine all of the possibilities for having students create their own mind maps with the support of a customized Wordbar. Write Online continues to innovate and now provides a quick way for students to brainstorm using mind maps to do so. For more information about Write Online click here.

Providing Support with Glance

It has been exciting being able to use Glance to provide my students with support when they are not able to make it to class. Just last week I had two students who could not make it to class and they had a project due on a software application called ClozePro, from Crick Software. Since this is a hybrid course, I decided to use Glance to provide them with a webinar that I could demonstrate to them how to use the software, without anyone having to leave their home. We all agreed on a time and we decided to use Skype to deliver the audio portion of the webinar. Once we were connected I sent both my students the Glance link via the Skype chat and we were off an running.

One of the really great features of Glance is its simplicity. I know that there are more screen sharing applications out there that have a host of features, but one thing that is critical for new users of this technology is their ability to simply click and see your screen. For this reason Glance is on the top of my list for ease of use. For the presenter there is very little behind the scene work that you have to do. Just initiate the session and let you guests connect. As the presenter you can really focus on the content- after all, isn't that the reason you initiated the session? Glance is just simple to use! . Give it a try and let me know about your experience.

Crick Software Releases WriteOnline 1.3

FYI- today I received an email from John Crick announcing the release of WriteOnline 1.3. As you will see in this post Crick Software has added a number of features and enhancements that will make WriteOnline even more compelling for students with writing disabilities. WriteOnline has added SoundsLike word prediction which works really well with students who are phonetic spellers. WriteOnline 1.3 clearly provides students with the supports they need wherever and whenever they need it. Take a look at WriteOnline to see for yourself how these supports can help the students you support in the classroom.

WriteOnline release 1.3
We have just gone live with WriteOnline 1.3, which incorporates our new SoundsLike^TM technology in the word predictor. This works out what the word you are typing sounds like, and then predicts words that begin with that sound, making the prediction even more powerful for writers who have difficulty spelling! For example, if you type 'fiz', the predictor will offer you words beginning with 'phys'.

There are a number of enhancements in this release, including:

• opening and saving as MS Word documents (.doc and .docx)
• option to customize speed of speech
• right-click speech on Wordbar tabs and spellchecker suggestions
• enhanced picture handling, with captions
• more accessibility enhancements for users with low vision
• SoundsLike^TM word prediction

Now the new version is live, it will be delivered to you automatically next time you login, so you don't have to do anything to update! For more information click here WriteOnline