AAC Intervention

January 2003 - See Baby Sit Songboard	July 2003 - Talking PowerPoint Book
February 2003 - Jan Brett Materials	August 2003 - 'Hollywood' & 'Hollywood High'
March 2003 - Tri-Fold Choice Board	September 2003 - Turning AAC Devices into Electronic Pencils
April 2003 - Dotted Lines in Worksheets	October 2003 - AAC Users Community Group
May 2003 - Older Students Write!	November 2003 - Vanguard Phone Page
June 2003 - Velcro	December 2003 - Microsoft Word

Tip of the Month 2008

Tip of the Month 2007

Tip of the Month 2006
Tip of the Month 2005
Tip of the Month 2004
Tip of the Month 2003
Tip of the Month 2002
Tip of the Month 2001
Tip of the Month 2000
Tip of the Month 1999

pdf File Information

December 2003 Using MicroSoft Word More Fully

By: Scott Marfilius and Julie Maro

Mastering MicroSoft Word.pdf by Scott Marfilius
Using MS Word Features to Improve Student Writing by Julie Maro (Word Document)

Many of us on tight budgets may not be able to afford the latest and greatest new software items. These handouts both pertain to using MS Word - software which is already on the computers of many educators. See how features of this commonly used program can be used to help students write.

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November 2003 Phone Conversation Page for the Vanguard

By: Caroline Musselwhite

Vanguard Phone Page.pdf

Are you working with a Vanguard user who would like to use his/her communication device to talk on the phone? If so, this month's tip page is for you!

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October 2003 - Out & About! AAC Users Community Group

By: Caroline Musselwhite

AAC Users Community Group pdf File

Out and About! AAC Users Community Group

Thinking about starting a group of AAC users and friends in your community? This month's tip tells you Why this is a great idea, Who might come, What activities to include, and How to scaffold success.

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September 2003 - Turning AAC Devices into Electronic Pencils

Turn Dedicated AAC Devices Into High Powered Pencils and Computer Keyboards!!!!!Word Please note this is a Word document.

Turn Dedicated AAC Devices Into High Powered Pencils and Computer Keyboards!!!!!.pdf Please note this is a pdf document.

Gretchen Hanser MS, OTR/L & Deanna Wagner MS/CCC-SLP have recently updated this handout describing how to turn high tech AAC devices into electronic pencils.

August 2003 - Hollywood & Hollywood High

Multimedia Script Writing Programs: 'Hollywood' and 'Hollywood High'.pdf

This month's tip from Caroline and Gretchen is all about the multimedia script writing programs, 'Hollywood' and 'Hollywood High.' Download this file to find out:
- why you would want to use these programs with struggling writers and
AAC users
- where to buy them
- goals for using them to support writing
- ideas for adapting them

Have fun!

July 2003 - Talking PowerPoint Books

By: Gretchen Hanser, OTR

Talking PowerPoint Books pdf File

This month's tip comes from Gretchen Hanser, O.T. extraordinare! Since many classroom teachers have PowerPoint already installed on their computers, and the rest of us at least have access to PowerPoint Player, talking PowerPoint books are a great addition to our libraries. Enjoy!

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June 2003 - Velcro

By: Caroline Musselwhite

Velcro Ideas pdf File

Velcro®! We all use Velcro every day. Here are some simple ideas, resources, and links to help you in you homes and classrooms. Enjoy!

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May 2003 - Older Students Write for Younger Ones!

By: Caroline Musselwhite

Older Students Write pdf File

This tip is designed for students who are emergent writers older than age 10. It shows how to use their emerging skills as writers to author Big Books for younger students!

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April 2003 - Dotted Lines in Worksheets

By: Nancy Hogan

Dotted Lines in Worksheets pdf File

This month's tip is from Nancy Hogan of the Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology, Northampton, MA. Nancy created this to show how to leave blank spots between words using IntelliTalk II. Thanks Nancy! We'd love to hear from anyone else with a great tip and/or handout!

March 2003 - Tri-Fold Choice Board

By: Caroline Musselwhite

Tri-Fold Choice Board pdf File

This month's tip is for the ingenious choice board Caroline frequently shows during her workshops. This three-sided board allows the facilitator to set up symbols in advance of an activity. The benefits to the user include the presentation of a relatively limited symbol set.

February 2003 - Jan Brett's Website

By: Julie Maro

For those of you teaching literacy skills to younger children - check out Jan Brett's website for FREE activities featuring Jan Brett's outstanding artwork. I just downloaded the pdf pages for her alphabet flashcards. You will find them in the Activities Pages under "Alphabet Flashcards". They are beautiful! Be sure to read the "Terms of Use" information.

January 2003 - See Baby Sit Songboard

By: Caroline Musselwhite

Well it is official. We asked which songboard you would prefer to receive for free and the "See Baby Sit" board won. Thanks to all of you who took the time to e-mail your preferences!

See Baby Sit Songboard pdf File
Note: This is a large file and may take awhile to download.

pdf File Information
Please Note: Many of this years tips are in the form of .pdf files. Click on the name of the file - highlighted in blue - and that will take you to the .pdf.
If you are having trouble, here's another tip:

OPENING ADOBE ACROBAT FILES:
1) Drag the document into a folder on your desktop
2) Plan A: Double-click the document and see if it opens in Adobe Acrobat

Plan B:

Go to Find (under File menu when you're in the Finder) and type Acrobat - see if Acrobat Reader is on your computer.
If so, open it
Then go to File/Open and open the desired file from within

Plan C: If you don't have Acrobat Reader on your computer, go to their website and download it: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html