Pinching Out and In is a perfect 10 in My Classroom

A new MyTalkTools feature is a big hit with teachers and SLPs alike in my center school for students with severe cognitive disabilities.

Classes have mixed abilities and grade levels so it's always a challenge to create the perfect board as a Universally Designed AAC device to teach and assess curriculum content.

It's like the story of The Three Bears.  Three choices may be overwhelming, two isn't always accessible and one is just right for the student still learning cause and effect so it's an example of errorless learning. Then, the next student might need two or more choices.  With a pinch in or a pinch out and then a scroll left or right you can make changes on the fly in literally two seconds.

Each week I create a master MyTalkTools board with everything lined up under title cells so I can open the cell I need to expose a bank of questions and answers for that subject or grade group.  This technique along with the new pinch and scroll technique allows me to provide differentiation in how the question is asked, the visual and auditory support and how one responds be it a pre-made answer cell, choices of cells, or to type in one's answer, if not a verbal attempt.

I don't know about your setting but I'm expected to work on higher level thinking skills with students.  This year in the answer section I'll start with a question and provide three choices: the answer, a distractor, and "I don't know."  When the correct answer its triggered it is followed by another cell with the reason for the answer and supporting picture that matches the answer picture.  When the incorrect answer is triggered it is followed by another cell with the wrong reason and supporting picture that matches that incorrect answer picture.  After two years of using the "I don't know" Symbolstix icon, my students only occasionally use it and more often know they are to try to pick from the real answer and the incorrect answer.

Furthermore, when they choose the incorrect answer I provide them a way to get back to the cell with the correct answer.  The sequence is that they hear the incorrect answer, and then choose the icon "I've changed my mind after hearing the choice."   They then trigger the green back arrow and trigger the correct answer.  This is new this year and I was shocked that many of my students on the one percent level got the idea the first time presented!

Go MyTalkTools!!!  

You bring success to my students.  Deb