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MTT Hosts Some Awesome Conference Events

Last week at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence Conference in Columbus, Ohio MTT sponsored the Keynote address given by Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher, the stars of the documentary film Wretches and Jabberers. Larry and Tracy later joined us at the VizZle booth to sign autographs, where they then stayed on playing VizZle games on the TAP-its.

The VizZle games on the TAP-its were also a big draw at the welcoming reception MTT hosted for the National Autism Leadership Summit, which also took place during OCALI. The summit gathered professionals from across the nation and engage them in discussions and activities with the overall goal of improving the quality of life for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), their families, and caregivers.

For us, the best part about attending education and technology conferences to spread the word about visual learning and technology is getting to meet you and hear your stories. Come see us at one of the next conferences on our schedule! We’d love to hear your stories about how technology is changing your classroom and opening new doors for your kids. And, as always—we have tchotchkes!

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Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher (front), the stars of Wretches and Jabberers, with (rear, l to r) VizZle Marketing Coordinator Brian Wiszniewski, CEO Terry Murphy, and Visual Learning Software Consultant June RIng at the VizZle booth at OCALI

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OCALI Conference-goers showing off their autographs from Larry and Tracy

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VizZle games on the TAP-it at the opening reception for the National Autism Leadership Summit in Columbus, Ohio

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Wendy Bonneau from DeKalb, IL stopped by at ATIA Chicago with her new iPad to download the just-announced VizZle App and share her excitement about technology and visual learning.

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Larry and Tracy signing autographs and giving out tchotchkes at the VizZle booth at OCALI

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MTT Presents Ohio VizZle Educator Awards at OCALI Convention Keynote Address

MTT has always had and will always have a special relationship with educators in Ohio. The Monarch Center for Autism-the incubator for VizZle-and the nearly 4 years of research and development involved in making VizZle available to educators across the country all started in Ohio.

Because of that relationship, MTT used the VizZle-sponsored keynote address introduction at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) Conference in Columbus, Ohio yesterday to honor two Ohio educators who are using VizZle to make a difference in the lives of kids with special needs.

Ohio VizZle Creator of the Year Award

The first award acknowledged an Ohio educator who not only goes the extra mile for the kids directly in her own classroom and creates custom curriculum to suit their needs. This educator then shares those creations, making the effort to submit and meet the VizZle moderators’ exacting standards for inclusion in the shared library (persevering despite the moderators’ persnickitude).

Our winner felt that her students were so motivated by and learned so well from VizZle’s interactive lessons that she wanted to create lessons to access the entire year’s curriculum for English Language Arts for her students. She spent much of her summer creating those lessons, and she shared them so that the other school staff in her district could use them too.

Her voluntary efforts have saved countless hours of educator time in her school, her district and across the country—sharing her work with other educators to save them time, and sharing her great interactive lessons that benefit not just her kids, but kids everywhere.

The Ohio VizZle Creator of the Year Award went to Michelle May, of Canton, Ohio. Also receiving honorable mentions for their outstanding creations and generous sharing were Linda LaKamp from Cleves, Ohio and Jennifer Pearson from Hudson, Ohio.

Ohio VizZle Educator of the Year Award

The second award was presented to one of the four Ohio educators who had made the ranks of our VizZle K Club (VizZlers with 1,000 or more log ins).

This award was given to a woman who considers her classroom a VizZle classroom. She told us the story of a boy new to both their school and to her classroom who had serious difficulties with transitioning, and adjusting to things like the many field trips she makes with her class.

After seeing his struggles, she found a VizZle story she could edit for their next field trip—that time to a bowling alley—as well as a schedule he could carry with him. She said “He watched this several times before the trip and he took his visual schedule with him on the trip. He had the most successful trip ever and I feel the instructional aide of VizZle allowed him to do that so well. It also did not take a huge amount of time on my part to prepare all that –which I love—that’s huge when you look at all the paperwork I have to do in this job!”

The Ohio VizZle Educator of the Year Award went to Carrie LeBeau, Intervention Specialist, Alliance Middle School, Alliance, Ohio. Honorable Mentions went to the three other K Club members from Ohio, Courtney Monastra from Highland Ohio, Cathy Rodeheffer from Dublin, Ohio and Kristal Austin from Avon Ohio.

Our congratulations and thanks go to all the award and honorable mention winners for all their efforts on behalf of kids with special learning needs.

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5 Tips for a Smoother Break (and a Better Monday after Break!)

You don’t need to spend tons of time and effort preparing for break to look like you spent tons of time and effort preparing for break! Use available resources and consider these tips. The parents will appreciate the support, and the kids will reward you with a better transition back into the regular routine on Monday.

1) Provide a visual story about the break (and look! Here’s one now!)
Don’t assume that students (of any age) know what is happening when there is a disruption to the usual schedule. Ideally, show a visual story at school before break, and send home a copy (either a print copy or an electronic copy). Feel free to use this example however it helps—use it verbatim, or edit it, or use it as a springboard to make your own:

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• Thanksgiving Break (Book), VizZle ID Number: 59356
  Images and text w/speech about getting time off school to celebrate Thanksgiving, with a quiz and pop-up for discussion, 11 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

2) Send some work home over break
Providing some lessons for the student to work on over break can be really helpful to both the kids and the parents. It gives the kids a connection to school even though their schedule is disrupted. It gives the parents something structured to give the child to fill some time productively. But it can backfire unless you follow tips 3, 4, and 5 too!

3) Make sure the work you send home is mastered (or darn close to it)
Break time is not a time to challenge the student with content they are struggling with. Instead, send work that they can handle confidently independently. Generalizing it to home is a challenge in and of itself.

4) Make sure the work you send home is something the student enjoys doing
It’s also best not to challenge the student (or the parents for that matter) with non-preferred activities over a break. If the student likes art, send home coloring or an art project. If the student likes interactive lessons, send home VIzZleGrams or lessons in the student folder.

5) Avoid calling it “homework”—don’t make it mandatory
If the student is having a rough break, coping with homework might be too much (for the child and/or for the parent). Make sure everyone understands that the work is there to help—not to be a burden. And it shouldn’t be a burden to you either! Don’t spend so much time on prepping it that you’ll feel resentful if it doesn’t get done.

Setting Up Your Student Player

For all you dedicated VizZlers who want to send home lessons for break in a Student Player, the VLS Team has a 3 Step (takes-you-longer-to-read-about-it-than-do-it) “How To” ready for you at Vizzle U. It includes:

• A short “How To” video
• A 3 Step print “How To” for those that prefer a printed guide by your side
• A letter for you to send home to parents explaining how to use the Student Player

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Holiday-Themed Lessons that Make Us Thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am thankful for how many VizZlers share their hard work via the shared user library. It can save so much time to find a pre-made lesson in Share and then edit it (if editing is even needed). But that wouldn’t happen without the creators who make original lessons and share them.

So, many thanks this holiday season from the VTips Team to everyone who creates and shares awesome lessons like these with a Thanksgiving theme…

Counting

• 10 Little Turkeys (Book), VizZle ID Number: 20723
  Images and text rhyme about 1 little, 2 little etc., (up to 10), with popup counting quizzes and videos on the 1st and last pages, 6 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• How Many? (Thanksgiving) (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 20445
  Image of number set of Thanksgiving themed items with text question, (i.e., “How many?”) TO number (for numbers 1 to 10), field of 3 choices, 10 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Discrimination

• Discriminate: Thanksgiving (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 6775
  Image and text label TO identical image w/text label of Thanksgiving themed items, field of 3 choices, 14 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Thanksgiving (Game), VizZle ID Number: 20926
  Each tile has an image and text label with a popup matching quiz with an image and text question about Thanksgiving TO image w/ text label in a field of 2 choices, 11 tiles, number spinner
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Vocabulary

• Object Function: Thanksgiving (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 20857
  Text directive (e.g., “Find something we eat for Thanksgiving Dinner.”)TO image w/text label, field of 3 choices, 6 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Thanksgiving Vocab (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 20945
  Text of vocabulary related to Thanksgiving TO image, field of 3 choices, some with set distractors, 17 pairs.
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

To Spark Conversation

• How Do You Celebrate Thanksgiving? (Book), VizZle ID Number: 7229
  Images and text w/audio about how people celebrate Thanksgiving, with quizzes and open-ended popups for discussion, 10 pages.
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• What Are You Thankful For? (Game), VizZle ID Number: 7232
  Images with popups for each tile with images and text w/audio of questions asking what the player is thankful for in that category (e.g. “What kind of food are you thankful for?”), 16 tiles
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Holiday ADL

• Green Bean Casserole Recipe (Book), VizZle ID Number: 21454
  Images and text w/audio for all the steps in making green bean casserole, 14 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Individual Apple Pie Recipe (Pix), VizZle ID Number: 4794
  Print activity, recipe for easy individual apple pies. 1 page
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Help for Home

• Thanksgiving Choices (Pix), VizZle ID Number: 20263
  For print, tiles of images and text labels to facilitate choice at Thanksgiving dinner, with yes please, no thank you and more and thank you (replace food items with those specific to your meal), prints on 1 page
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Thanksgiving Dinner (Schedule), VizZle ID Number: 20260
  7 step schedule for Thanksgiving Dinner, with checks and boxes when printed, prints on 3 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

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Sorting Board–The New Template in 4.0

Sorting Board has a number of innovative features new to VizZle lessons. On a sorting board, you can add text and audio instructions that will play as soon as the student begins to play. Students can also click on any tile to hear any audio added to it. The layout is super-flexible, and the authoring experience is a breeze to pick up. (Of course, there is one of my fabulous training videos embedded to get you started—starring me, me wonderful me!)(Oh all right—and the sorting board…)

Kudos to the First Creator!

After only an hour or so of release, we had our first user-created Sorting Board roll into Share. And what a great one it is! (I know, I know—Halloween was yesterday—but I had to show you what an awesome and creative use Linda from Cleves, OH made of the new features of the template for a quick day-of lesson.) Thanks for sharing Linda!

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• Halloween: Noun or Adjective (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52251
  adjectives or nouns using Halloween-themed vocabulary, text and images with some spooky ooky sound effects, 8 tiles on 1 sort
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

But There’s More…

Linda’s was far from the only sorting board to come into the lesson library on its inaugural day (run a search by Lesson Type in Share to see all of the new choices). I hope these will spark your imagination for how you can make (and share!) cool new lessons with the template.

• Colors (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52219
  Red or Blue, green or yellow, orange or purple, text instruction to sort, image w/ text label colors, image only sort tiles, 8 tiles per sort, 3 sorts
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Seasons: Summer or Fall, Spring or Winter (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52159
  Sort into Summer OR Fall, Spring OR Winter, text w/ audio instructions, image and text w/ audio categories, image and text w/ audio sort tiles, 8 tiles per sort, 2 sorts
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Initial Sound: “f” or “s” (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52228
  Sort into initial sound of /s/ OR /f/, text w/ audio instructions, text w/ audio categories, image w/ audio sort tiles, 8 tiles per sort, 1 sort
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Pronouns: He or She (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52153
  Sort into he or she, text w/ audio instructions, image and text w/ audio categories, image sort tiles, 8 tiles per sort, 1 sort
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Operation: Addition or Subtraction (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52162
  Sort into Addition OR Subtraction, text w/ audio instructions, image and text w/ audio categories, text of short word problems sort tiles, 8 tiles, 1 sort
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Rooms: Bathroom or Bedroom (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52240
  Sort to the bathroom or to the bedroom, text instructions, images w/ text labels for categories and sorting tiles, 8 tiles per sort, 2 sorts
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Sorting in the Kitchen (Sorting), VizZle ID Number: 52238
  Sort utensils to a drawer or dishes to a cupboard, text instructions, images and text label for categories and sorting tiles, 8 tiles in 1 sort
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

The brand new, totally awesome VizZle 4.0 is here! VizZle 4.0 represents a major change for VizZlers, with many new conveniences and features. The whole program has been rewritten stem to stern to facilitate easy access both via the web and on mobile tablets like iPads and Android….

VizZle iPad App Is Here!

The much anticipated VizZle Player App is available in the Apple App Store. Click here or go to the iTunes Store and search for VizZle.

VizZle content and the touchscreen and portability of the iPad will engage and reach kids with autism the way nothing else has that has come before. The ability to customize and make whatever you need for use on your mobile tablet as opposed to having to rely on canned content is a major breakthrough!

VizZle Android App Is Here Too!

VizZle has gone totally mobile–and all the same coolness as iPad and VizZle applies! To load the new app on your Android compatible tablet (like the Xoom), click here

Access New VizZle at www.govizzle.com – The New Portal for All Things VizZle!

Now No Download or Install Needed!

The brand new VizZle is now a no-download, no-install program! Just open your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or the like) and go to www.govizzle.com. Click the orange “Play from Browser” and click the orange “VizZle Web” and log in as usual.

(NOTE: You may experience a white “waiting” screen while it loads for the first time–just wait, and it will open. This will only happen the first time you log in.)

In addition, we are also now offering a new VizZle Desktop edition, much like the previous version you have been using. If you would prefer to use that, please click here for information on how to replace the old and install the new VizZle Desktop.

But if you get blocked, notify your school or district’s Tech Support, and use VizZle Web via govizzle.com until they get to your request. That way, you won’t lose a minute of access!

What Happens If I Click on my Old VizZle Icon on the Desktop?

Because of all the new awesome coolness, the old version of VizZle can not be supported, and won’t work for you. If you try to click on the old version, it will ask you to upgrade. If you answer yes, you will likely receive an error message on the install. If you ignore the update message and just enter, VizZle will seem “broken”.

So use the new VizZle! Go to www.govizzle.com click the orange “Play from Browser” and click the orange “VizZle Web” and log on!

If you really want the desktop experience rather than the browser version, click here to find out how to upgrade to the new VizZle Desktop.

Desktop vs. Web — What’s the Difference?

Not much!

Both allow you to access all your folders, lessons and media. Use one. Use the other. Switch back and forth.Use whatever is easiest and most convenient at the moment!

The only major difference is for those of you who create a lot of lessons using imported images. Because of the nature of the web, you won’t be able to drag in your personal media directly into create when you are making lessons in VizZle Web—you’ll need to use the import media button (either in Teach, or—sneaky workaround alert!—in Create, use the Add Video button for any kind of media). Drag and drop import of personal media will still be fully functional in VizZle Desktop. To find out how to upgrade to VizZle Desktop, click here.

The Magic of f11

The only other reason you might want to stick exclusively with Desktop is if having the browser controls present makes it too easy for your students to go wandering the web. But don’t forget that in most browsers you can hit f11 to go in and out of full-screen mode, removing the browser controls from view.

You may want f11 for yourself too—especially when creating lessons or searching the library. That “back” arrow on the browser is awfully tempting—but it will take you back to the last thing you did in your browser [not to the last thing you did in VizZle] and exit VizZle altogether, which can be a real groaner.

So you may want to Create in VizZle Desktop, but play in VizZle Web. Or use VizZle Web at school, but use VizZle Desktop at home. Or never use VizZle Desktop again. Or never try VizZle Web. Use whatever is most convenient and comfortable for you at the moment!

What Else is New in 4.0?

New Template—Welcome the Sorting Board

The Sorting Board is another easy-to-use yet powerful template for creating interactive lessons with lesson play tracked for data reporting.

More Robust and Flexible Data Tracking

In 4.0 you can track lessons played from anywhere (even direct from Share), and new goals and report interfaces make it easier to get the data you need.

Now each VizZle License Bundled with 6 VizZle Players

By popular demand the new VizZle Classroom Edition supports up to 6 concurrent users – great for fostering independent play in school – or at home!

Other Cool New Features

• One Click to save lessons from Share to your My Lessons folder in Teach
• New Authoring layout in Pix-2-Go, including smaller grid sizes for more layout flexibility
• New look and feel on the Welcome screen, which now includes links to the last 10 stories on the VizZle Blog, as well as video tours of Share, Teach and (new for 4.0) Create.
• Book will automatically print looking more like books
• New Layout for searching Share
• Cleaner Activity Summary, with more info in less space
• Color coded backgrounds let you tell lessons (blue) from media (green) or playlists (pink) at a glance in Teach folders in icon or list view
• New more intuitive layout in My Profile that allows you to change your password and manage your student folders
• New layout for student folders and their Student Profiles, IEP goals, and IEP lessons

For all the “how-to” on VizZle 4.0, check out the articles in the Upgrading to VizZle 4.0 Forum

The brand new VizZle is now a no-download, no-install program! Just open your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or the like) and go to www.govizzle.com. Click the orange “Play from Browser” and click the orange “VizZle Web” and log in as usual. Enjoy!

The brand new VizZle apps for iPad and Android are now available! For information on installing and links, click here!

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Desktop vs. Web — What’s the Difference?

Not much!

Both allow you to access all your folders, lessons and media. Use one. Use the other. Switch back and forth. Use whatever is easiest and most convenient at the moment!

The only major difference is for those of you who create a lot of lessons using imported images. Because of the nature of the web, you won’t be able to drag in your personal media directly into create when you are making lessons in VizZle Web—you’ll need to use the import media button (either in Teach, or—sneaky workaround alert!—in Create, use the Add Video button for any kind of media). Drag and drop import of personal media will still be fully functional in VizZle Desktop.

To find out how to upgrade to VizZle Desktop, click here.

Preparing lessons to help kids with ASD to accurately answer “wh” questions is the theme of this week’s VTips. Scroll down for tips and some great lessons for skill building and practice.

When it comes to making lessons for a child with autism to skill build and practice accurately responding to a “wh” questions (who, what, where, when, why…), not all “wh” questions are created equal! Some questions you might consider a “gimmee” for an easy answer are far more difficult for kids with ASD than they would be for a neuro-typical peer.

Your “Easy” Might not be His “Easy”

It makes sense that “easy” questions should be used to teach and practice the concept of the question and answer format first. Only after the question format is familiar and the concept of accurately answering a question is mastered should a child be challenged by the content of the question itself.

But what makes a question “easy” or “hard” for a typical child isn’t necessarily the same for a child with autism. For a kid with ASD, the key is making the content concrete and fully supported by visuals. The child should be able to get everything needed to answer the question just from looking at it.

Great Examples of “Easy”

Here are some examples of great lessons for skill building and to practice accurately answering a question.

• Where (Easy) (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 51257
  Image and text w/ speech (e.g., Where do you find a kitchen sink?” TO image and text w/audio, with full visual clues and cues, field of 3 answer, 8 questions
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• “Wh” Questions (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 51255
  Text w/ image “wh” question (e.g., “What is the girl doing?”) TO image w/ text label, with visual cues, field of 4 choices, 10 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Object Function (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 6231
  Images and short text sentences asking “wh” question about an object (e.g. “what do you write with?”) TO image and label of object, field of 3 choices, 8 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Verbs (Book), VizZle ID Number: 47420
  Image and text asking a what doing question (e.g., “What is the girl doing?”) w/ audio giving the action, popup text giving action (e.g., “She is planting white flowers.”), 11 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Introducing and practicing the more concrete “what” and “who” questions with plenty of visual support builds a strong foundation. Only after the question format is familiar and the concept of accurately answering a question is mastered with concrete, easily visually supported questions should a child be challenged with the more difficult, less concrete questions.

What Makes a Question More Difficult?

A lesson that isn’t fully visually supported is more difficult for a child with ASD. It is much more difficult for the child with ASD to infer something that isn’t part of the picture. Take, for instance, a lesson with the question, “Where do you find a ring?” with an image of a ring. An easier lesson would have one of the answers be an image of the ring on a finger. A more difficult lesson would show just the image of a finger. The most difficult lesson would have a text or audio question, “Where would you find a ring?” and an image or text of “on a finger.”

Especially difficult are inferences that involve theory of mind. Typical kids usually understand from a very early age that other people have their own feelings and motives. Kids with autism tend to be missing that inherent ability. Kids with autism have to consciously learn (and therefore, be taught) that other people have thoughts, motives and feelings that are separate from, and often different than, their own. So questions that ask for that kind of information are especially challenging.

Examples of a Greater Challenge

Here are some examples of “wh” question lessons that might be easy for a typical child, but are really a challenge for a child with ASD:

• Tools (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 10718
  Image and text w/audio question (e.g. “What do you do with a lawn mower?”) TO image and text w/audio of corresponding chore (e.g. “Mow the lawn.”), field of 3 choices, 8 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• “Where” Questions (Game), VizZle ID Number: 4049
  Each numbered tile has a quiz that opens when the player lands on the square with images and text, 15 tiles
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Who vs. What (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 41550
  Image and text question asking “who” or “what” (e.g., “WHO is in the kitchen?”) TO image and text label (e.g., “woman”), field of 2 choices w/ set distractors, 10 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Emotion Inferences (Game), VizZle ID Number: 36449
  Each tile has an image and text label of a feeling with a popup quiz with an image of that emotion and text question asking the player to infer why the pictured person is feeling that way (e.g., “Why might this girl feel scared?”) 13 tiles, number spinner
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

So save “wh” questions with these kinds of format and content for after the basic concept of accurately answering a question has been fully mastered. The leap it takes for kids with ASD to understand the more difficult, less visually supported questions can only be made from a firm foundation.