By: Blair ThallmayerMCOM 585: Internship

Office of Disability Services

•Table of Contents–What is Clicker 5?–What is new?–Clicker In Your Classroom–Quick Tips–Addition Information

What is

Introducing Clicker• What is Clicker?

– Clicker is a writing support and multimedia tool for children of all abilities and people with special needs.

– Clicker can be used to support teaching and learning in any subject area.

– It has a talking word processor, called Clicker Writer, and can write in this without using the keyboard- simply click on the words in the on-screen Clicker Grid. Words are spoken aloud before and after writing.

– Clicker Grids have a variety of uses, such as talking books, multimedia presentations and labeling activities.

– Comes with high- quality picture support to rapidly make useful and attractive teaching materials. Its realistic speech support reinforces learning and enables effective literacy and language teaching.

– It’s such a versatile tool; the only limit is your imagination!

• Writing support for all abilities• Click on words to write in the word processor

• Realistic UK English speech• Highlights text when spoken – even real speech

• Shift-click to edit a cell in the grid• Then press Enter and click on the cell to write it

• Make some cells inactive until others are used• Helps you structure a piece of writing

• Write with pictures - can appear as you write• Comes with hundreds of illustrative pictures

• Can also use animations• Clicker Animations CD-ROM sold separately

• Use full-screen grids without word processor• Create talking books and presentations

• Pop-up grids help students of all abilities to write talking books

• Pop-up grids are also great for labelling exercises

• Record your own sounds and add video clips• Supports MP3, MPEG and the latest technology

• Free resources at LearningGrids.com• Search for and run resources within Clicker

• Templates help you create your own grids• Edit Mode makes it easy to modify grids

• Clicker Explorer lets you manage grids easily• Use Master Grids to edit many grids in one go

• All Clicker Grids are switch accessible• Use Mayer-Johnson PCS symbols for communication

What’s New In

• Realistic UK English speech• Highlights text when spoken – even real speech

• Pop-up grids help students of all abilities to write talking books

• Pop-up grids are also great for labelling exercises

• Search LearningGrids.com within Clicker• Run resources straight off the website

• Clicker Explorer lets you manage grids easily• Use Master Grids to edit many grids in one go

• Edit Mode makes it easy to modify grids

• Make some cells inactive until others are used• Helps you structure a piece of writing

• Detailed new picture library, with hundreds of illustrative pictures

• Supports MP3 sound files and MPEG video – all the latest technology

In Your Classroom

• Reads aloud any text, highlighting words• Shows pictures above words• Capitalises proper nouns and words at start of sentences

In Your Classroom

• Use linked sentence-building grids to build a piece of writing• Move between grids using the arrows• Text in Clicker Writer stays the same

In Your Classroom

• ‘Forced order’ activities teach left-to-right sentence construction• Only some cells are active at a time, ensuring grammatical sense

In Your Classroom

• Provide a model sentence• See and hear the sentence before building it• Hear your own sentence and compare visually and aurally

In Your Classroom

• ‘Look-cover-write-check’• Click to view the sentence in a pop-up• Must close the pop-up before constructing the sentence

In Your Classroom

• Use sentence starters and endings in the grid• Match them together to build sentences

In Your Classroom

• Scaffold a whole piece of writing – not just a sentence• Each grid has a small number of words• Move to next grid to see words for next part of story

In Your Classroom

• Write using the grid AND the keyboard• Grid provides sentence starters and vocabulary• Use keyboard for any further text

In Your Classroom

• Use grids for word banks• Enter words into the grid with the class• A great interactive whiteboard activity for any subject

In Your Classroom

• Use a word bank as a ‘menu’• Click on a cell to go to writing grid• Writing grid contains a word bank with relevant vocabulary

In Your Classroom

• Use word banks to record an account of an event• Each grid focuses on a specific element

In Your Classroom

• Or use pop-up grids• Starter sentences link to related pop-up word banks

In Your Classroom

• Extend vocabulary• As a group, decide on alternatives for words• Add the words to the word bank

In Your Classroom

• Word bank grids support keyboard writing• Provide words that are difficult to spell• Provide key words to complete all elements of a subject

In Your Classroom

• Writing frames guide learners through a writing activity• Use to support discussion• Provide sentence starters and links to supporting arguments

In Your Classroom

• Use for procedures• Add your own words to blank cells• Personalizes the information and vocabulary

In Your Classroom

• Use for procedures• Add your own words to blank cells• Personalizes the information and vocabulary

In Your Classroom

• Use for recounting

• Writing frames help learners structure their retelling of a familiar story

In Your Classroom

• Use for explanation• Use a writing frame with links to blank word banks• Add appropriate vocabulary to the blank cells

In Your Classroom

• Use a structured framework to provide alternative choices for constructing a story

In Your Classroom

• Organise information• Use pop-up word banks and sentence starters

In Your Classroom

• Use Clicker to create talking books• Add pictures, text, sound, and video• Recall and share facts or events in an exciting way

In Your Classroom

• Learners can create their own talking books, selecting pictures, words or phrases from pop-up grids

• Create your own books to focus on a particular teaching point or vocabulary

In Your Classroom

• Relevant to any teaching topic

• Reluctant or struggling readers can click on a button to hear the text

In Your Classroom

• Engage disaffected readers

• Adapt text and images in a talking book to the interest and ability of the student

In Your Classroom

• Talking books provide opportunities for overlearning• Highlight and reinforce key vocabulary

In Your Classroom

• A stimulus for further activities• Use local photographs to encourage observation

In Your Classroom

• A stimulus for further activities• Ask questions within books to encourage further discussion

In Your Classroom

• Create personalised resources

• Pupils’ personal copies provide useful records of their reading fluency and accuracy

In Your Classroom

• Provide alternative versions of books• Differentiate using the same pictures/sound/video• Learners have resources matched to their abilities

In Your Classroom

• Link reading and writing activities

• Learners become familiar with the text in the book, and then create their own books to consolidate their learning

In Your Classroom

• Link reading and writing activities

• Learners become familiar with the text in the book, and then create their own books to consolidate their learning

In Your Classroom

• Link reading and writing activities

• Learners become familiar with the text in the book, and then create their own books to consolidate their learning

In Your Classroom

• Record an instruction, comment or question• Focuses the learner on a particular issue

In Your Classroom

• Create books to support other languages

• Many French and Spanish resources on the LearningGrids.com website

In Your Classroom

• Create books to support other languages

• Many French and Spanish resources on the LearningGrids.com website

In Your Classroom

• Write your own stories or accounts using pop-up grids• Provide the words needed for emerging or struggling

writers

In Your Classroom

• Reinforce vocabulary for reading and writing

• Use the same vocabulary in reading and writing versions of the same book

In Your Classroom

• Determine the order of the content of a book

• First choose a picture and then choose appropriate words or phrases

In Your Classroom

• Determine the order of the content of a book

• First choose a picture and then choose appropriate words or phrases

In Your Classroom

• Record your own account• Use a microphone to record your own voice• Speak the text on the page, or talk about the picture

In Your Classroom

• Use for labelling, sorting, matching, and sequencing• Provides reinforcement of learning objectives• Ideal for class, group, or individual work

In Your Classroom

• Use for labelling, sorting, matching, and sequencing• Provides reinforcement of learning objectives• Ideal for class, group, or individual work

In Your Classroom

• Use for labelling, sorting, matching, and sequencing• Provides reinforcement of learning objectives• Ideal for class, group, or individual work

In Your Classroom

• Labelling activities – click on a blank cell to view a pop-up, and select a word from the word bank pop-up

• Listen to the options in the word bank before you select

In Your Classroom

• Use Clicker’s high-quality graphics library, or your own photos

• Labelling activities are ideal for teaching foreign languages

In Your Classroom

• Reinforce and enhance numeracy• Many free numeracy activities available at

LearningGrids.com

In Your Classroom

• Label and classify objects• Use two pop-up grids to both label AND classify a picture

In Your Classroom

• Label and classify objects• Use two pop-up grids to both label AND classify a picture

In Your Classroom

• Engage a whole class or group in an interactive activity• Pupils take turns to complete the chart

In Your Classroom

• Use complementary activities to provide a written record of the activity

In Your Classroom

• Let learners show understanding• Pop-up grids can have as few or as many items as you like

In Your Classroom

• Let learners show understanding• Pop-up grids can have as few or as many items as you like

In Your Classroom

• Let learners show understanding• Pop-up grids can have as few or as many items as you like

In Your Classroom

• Develop phonic awareness using pictures and/or words• Sort words or pictures according to their sounds• Reinforcement activities offer visual and auditory cues

In Your Classroom

• Promote class or small group discussions

• Create open-ended activities to reinforce reasoning skills and develop speaking and listening skills

In Your Classroom

• Sort and classify information using word pop-ups• Pop-ups can offer explanations of words• Record a list of words and then categorise them

In Your Classroom

• Matching activities include:– Picture matching

In Your Classroom

• Matching activities include:– Word and picture matching

In Your Classroom

• Matching activities include:– Number matching

In Your Classroom

• Sequencing activities include:– Picture sequencing

In Your Classroom

• Sequencing activities include:– Number sequencing

In Your Classroom

• Sequencing activities include:– Sequencing sentences

In Your Classroom

• Sequencing activities include:– Sequencing events or statements

In Your Classroom

• Sequencing activities include:– Sequence learning by linking grids

In Your Classroom

Quick Tips

1. Toggle between Run Mode and Edit Mode– Double-click Run Mode or Edit Mode on the left of

the status bar.

2. Locate the Shared Clicker Files– Open the Options menu and select Program

Management.• To go to the location, copy and paste the path into the

Address bar of the My Computer window

3. Change the ToolTip size– Open the Options menu and select User

Preferences.– Click on the Appearance tab and then on the

Choose Font button.

4. Copy and paste cells– To Copy a cell, go to Edit Mode, right-click on the

cell, and then select Copy. To Paste a cell ( in Edit Mode), right-click on the grid background, and then select Paste.

• All the attributes of the cell will be pasted • Cells can be copied and pasted between different grids

5. Select multiple cells– Hold down the Ctrl key and click on each cell or

hold the Ctrl key and drag over cells.• The selected cells can be moved, copied or resized

together.

6. To resize multiple cells as a group– Highlight the cells as in Tip 5.– Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys. – Drag one of the hooks displayed with the red

outline.• A red outline is displayed around the selected cells.

7. Change attributes on multiple grids– Attributes can be changed on all the grids in a

Grid Set that are based on the same Master Grid.– In Edit Mode, go to Clicker Explorer, and scroll to

the bottom of the window. – Open the Master Grid and edit it.

• The changes made are applied to the grids in the Grid Set based on that Master Grid.

• If an individual grid has had an attribute changed already, changes made on the Master Grid are not applied.

8. Print multiple grids on a single sheet– Up to 8 grids can be printed on a single sheet.– Open the File menu and select Print.– In the Print options, select All grids in this

sentence or All grids in this Grid Set.– Click on the Grid Options tab and, from the drop-

down list to the right of the thumbnail, select the required number of grids per page.

9. Save an activity as a template– When a student makes changes to a Grid Set in

activities such as labeling and sorting, it is important that they do not overwrite the original Grid Set. Save this type of activity as a Clicker Template.

– In the Save Grid Set As dialog, set the Save as type option to Clicker 5 Template.

• A student using this type of file will not overwrite the original Grid Set when saving.

10. Identifying Clicker 5 Templates– In Clicker Explorer, the icon for Clicker 5

Templates has the letters CLKT in a blue band.

Additional Information

Crick Software Ltd, Crick House, Boarden Close,Moulton Park, Northampton NN3 6LF

Telephone: +44 (0)1604-671691 Fax : +44 (0)1604-671692

sales@cricksoft.com