Speech Therapy in the 21st Century: Digital Cameras
One of my favorite speech therapy tools is my trusty digital camera. There's no end to the materials I use it for, and I'm sure that many of you use yours too. Luckily for us, the days of finding lined drawings and coloring and cutting them out, or spending lots of money developing film for 1 or 2 pictures we want, are over.
Here are some of my favorite uses, and then I invite you to comment either here, or the Facebook Advance fan page, about ways you use digital photography for speech therapy.
- I love to import photographs into Boardmaker. The students enjoy seeing photographs of themselves and their teachers in visual schedules, picture exchange books, stories etc. I know there is a debate about whether or not to use lined pictures or photographs for visual schedules, and my suggestion is to do what works for each child. Once in Boardmaker, the pictures forever become a part of your picture library. If you don't have Boardmaker, you can download a free trial. I didn't have a color printer in my building, but was able to write a grant to a local charity who donated the money for the printer.
- I enjoy taking pictures and making little books for my preschool students. When we go on field trips I designate myself the photographer, and get lots of pictures showing the sequence of events, objects we saw, and of course the kids doing fun things.
- Cooking projects! I make sequencing cards of the steps for each recipe and sending them home for the children to practice and use at home.
Now readers, it's your turn! What do you use your digital camera for?