Assistive Technology Network E-News
Volume 1, Issue 1
September 2004

Welcome to the Assistive Technology Electronic Newsletter designed to provide educators with tips and tricks when integrating technology in the classroom.

Contents:

• Multiple Choice Forms with MS Word
• Tips on BoardMaker
• Upcoming Conferences

Multiple Choice Forms with MS Word

With MS Word, you can create multiple-choice forms that allow students to choose an answer using a drop-down menu.  These forms can be used for students to take quizzes, beginning writers to create stories, summary of the school day, or a choice chart when determining chores.  The final product will allow the student to Tab through the form and make selections using a drop down menu.  The student completes the form on the computer and then prints to submit to the teacher.  On the drop down menu, you can include two choices or more.  This is an excellent activity to help emerging readers.  Make the sentences simple and the choices can come from their sight word vocabulary.  Here are the directions…

1.      Open up MS Word and on the toolbar, select View, Toolbars, and click on Forms toolbar.   The forms toolbar will appear on your document.

2.      On your document, type what you would like and when you come to the space that you want the multiple choices to occur go up to the Forms toolbar.

3.      The first three buttons on the toolbar are the different types of forms that are possible.  The third button is for multiple choice.  Click on the third button.

4.      A shaded rectangle will appear on your document.  To type in the choices you want your student to choose from, click on the fourth button on the Forms toolbar.  This button is the Form Field Options.  A dialog box will appear.

5.       In the dialog box, in the left top area under “drop down item”, type your first choice, and then click on add.  Repeat this step until you have added all of your choices.  When you are finished, click OK.

6.      Be sure that the “shaded a”  (the eighth button) is on.  When this is selected, it shades text fields so that the student can see them.  The shading does not print out.

7.      After you have finished the form, click on the padlock button (the last button on the Form toolbar).  This will lock the form.  You will then be able to see your choices in a pull-down menu and the student will not be able to make changes.  If you want to make additional changes, you will need to unlock the form. If you have students that are computer savvy, you can use a password to protect the form.

There are other types of forms that you can construct such as fill in the blank and a check box.  For more information on constructing forms for education, here are some websites…

TTAC Online – Sign up for Webshops!  It’s all online and complete at your own pace.
Making Adaptations in Microsoft WORD to Promote Literacy

Teacher Workshop – Microsoft Word Form
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/murrumba/workshops/WordFormsWorkshop.PDF

Word Forms – An overview
http://www.uwec.edu/help/WordXP/frm-overview.htm

Tips on BoardMaker

There are several versions of BoardMaker in the general population.  If you save a board on one version, you may not be able to open it in a different version.  Mayer-Johnson has a patch that you can download from their site to fix this problem.  Go to http://www.mayer-johnson.com/main/index.html and select the download section.  You will also find lots of templates, grids and schedules that are free.  There is also a link for discontinued items, which you can purchase for a 50% discount.

Free downloads from the Call Centre (using the older BoardMaker)
http://callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/Resources/BoardMaker_REA/boardmaker_rea.html

More BoardMaker Templates from Burnaby Teachers in British Columbia, Canada
http://schou.sd41.bc.ca/district/boardmaker.htm

BoardMaker Tutorials
http://aacintervention.com/boardmaker.html

Conferences:

What:  Regular Assistive Technology for Everyone (RATE)
When: October 16, 2004,  9:00 – 4:00
Where:  Fairfax ITS, Fairfax, VA
Cost: Free
Contact:  Jennifer Mitchell at TTAC/ODU 757-683-4873 or jmitchell@ttac.odu.edu

What: AT and Literacy for Students with Significant Disabilities and Demonstration Stations
When: October 28, 2004,  9:30 – 4:00
Where: ODU Higher Education Center, Hampton, VA
Cost:  $10.00
Contact:  Shannon Duncan at 757-683-4333 or go to http://www.ttac.odu.edu/newsletter/pdf/septoct200405/septOct0405/18Oct28flyerandreg.pdf

What: TechKnowledgy 2004
When:  November 3 & 4, 2004, 8:00 – 3:30
Where:  Holiday Inn Select Koger South, Richmond, VA
Cost:  $100.00 for one day, $125 for both days
Contact:  Children’s Hospital, Richmond, VA  804-228-5845  

What:  Visual Screening and Assessment for Young Visually Impaired Children
When:  November 12, 2004, 8:30 – 3:00
Who: Lucy Memmo, Vision Education Consultant, Commonwealth of Virginia
Where: Brickhouse Auditorium at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, VA
Cost: $15.00
Contact:  Shannon Duncan at 757-683-4333

What:  The Write Tool:  Finding the Right AT to Support Writing Success
When:  November 18, 2004, 8:00 – 3:00
Where: Holiday Inn Hampton Hotel & Conference Center, Hampton, VA
Cost:  $25.00
Contact: Shannon Duncan at 757-683-4333

Notices:

• We are looking for Great Ideas!  If you have used an Assistive technology activity successfully in your classroom, send it to jmitchell@ttac.odu.edu.  If we use it in our e-newsletter you will receive a gift.
• Know of an educator who might enjoy receiving this monthly newsletter?  Just send them to http://ttac.odu.edu/esubs/forms/atn.htm where they can subscribe.