We so often hear at Spectronics "There are no good programs using Australian money for people with special needs". And yet Spectronics has so many clever programs which allow you to create your own activities. So ... here is the plan folks!

On our Web Activity Exchange, we have posted up scanned images of all of the Australian notes and coins. It would be great if you could download these images, and use them to create an activity ... any activity ... using the images!

We have saved them in formats which can be used in Clicker 4, BuildAbility, IntelliPics Studio, IntelliTalk II, IntelliMathics, Writing with Symbols 2000, SwitchIt! Maker or ChooseIt! Maker and more. We would love to receive activities for all of these programs!

What's in it for you? You could win a copy of Clicker 4, BuildAbility or IntelliPics Studio. If you win, you choose the program which would be most useful for you. You also will see your name "up in lights" as we will post all contributions up onto the Spectronics Activity Exchange.

How do we choose a winner? Everyone who submits an activity is in with a chance! Once we receive your activity, we will put your name into a "hat" and the first name drawn at close of business on Friday 30th August will be the winner.

So please send your activities to barbara@spectronicsinoz.com as soon as you can - to make sure your name is in the draw on 30th August.

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Tina and Mike Detheridge, developers of Writing with Symbols 2000, will be coming from England to visit Australia in October - as we mentioned in an earlier newsletter. The dates and venues for the "Getting More out of your Copy of Writing with Symbols 2000" workshops have been confirmed now.

Workshop One
Tuesday 1st October 2002
9.00am to 4.00pm
Venue: Riverglenn, Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Cost: $66.00 (includes morning tea and lunch)

Workshop Two (repeat of first workshop)
Thursday 3rd October 2002
9.00am to 4.00pm
Paradise Springs Golf Course, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD
Cost: $66.00 (includes morning tea and lunch)

Please contact us on mail@spectronicsinoz.com for program details and registration form, or watch our website for the on-line registration form going up next week. If you have already contacted us, a registration form will be forwarded to you soon.

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To tie in with Tina and Mike Detheridge's visit to Australia in October, Widgit Software plans to release an Australian version of the Rebus symbol set - as used in the Writing with Symbols 2000 program. The Rebus symbol set has undergone significant redevelopment and these changes will also be released with the Australian version.

Click here to download the document which spells out the changes in approach planned for the new Widgit Rebus Symbols. This new approach was developed as a result of 18 months of extensive consultation with UK-based teachers, speech pathologists and symbol users.

We now need Australian input to ensure that our specific needs are met too. Spectronics is currently working with Tina to put together an info kit to gather your suggestions for Australian Rebus Symbols. Please email me on barbara@spectronicsinoz.com if you would like to receive a kit. As soon as they are ready, I will send one out to you!

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We have noticed an error in the recently released collection of Australian PCS Symbols in Boardmaker. Unfortunately, the Aboriginal flag image used in the symbols called "Aboriginal Flag" and "Aboriginal People" is incorrect. The red and black sections of the flag are in reversed position.

If you have downloaded the Australian symbols for your Windows or Mac versions of Boardmaker, or received a copy of the new Boardmaker for Windows any time during 2002, you will have the incorrect flag images. To correct this error, please visit the Mayer-Johnson website and follow their directions for downloading the Australian symbol collection. The version now posted on their website contains the corrected images.

If you require more assistance with installation of these files, visit our website for more detailed instructions for installation of the Australian symbols into Boardmaker for Windows Version 5.0 and for Boardmaker for Mac. Please contact Spectronics if you require any help with installing the symbols. If you have difficulty downloading the symbols from the web, we are happy to supply you with the corrected symbol installation files free of charge on a CD.

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After a long wait, the UK version of Draft:Builder is almost here! We have had a play with the just released US version, and it is a great tool for helping students to structure their written work! It is particularly helpful for students with learning difficulties who can't go on to build a written project report or assignment, even after they have been helped with planning the document layout using programs like Inspiration.

Draft:Builder provides a structured framework for guiding the student through each of the tasks they need to complete to build their final draft. It guides them through creating a visual outline of their work, gathering notes and finally to synthesising the outline and notes into a draft.

It comes with over 30 templates which help students with suggested structure for Book Reports, Compare and Contrast exercises, Persuasive Essays, Interview Reports etc. As a parent of two primary school aged boys, I can see this program really helping ME by assisting the boys to more independently put together their written work - without the tears of frustration on their part!!

Draft:Builder UK Version will sell for $299 plus GST. Visit our website for more information.

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We like to feature Australian innovations when they come along ... so here are a few words about the new "Test of Mouse Proficiency" (TOMP) developed by a Brisbane-based occupational therapist, Alison Lane. Alison has many years experience in working with children with physical and learning difficulties. As a follow on from her PhD studies, she developed TOMP after identifying that a comprehensive method of assessing children's mouse skills was not available. TOMP may be used as part of a battery of tests designed to establish the readiness of a child for educational programs or in response to a particular concern about the computer access skills of the child. Children who have difficulties in visual-motor, visual-perceptual and proprioceptive performance may be more likely to be at risk of "technology illiteracy". These children may benefit from routine assessment of their mouse skills.

TOMP has a place in assistive technology assessment centres for comparing the efficiency of a variety of mouse options. It is also a useful medicolegal and workplace assessment tool to quantify the improvement in mouse use skills when recommending specific alternatives to the standard mouse.

TOMP assesses skills in pointing and clicking; dragging; and pursuit tracking. It measures speed, accuracy and fluency of mouse control. All measurements can be compared with standardised results for mouse users. If you would like more information about TOMP, please visit our website.

Once you have identified specific difficulties in using a mouse, you could move on to mouse training skills with such programs as Moles, IT Mouse Skills or Bio Bytes.

Moles: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/product.asp?product=8902
IT Mouse Skills: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/product.asp?product=10377
Bio Bytes: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/product.asp?product=5055

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Greg Alchin, an adviser in technologies for special education, also frequently presents at conferences on "Web Usability". For this month's newsletter, he has provided a file in Flash format for you to download by clicking here. It includes design tips for improving the on-screen readability of your website. To view this file, you will need the Flash Player downloadable from the Macromedia Website.

Thanks Greg!

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• Many of you will have spoken with Annette Neller, our receptionist, over the past two years. Annette is leaving Spectronics at the end of May to experience the joys (and trials) of motherhood! In her place, Sue Blake is now learning the ropes. Please make Sue feel welcome. She has a lot to learn - but is learning fast and is keen to help you out as much as she can when you contact Spectronics.



• We have received lots of positive feedback about our website being very easy to use - thank you everyone. But some of you still find it hard to navigate your way through our site. So, we hope the new look site just launched will make it easier for you to find what you need on our site. If you don't like it, please let us know too!



• New Spectronics Activity Exchange Activities
  The latest addition to the Spectronics Activity Exchange is a Cause-and-Effect Activity Template and instructions for use with IntelliPics Studio posted up by Michael O'Leary. This will help you to create activities in IntelliPics Studio which look like the "old" IntelliPics activities with movements and sound effects. Click here to visit the Activity Exchange to download this activity.



• A Zillion Sounds!
  Do you have trouble finding just the right sounds when building your cause-and-effect or on-screen literacy activities and talking books?? The Zillion Sounds CD could be the answer for you. It contains a collection of 5,000 separate sound effects, organized into 70 separate categories. The user-friendly Zillion Sounds browser helps you find the sounds you need. Each of the 5,000 sounds is stored in .WAV format, making them easy to use with most programs. For more information, or to purchase this very reasonably priced collection, visit their website at www.beachware.com



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