Updated Evaluation Performance Graph

Well the world did not end yesterday, so I have updated my Evaluation Performance Graph (DxGraph.xlsx) with a few minor improvements. This is my Christmas gift to all the other SLPs who work so hard to improve other people's lives.  I decreased the side margins, creating more room to type in the test names.  In addition, very long test names will now auto adjust to the size of the cell, this will hopefully prevent the chart from overflowing into a second page. You are welcome to remove the footer and modify the file for your own personal use. If you unprotect the worksheet from the Review menu in the ribbon (menus at the top), you can make a lot more modifications, but be careful not to change the column widths of the cells under the Normal Distribution Curve.   In my personal file, I have filled the columns on both sides of the standard score 70 with a different color to emphasis my qualification cut-off area.  I didn't include this in the file I shared, because of the variations in our qualification scores. If you are interested in instructions on how to do this let me know.

Please send others to my blog or ge.tt (http://ge.tt/9pvrztX) for downloading this file instead of sharing your copy, so I have an idea of how many people are using it. I am working on adding automated graphing to a data collection Excel file I have been using with my caseload for the past few years.  I will be posting this in a few weeks, so check back if you are interested.

Merry Christmas!

Evaluation Performance Graph in Excel

I have created an Excel file which provides a visual of standard and scale scores for evaluations.  I have a lot of parents who find all the scores from tests confusing, so I made this to help them understand. All you have to do is enter the student information and then enter the test name and standard or scale score and Excel will graph the score beside it. The student's age will be automatically calculated from the date of birth and report. You can download this file DxGraph.xlsx from ge.tt here. Comment if you have any suggestions. 

40 Other SLP Blogs

I recently ran across an ASHA article about SLP blogs.  Using Google Reader I have created a feed for these blogs here.  With Google Reader you can keep up to date with these blogs on your computer, tablet or phone.  Please comment if you have any other SLP blogs I should add to the list.

Another language game as Amazon's App of the Day

Download This App Here


Amazon has another great word association/word finding game as the free app of the day. Bleep is a word guessing game which looks like it would work great during language groups with older elementary students. Two teams play against each other, taking turns guessing a target word described by other single words (e.g., puppy described by dog, pet, cat, kitten, cute). If you are an SLP or want to practice your students', kids', or your own language skills, download this app for free in the next few hours. It is normally only $0.99.

Free Language Apps from Amazon

Everyone loves getting stuff for free.  Here are some Apps that I use or recommend for language based activities; these apps can be used in therapy or at home and best of all they are all free.  On the down side many of them  have ads, but can be purchased for a dollar or two without ads. I recommend trying the free version and if you like them than purchasing the ads-free version.If you don't have the Amazon Appstore on your android device find out how to get it here.

Fact or Opinion App by Super Duper Updated

Super Duper updated their Fact or Opinion App last week.  I tested it today with some students and it is working much better.  The student data is sent within the email and as an attachment. Previously it wasn’t sending the data at all. Overall I am impressed with the response to my email. Now let’s see if they get around to updating the rest of their apps.  Hopefully they will make all of them send the student data within the email.

The Fact or Opinion App is a great app for older elementary, middle school and high school students. It works great with an individual and groups.  

Tablet Bug Game and Frog

Watch this for a good laugh. I guess here is another use of a tablet. You can set up a bug game on your tablet and see if a nearby frog wants to eat, but the frog doesn't look too happy.

Free App of the Day on Amazon Appstore for SLPS Today!

A word association game is the free app of the day in the Amazon Appstore today. Check it out and download it here. It is only free for four more hours. Sorry for the short notice I just got back from a family trip.

Do and Does Fun Deck

Rating: 4/5

This is another good language app that is working well on my Android devices.  Like the Super Duper Inc. other apps, if SD card is on the device it will store most of itself on the SD card so it only takes up 2 MB. My only problem with it is that it sends the data in an attachment instead of within the email.

Super Duper Name that Category Fun Deck

Rating: 5/5
This app provides you with all of the Super Duper "Name that Category" flashcards. It works well with single student or a group, providing automatic switching between students.  All of the Super Duper flashcard apps provide a high quality audio of the flashcard option if it is touched, this one has a correct and incorrect button which keeps score. The data can be sent within an email.  The data for the email is created in an html file which is saved on the device/SD card. I would recommend this app for lower elementary students working on basic categorical skills.

New SLP Android Apps Page in Google+

Check out my new Google+ page about Android Apps for SLPs here.

Hearbuilder Following Directions Software

Rating: 5/5
As a SLP, I use the professional version of this software with my students. It provides an engaging way for children to learn basic concepts (e.g., if, or, first, all, and after) as well as improve their abilities of following directions. I would recommend this software to be used with elementary age child who is having difficulties in these areas. Parts of this software would be appropriate for preschool children. It is currently cheaper to purchase here than it is to purchase it directly off of Super Duper Inc. website.

Opposites Fun Deck

Opposites Fun Deck provides you with access to all of Super Duper Opposite flashcards on you Android device. Like many of the recent Super Duper apps, this one provides the student with a choice of 2 words (e.g., “full” or “empty”) to complete a sentence.
All of the Super Duper flashcard apps provide a high quality audio of the flashcard option  if it is touched. Their apps work great for single student or multiple students at the same time. The data can be sent in an email when completed. The data for the email is created in an html file which is saved on the device/SD card. This app is currently sending the data as an html attachment and not within the email.
For some reason this app is not storing itself on the SD card of my devices.  It takes up over 14 MB of space on your device. All of the other Super Duper flashcard apps I have tested store most of app on the SD card by default, so if you have an device with and SD card, you have more room for other apps and stuff.  Kindle Fires do not have SD cards so it doesn’t matter for them. 
I am giving this app 3 stars until it is updated to send the data within the email and store itself on the SD card; otherwise it works well.  I would recommend using this app for preschool and lower elementary students.

Another Email from Super Duper Inc.

I got another email from Super Duper Inc. today.  They said the email problem with Fact or Opinions should be fixed with the updates that are on there way.

Reply from Super Duper Inc.

I got a reply back from Super Duper Inc. yesterday.  They said they would work on the problems, so I guess now we wait for app updates.

Email to Super Duper Inc.

Below is an email I sent to Super Duper today.

Hello,

I am a SLP who is enjoying many of your great Apps on my Android Devices. I currently own 14 of you them, most of which I have purchased through the Amazon market. I am currently in the process of reviewing all of these apps on Amazon and my website. I have noticed some issues with a few of the apps and thought I would let you know.

I have been unable to get the Fact or Opinion? app to send student data through email.  Every time I click email results, it says “Error email file not created”.  I have tried this on my Lenovo A1, LG Doubleplay, and Kindle Fire and gotten the same result on all of them.

Opposites Fun Deck and Data Tracker do not store themselves on or allow me to move them to my SD card. It would be nice if these apps stored themselves on the SD card like your other apps especially Opposites Fun Deck which takes up over 14.5 MB of space.

I enjoyed the change in some of your initial apps that placed the student data within email instead of an attachment.  Having the data within the email makes it a lot easier to find and view as well as takes up less space.  I was surprised that this change didn’t continue with the new apps.  Of my 14 apps Understanding Inferences, Name That Category!, Let’s Name Things, Wh Questions at School, Wh Questions at Home, All About You, All About Me, and Fun Deck Following Directions send the data within the email; Data Tracker, Regular Past Tense Verbs, Opposites, Irregular Verbs, Plurals, and Homophones send it as an attachment.  Fact or Opinion? isn’t working.

Storing a copy of the html file used to create the email on the device may be helpful for some people, but I just find it annoying to have to go and delete sometimes fifty+ files on the device. You may want to let your customers know that a file is being saved on the device so they don’t run into problems. Not too many people look at the folders on their tablets or phones.  If possible in future versions of the apps you might want to at least provide the option of deleting the html file after the email has been sent.

Overall your apps are great tools in therapy. I use them every day and look forward to new additions and improvements.

Thanks,

Roger Wagner CCC-SLP

Plurals Fun Deck

Rating: 4/5
Another good Super Duper App for SLPs. This one provides the student with a choice of 2 words (i.e., plural & singular) to complete a sentence. The program can read the sentence and choices.  Singular and Plural forms are both targeted. Irregular and regular plurals are included.

One thing I don’t like about the app is that there is no quick way to just select irregular or regular. Another is that when you email the data it is in an attachment instead of within the email.  Like the other Super Duper apps the data for the email is created in an html file which is saved on the device.  If these aren’t deleted occasionally they can build up. I had over 50 when I first found them.

Super Duper WH Questions at School

Rating (5/5)

This is a good app for Speech Language Pathologists. It can be stored mostly on your SD card and can send the student's data within an email, unlike some of the other more recent Super Duper apps which sends it as an attachment. As far as I can tell the questions are the exact same as the Fun Deck Cards. Some of the time questions are challenging for younger grade students and some questions like one about art class is no longer appropriate for many students. Overall it has a good range of questions I would recommend for 2nd graders and up.

How to get free books on a Kindle or computer without using a credit card

This post is probably useful for anyone who wants to read, but I did actually have to figure this out for a student I provide services for as an SLP.  The student had won a Kindle as a prize for having perfect attendance at his school out on the Navajo Reservation.  Of course he didn’t have WIFI or even electricity at his house, so there was no way for him to get anything on his Kindle. I couldn’t bear to see the technology being wasted so I figured out a way to get some free books on his Kindle.  Making a short story long, here is what you need and need to do.

Things needed:  

·         Amazon account or email account to create one (described below)

·         computer with internet access

·         WIFI to transfer books to Kindle (Not needed for computer)

Summary: You can use an email address to create account on a computer, by leaving the credit card information blank when creating the account (this doesn’t work on a Kindle).

If you want to read free or purchased books on your computer, you can download software from amazon and then send e-books from the Kindle Store to the computer and read them.

If you want to read them from your Kindle, smartphone or tablet, you can send them to your device using your computer and then connect to WIFI using the Kindle or Kindle app on the device.

Details

If you don’t have an Amazon account, go to www.amazon.com and create an account by scrolling over “Sign In” on the upper right and clicking on the “New Customer click here”.  Complete all the steps required to create an amazon account (using your email address), leaving the space requesting credit card information blank.

Now with the Amazon account you can send free books to your computer or Kindle.

·         If you are sending books to your Kindle click “Manage your Kindle” from the “Your Account” area in the same location as the previous “Sign In”. Follow the directions from Amazon. Please note: you have to use your computer to create the Amazon account and send books to your Kindle from your computer; you are required to enter credit card information if you try to do this on your Kindle.

·         If you are sending books to your computer or any other device go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771 and download the desired software.

Now you can go to the Kindle eBook store on your computer and start looking for free books.  An easy way to find free books is to click on “Top 100 free” towards the bottom right of the web page or the desired category. You can also go to “Free Collections” section in the lower left of the Kindle eBooks page.  Select your desired book and click “Buy now with one click” and then send it to where you want it to go.

PowerISO

PowerISO is another awesome free program, I have been using for years. If you have a lot of computer games on CDs, you will probably find this software very helpful.  This software allows you to copy CDs and some DVDs and store them as a file on your computer. You can then play the game on the computer without having the disc, using a virtual cd/dvd drive from PowerISO. You can even have multiple virtual drives to allow you quick access to the discs you use the most. I enjoy the quick access to all of my therapy games (e.g., Earobics & Hearbuilder), without having carry the discs around or worry about them being scratched.  Download it here. Make sure to uncheck all of the extra stuff cnet and PowerISO tries to make you install.

Bullzip PDF Printer

Bullzip PDF Printer Video

Check out my video on Bullzip PDF Printer. My students and I use Bullzip everyday to save their data, instead of printing on paper. It allows you to merge multiple print jobs into one pdf file. Save a tree by using Bullzip PDF Printer! :-)

BlueStacks

I downloaded BlueStacks this weekend. It is a free program that lets you install and use android apps on your Windows computers.  As far as I can figure out, it doesn’t connect to the Google Play (the new Android Market), but it does connect to Amazon Appstore for Android, Get Jar, and 1Mobile Market.  I have tested some of the Super Duper Apps on it and they worked well.  So I recommend installing your apps from the Amazon Appstore. If you do, you can install the apps on your computer also.

Backing up and transferring Hearbuilder Data

This week I figured out how to transfer Hearbuilder data from one computer to another.  So if you are switching computers and want to keep your data from Hearbuilder software (e.g.,  Following Directions, Phonological Awareness, or Sequencing), here is how you do it.

First if you are planning to transfer the data to a new computer, open the Hearbuilder program on the new computer and add student name. This will create a location to transfer the data to.

Now the tricky part, you have to locate where Hearbuilder stores the data on your computer.  Hearbuilder uses Flash Player and stores data as cookies in the flash player folder stored on your C drive within your username.  Hearbuilder warns that these files can be erased from cleaning out your cookies (which I’ve done twice). The simplest way to locate where they are stored will probably be to search for one of the file names.

In Windows 7:

Open the start menu, click on Computer,  and click on (C:).  Click in the search box located in the upper right of the window. Type in one of the following (depending on what you are looking for):

FollowingDirections.exe (for the Following Directions game)

HB_Sequencing.exe (for the Sequencing game) or

HearBuilderPA.exe (for the Phonological Awareness game)

Then click search. When the searching is done a folder within the C drive should be found. Right click on that folder and click open folder location. 

Copy the folder or folders named above to a flash drive or sd card.

Use the same process described above to locate the Hearbuilder software file you created on your new computer.

Replace the folder/folders on the new computer with the folder/folders saved on you flash drive or sd card.

Let me know if you have any problems with any of these steps or if anyone is interested in instructions on how to do this in Windows XP.  I have successfully transferred Hearbuilder data for all three of the programs above, so yes it can be done, even though the Hearbuilder website says it can’t.