As a teletherapist, Boom Cards™ are hands down my most used therapy activity. These digital cards allow me to target any speech therapy goal with any age, simply by opening the deck in my library and screen-sharing my internet browser window.
But Boom Cards are even more than that because you can assign them to students to practice on their own time. Students can play Boom Cards outside of therapy sessions on their personal or school computer, tablet, or smartphone.
There are several different ways to share a deck of Boom Cards that you have made or purchased. Let's check out each one so you can determine which will work best for you and your students.
3 Ways to Assign Boom Card Decks to Students:
1. Use FASTPLAY to Assign Boom Cards
This method allows students to play a deck without signing in. You, as the teacher or therapist, provide the link (called a "FastPlay link") by sending an e-mail, or posting in Google Drive or another classroom management system.
A FastPlay link is good for a number of days before the link will no longer work. Because students are not signing in, the platform does not know who is playing, so it does not track a student's progress. The deck is not added to the student's library.
This method also does not allow you to customize the play settings, such as hiding cards. However, it is a quick, easy way to give students something to practice outside of speech sessions!
To create a FastPlay link:
Go to your "Library" tab (at the top of the browser window).
Scroll to or search for the desired deck and click the drop-down menu button that says "Action".
Select "Fast Pin".
A window pops up. Click "Generate Pin".
Highlight and copy the link at the bottom of the pop-up window. You can also highlight and copy the 4-character PIN (the FastPin) and direct students to enter it here: https://wow.boomlearning.com/fastExplain
2. Use HYPERPLAY to Assign Boom Cards
Similar to FastPlay, HyperPlay allows you to send a link to a student so they can access a specific deck. However, HyperPlay differs in that it does require students to sign in and it does track student performance. HyperPlay links do not expire.
In order to view student reports, you will need to have the student listed in one of your "Classrooms" in the platform. More on how to do that in the next section.
How to create a HyperPlay link:
Go to your "Library" tab (at the top of the browser window).
Scroll to or search for the desired deck and click the drop-down menu button that says "Action".
Select "Hyperplay Link".
A window pops up with a customized link. Copy the link and paste it into an email, or a learning management system such as Google Classroom.
3. Assign Decks using CLASSROOMS
Within the Boom Learning platform, you can set up "classrooms", which are essentially groups of students. Once you have set up a classroom, you'll be able to assign one or more decks to that entire group of students without sending any links as you would with FastPlay and HyperPlay.
How to create a classroom:
Go to your "Classes" tab (at the top of the browser window).
Click "New Classroom" on the left side of the screen and type in a name for the class.
You can then add students individually (one by one), or by importing from Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Clever, or ClassLink.
Notes about creating classrooms:
To avoid students on your caseload being able to see each others' names, click the blue "Private" button under the name of the class. See this article for more information.
As SLPs, we don't typically divide our caseloads into "classrooms" in the way that teachers do. Since classrooms provide an easy way to assign decks to groups of students, you may want to form your classes based on similar goals and ages. In other words, students in the same "class" would be students who will likely benefit from the same Boom Card practice activities.
The number of students and classrooms that you can add/create varies based on which Boom Learning membership you have.
How to Assign a Deck Using a Classroom
There are two ways to assign a deck of Boom Cards to a classroom.
Assign a deck right from your Boom library.
From your "Library" tab, scroll to the desired deck.
Click the blue down arrow button that says "Action".
Select "Assign".
Check the box next to the classroom that you'd like to assign the deck to.
Assign from your 'Classes' tab:
Go to your "Classes" tab.
Click on the classroom name on the left side of the screen.
Click "Assignments".
Click "Assign More Decks" and scroll to the deck you'd like to assign.
Check the blue box next to the deck name and cover image.
You can use a similar method to assign a deck to only one student, and not an entire classroom:
In the student's classroom, click "Students".
Click the blue down arrow next to the student's name.
Click "Assign" and scroll or search for the desired deck. Check the blue box next to it.
Other Helpful Information About Boom Cards:
Boom Learning has the capability to sync with Google Classroom. To learn more, check out these tutorials:
Boom Card decks can also be assigned using other systems, such as Seesaw and Microsoft Teams.
This article provides information about Boom Cards that you can share with parents.
To customize a deck that you assign to a student or classroom, you may be able to use custom play settings and/or hide cards from the student's view.
Why SLPs Should Assign Boom Cards to Their Students
Now that we know how to share decks with your students, here are some reasons why this capability is valuable to you as an SLP:
You can provide opportunities for students to work on their goals on the days they don't see you, which leads to more progress on goals.
You're able to help parents and caregivers understand what their child is working on in speech.
On days off, a substitute therapist can use a deck as an easy activity to do with your students.
If working with students in person but wanting each student to work on their own device (for social distancing reasons, for example), you can quickly assign the deck for the student to complete in the session.
You're able to collect more data to track student progress.
You can probe other goal areas without using valuable therapy time.
Just when you thought Boom Cards couldn't make your life any easier (or your sessions more engaging), now you've been opened up to a whole new world of possibilities. Using Boom Cards for homework stretches your decks further than ever before. And with multiple ways to quickly share decks, you can use what works best for you and your students.
Ready to grab some new decks to use in therapy and assign to students?
If you're just getting started, sign up for an individual subscription and get 10% off! (I may earn a referral prize when you use my discount link).
Boom Learning and Boom Cards are the trademarks of Boom Learning (a dba of Omega Labs Inc.). Used with permission.
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