Yes, you read that correctly. You can print Boom Cards 😲
As you may know, Boom Cards are the ultimate digital activity to use in speech therapy. The Boom Learning platform allows Speech-Language Pathologists to create, purchase, and access interactive, digital activities to serve a variety of students and goals... and track their progress too!
As schools around the world closed due to the pandemic in 2020, SLPs (and teachers!) found Boom Cards to be a highly engaging tool to keep the learning going. In short, Boom Cards saved the day!
Then many SLPs headed back to their therapy rooms with a library full of Boom Card decks... but maybe some uncertainty of how to continue to use them with their students in face-to-face therapy. While I maintain that digital devices such as iPads, computers, and smart boards are the most effective and convenient way to use Boom Cards, the ability to print decks gives another great way to utilize them.
So, here's the scoop on how to print your Boom Cards with just a few clicks! Want to know why you might want to print Boom Cards? Keep reading for that, too!
How to Print Boom Cards
1. Navigate to your Boom Learning library.
2. Find the deck that you want to print and click 'Action'.
3. From the drop-down menu, click 'Print'.
4. Once the deck fully loads, choose how many cards per row from the drop-down menu.
5. Click 'Print Deck'.
6. Change the printer and page settings as needed.
You can change the orientation of how the paper prints, which page(s) to print, and whether you want to use color or only black ink. By clicking 'more settings', you can change the paper margins, scale, and pages per sheet. Be sure to watch the preview on the left side of the screen to see how modifying the settings changes how the cards will print. Once you have it set how you want it, click 'Print' at the bottom.
That's it! The cards will print as specified in the previous step. You can even cut them apart to be more like traditional "task cards" if you'd like!
Obviously, not all Boom Card decks are cut out to be printed... no pun intended 😜 When considering which decks in your library you might want a printed version of, think about how the student "answers" on each card. Decks with moveable parts, for example, are not likely to be as useful when printed on paper. However, decks with multiple choice answers and even fill-in-the-blank text boxes might be effective in printed form.
So, why might you want one of your Boom Card decks in printed form? Here are a few reasons (although I'm sure there are more):
You don't have internet access during a session.
You want to send homework or summer practice to a student that doesn't have internet or a compatible device.
You (or the student) want to be able to highlight text.
You want to make a deck more accessible for a student that has accommodations for vision (i.e. printing on colored paper or enlarging the size).
Is your mind blown like mine was when I figured out that printing Boom Cards is possible? And we thought Boom Cards were versatile before we realized they can also be printed, right?! So head over to your Boom Card library and see which deck you'll choose to make your first "printable" Boom Cards!
Browse new decks here on Boom Learning and here on TpT and get a step-by-step for assigning Boom Card decks to students, too!
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