As most Speech-Language Pathologists learned in 2020, the transition to teletherapy can be a learning curve. Okay, maybe less of "curve" and more like a series of steep switchbacks 😳
Since any small piece of information can be a golden nugget that makes life as a teletherapist easier, I'm excited to share some hacks that I've accrued over the past many years of sharing activities in teletherapy!
Mute website sounds.
First things first. Save yourself from the annoying sounds of the websites that you screen share. Chances are (for most platforms) that your students can't hear the sounds anyway. And chances are that you can't hear your students when those annoying sounds are playing.
Put an immediate end to the ruckus by right-clicking on the tab at the top of the browser window, then clicking "mute site" (in Chrome). Thank me later.
Utilize the snipping tool.
In my opinion, the snipping tool doesn't get enough credit. This application allows you to take a screenshot of any portion of your computer screen and save it as an image file.
The tool is super handy for teletherapy, especially in a couple of specific instances:
Ever had tech issues in your teletherapy sessions? Uh, duh😆 When trying to explain to a student where a button in the platform (like 'unmute') is, you can use the snipping tool to take a quick snapshot of the platform on your screen, screen-share the snippet, and point out where the button is.
You can also use the snipping tool to email a portion of an activity as homework for a teletherapy student. For example, if you don't finish an activity during a session, you can take a quick screenshot and send it to your student to complete on their own.
Change the video size.
Do you sometimes feel like you can't see your students as well as you need to when they're in that tiny square? For most platforms, you can increase the dimensions of the video feeds. Here are a few instances of when they may be a helpful option:
To better see a student's articulators (and help them see yours)
For students in a social group to better see each other's facial expressions
To help distracted students attend better to the screen
Of course, there may be times when it may be more of a priority to see the shared activity and you can keep the videos smaller. Familiarize yourself with your options to quickly switch between layouts!
Split your screen.
The ability to share multiple resources at once (without the tedious task of resizing the windows to both miraculously fit on the screen) is a great option to have in teletherapy sessions. Splitting your computer screen between two activities opens up lots of options and versatility.
Cover answers or choices.
As SLPs, we know that all students require different levels of support, and we want to provide just the right amount of challenge to help our students improve. Just as you might cover answer choices during an in-person speech therapy session, you can do that in teletherapy too! Click here to learn how.
Modify PDF documents as needed.
PDF activities are a great option for SLPs to use in teletherapy. But it doesn't take long to reach the sad realization that uploading a giant PDF to a teletherapy platform often gives you an error message. The PDF is too big. Wah wah wah wahhh. Learn various ways to modify PDFs so they can be used teletherapy.
Use multiple tabs for activities.
Not sure why this tip is last, because it is such a game-changer! Rather than scrolling or flipping between pages and cards within the same resource or deck, you can simply open it twice and to keep multiple places at once.
You might need this trick when students choose different reinforcers (as in the Boom Card deck shown above), you need to switch quickly between a prompt and an included visual or lesson, or students are working on different sounds or skills within the same activity.
Check out these videos to learn more about...
Whether you're a teletherapy rookie or a returning veteran, we're all looking for ways to make the job smoother. I hope these techy tidbits help make your tele-SLP life a smidge easier for years to come.
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