Today I have some VERY EXCITING news to share! As a Teachers Pay Teachers Digital Ambassador and a member of the first round of the digital overlay BETA, I want to give you a sneak peek at a new AWESOME digital tool (TPT Easel). With each new blog post, I really want to continue to remind you to stay up to date with ASHA’s position and the most recent information pertaining to the pandemic: www.asha.org/About/Coronavirus-Updates.

First and foremost always take care of yourselves and your families as we continue to navigate through this unfamiliar terrain. It has been a challenge but please know that we will get through this together. Supporting one another is what we do best as SLPs and educators. I want to be of value to you and plan to continue sharing what I have learned along this journey. My goal is to hopefully make your transition a little bit easier.

Teachers Pay Teachers Goes Digital!

Teachers Pay Teachers has recently added a digital overlay tool to their site that will allow you to take an existing Static PDF and annotate it directly on your TPT account. This is a BETA, so please be aware that it is not available to all sellers at this time. It is currently only available to a very small sampling of stores to test out the tool prior to widespread expansion. Keep in mind that this is definitely a work in progress and more enhancements are coming soon. As a member of the BETA, I do want my newsletter subscribers, buyers, and supporters to have a chance to explore the tool first!

If you missed my previous blog post about the various digital formats that are teletherapy platform friendly, it is a great way to familiarize yourself with the difference between a Static PDF and other options that are available. As a reminder, a Static PDF is a PDF that does not have any interactive features built in. Static PDFs that have been created with a teletherapy platform in mind are colorful, vibrant and intended to be used with the digital whiteboard that is built into most teletherapy platforms.

How Does it Work?

The new TPT digital overlay will allow Static PDFs to be annotated without the need for any external annotation tool. The overlay functions in much the same way as a digital whiteboard and gives you lots of neat options. You will be able to:

• Add customized directions
• Assign the Static PDFs to your students from your TPT account to Google Classroom for homework and carryover assignments
• Annotate directly on the PDF using drawing tools, text, and highlighters

The best way to show you how it works is with a video tutorial. I have put together a brief video to allow you to see exactly how to access the tool and how to use it with any Static PDF purchases from my store. I would also like to give you an opportunity to trial it out using one of my resources. Newsletter subscribers, please check your inboxes to download your FREE Static PDF (limited time offer – expires 5/8/2020). Play around with the features and get acclimated with the overlay tool.

Please keep in mind that this is a BETA. Not all stores have access to the early phases of the BETA. During the BETA the goal is to identify things that may need to be enhanced and to provide feedback on how well it works for both the TPT community and your students. I’m excited to be a member of the first phase of the BETA and look forward to future updates. I will certainly keep you posted of new enhancements as they become available.

Trial it Out for FREE!

I hope you found this information helpful and I would love to hear from you. If you have specific questions, comments, feedback or concerns please email me at belinda@bvgslp.com. I’m always happy to help!

UPDATE – September 2020: The activities tool is now LIVE and no longer in the BETA phase.  If you want to trial it out, this FREEBIE is available for download and has the text boxes already added for you.  Future updates are coming soon to the tool.  Stay tuned for more enhancements.

 

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the content of this and all previous and future blog posts are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  Be sure to abide by and follow your company’s policies and procedures.  The information contained within are tips that have worked well for ME in my therapy/teletherapy room.