Crick have just released 2 Clicker Apps – they had said the official launch would be at BETT so they have actually got this out earlier than expected! I’ve just installed them and these are my first thoughts.

In the Clicker Docs App (£17.99) there are some grids/WordBanks available from Learning Grids which is just a couple of taps away in the app itself. It then automatically saves the grid so it is available whenever you want to use it. Or you can create your own wordbanks. The speech option allows you to have it set letter by letter, word by word or full sentence. You can also use the ‘Shift Speech’ button to have individual words/cells read out from the grid, predictor or document. There is a choice of 3 voices (Rachel, UK; Heather, US; Tyler, ANZ). Prediction is available and SoundsLike Predictor is an option. There is a choice of number of words from 250 to 60000 but you don’t seem to be able to add new ones. It did seem very slow as I typed in or used the word grid.

Clicker Sentences app (£14.99) is for writing sentences using whole words. You can add pictures to the grid from the iPad photos library (or take a photo).

To get to the next screen you have to swipe so you can build up the piece of writing. You can choose to have a ‘model sentence’ or a ‘model sentence pop’ for pupils needing a bit more support. Using the speech is the same as in the Clicker docs.

HelpKidzLearn has a great selection of motivational, fun and accessible games and activities from Inclusive Technology. There are five different sections : Early Years, Games, Stories, Creative and Find Out; with a number of activities in each section. All of the activities can be accessed using a switch(es), touch screen, mouse, joystick, rollerball, or an eye gaze communication solution, by all children including those with special educational needs and learning difficulties.

The two weeks trial is a time limited offer.

A new item in CALL is the Hue HD Studio which includes a webcam and animation software. The animation software (Zu3D) is available for both Mac and PC and the webcam comes in 5 different colours. The webcam can be bought separately so can be used, for example, with other animation software such as I Can Animate from Kudlian, in videoconferencing (GlowMeet) or even as a (very) cheap visualiser or document camera to share documents, science experiments, pupils artwork etc with the whole class. It plugs into the USB port either directly or for greater flexibility usingthe supplied 1.8m cable, has a good quality picture and an internal microphone which picks up sound well. There is also a button on the back of the camera which brings up the snapshot function when plugged into a compouter using the supplied AMCap camera software (WebCam Monitor on a Mac). This can also be used to record video.

Go to the Hue Animation website to see a video of a group of young children exploring the Zu3D software and making their own short video. If you buy the package it even comes with some plasticine to get you started but using plastic models and lego can be quicker to get going. The Zu3D website has ideas for using the software in the curriculum (Learning Tools), a useful video tutorial and a link to download a demo version to try it out.

Quite a number of schools in Scotland already have other animation software such as I Can Animate form Kudlian Software. I Can Animate is available for Mac, PC and as an App on the iPhone and iPad. The Kudlian website has links to a tutorial, a number of resources and a link to download a version that can be used for 5 days before purchase (or removal).

For an opportunity for hands on training CALL Scotland is running a half day of workshops on Saturday 1st October and I Can Animate is one of the sessions to choose from. Go to the CALL Scotland training area for more information.

At a meeting recently there was a question about saving useful Youtube videos. Many local authorities do not allow access to Youtube as some of the content is unsuitable for schools but there are also many videos that would be useful for a teacher to access for use in school. In the Spring 09 New in CALL newsletter there was an article about how to do this. It had been found that the easiest way to do this was to use KickYoutube.

In order to use this the word 'kick' is typed in after the 'www' and before 'youtube' in the adress line eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdijknRxfU&feature=related becomes http://www.kickyoutube.com/watch/?v=sNdijknRxfU&feature=related. This particular link is to a video about a couple of chemical reactions that help illustrate the reaction of alkaline metals in water. As these experiments may get done only once in class (and with less reactive metals due to safety issues) a Youtube video could be used for illustration, for revision, for pupils absent on the day, for pupils in hospital or at home due to health or social issues.

Once a suitable video has been found and opened in KickYoutube you will now have a series of rectangular buttons across the top of the video with a number of different alternative formats. Probably the most appropriate one to use will be MP4.

To convert the video :

1. check that MP4 is selected
2. click on the green 'Go' button - button then changes to a blue 'Down' button
3. on a PC - right click on the blue 'Down' button
4. on a Mac - control click on the blue 'Down' button
5. on a PC  - select Save target as ...
6. on a Mac - select Save linked file as ....
7. .... and locate where to save the file eg pen drive if wanting to use on a different computer
8. give file an appropriate name and save
9. the saved file can be played using iTunes or QuickTime, both free and available for PC and Mac.

NB On a Mac works in Safari but not Firefox