The quickest way to add digital images to Boardmaker is to drag and drop the images onto the Boardmaker screen. To begin, click on "Symbol Finder" button (the menu button showing the smiling face at the top of the screen), then hover the cursor over the digital image and hold the mouse button down while dragging the image to the "Symbol Finder" tool screen. Releasing the mouse button will place the image in the Boardmaker image library, then the user will be prompted to fill in the name and category for the image. Whole folders of images can be added by dragging and dropping the folder as if it were a single image.
A "Change Indicator"--a green arrow below a button--can be helpful for features like communication boards because it indicates to students that another board on a similar topic is linked and available. However, during times when students must use their understanding and knowledge, the indicator light can defeat the purpose. The indicator light is distracting enough that the student could believe it is highlighting the right answer, and in some cases, it could because to the layout of the lesson. To remove indicator lights, click the "Dynamic Boards" menu item at the top of the screen, click "Show Item," then deselect the "Show Board Change Indicators" option. Don't forget to turn the indicators back on once the work has returned to a communicating mode.
Boardmaker accepts only .mpeg, .avi and .wmv video file extensions; therefore, existing video files may need to be converted before they can be used in Boardmaker. Zamzar.com and mediaconverter.org are just two of many free converter tools available online. Although every conversion tool will be slightly different, there are three basic things the user will need to know--where the file that needs conversion is located on the computer, what file extension to convert the video file to and where the file must be saved.
Placing videos that need converting into a single computer folder will help you keep track of the conversion process. Once the file is converted, it can be loaded into Boardmaker by opening a new board, making a new button, clicking on the "Cool Stuff" tab, choosing the "Play Movie" option, then locating the converted movie.