Apps for Bystanders - Worksheets A Glow

Most Bystanders look at a worksheet and see "Blah blah blah." Nothing jumps out at them.  How do you add the pizazz that will make them notice?  Glow Coloring is a drawing app that uses brightly colored paints.  I have this app but didn't realized the MacGyver possibilities until I read The Speech Guy's post on Spice up those boring worksheets with your iPad!!  Go there now to see how he uses this in therapy sessions.

There are many apps that offer neon colors, but the game changer is being able to import a photo as a background.  Once you save an online worksheet as an image (pressing the power button and home button simultaneously), you can add it as a background right within the app.  Now draw, trace and circle your choices with glowing colors.  Here are some I have dabbled with:

Therapy Fun Zone's pencil path is a free sample, part of Pencil Adventures you can purchase.

Your Therapy Source offers packets of activities covering a variety of themes that are reasonably priced.  There's usually a sample to try for free.

In addition to suiting the Bystanders in your group, this saves paper - a win win situation!

Apps for Bystanders - Dazzle Your Writing and Drawing

Doodle Buddy is one of my most used apps for drawing and writing.  Kids like to choose their writing tool color but typically they use a white background.  How can we adapt this for Bystanders?  First, use a black background and a neon type color (yellow, orange, pink) to provide a good contrast.  Then, make your pen size thicker.  You would be surprised what a difference this makes.
 

 
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You can choose from the list of stickers to draw or write.  Most come with a sound.  Why not use the fire sticker to write a letter F?   Can't you just hear the crackle?  No, really you can.  Giggle along with the smiley face sticker to make an S.  Hear the ball bouncing as you execute a B.

Here are a few more thoughts on intensifying sensory input:

• Use two fingers to draw to increase the touch feedback.
• Choose the glitter tool to write...visually engaging, but no mess!
• Pick an interesting background as your "paper".

 

Apps for Bystanders - Animate Your Drawings

Kidoodle: Pirate is a digital coloring book that tells a story with a twist.  You personalize the pages of this fun pirate tale by adding your own illustrations.  When you are finished, your drawing comes alive!  Objects move, pirates dance, fish swim by, foods disappear and flags get blown way with a canon.  This is sure to catch the eye of even the strongest Bystander!  I have found this app to engage even the most reluctant artist.  Your art is taken to new heights through the animations. 

Watch this video to get a better sense:

Apps for Bystanders

Bystanders seem to let the world pass by.  They miss much that is going on around them.  This sensory pattern is not necessarily dysfunctional as long as life choices are made with it in mind.  Being a bystander can be a strength in certain contexts.  Imagine a chaotic environment.   You would want someone who could "keep calm and carry on."

Bystanders need sensations intensified so that they notice the important stuff.  Their thresholds are high like seekers...they just never meet them on their own volition.  In order for salient information to be noticed,  it needs to be made bigger, brighter or animated.  In school, accommodations include brightly colored paper under worksheets to bring a student's attention to his/her desk.  Directions or important information are highlighted to separate them from the background.  Are you thinking what I am thinking?  Yes, there's an app for that!

This series of blog posts will look at apps with the Bystander in mind.