ConnSENSE Review: IntelliPics Studio

IntelliPics Studio

IntelliTools
Petaluma, CA 94954
Phone: 707-773-2033; 800-899-6687
Fax 707-773-2001
E-mail: info@intellitolls.com
Web site: http://www.IntelliTools.com

Minimum System Requirments: PC: Pentium 166 or equivalent Windows 95/98/ME 32: MB RAM; Windows 2000: 64 MB RAM 100 MB free hard drive space; 16 bit high color monitor 800X 600 resolution sound recording and playback capabilities
Mac: 200 MHz (Power Mac 7300) system 8.1; 16 MB available RAM; thousand color, monitor 800 X 600 resolution; CD-Rom drive sound recording and playback capabilities.

Cost: Mac/Win Hybrid: single $139.95; Five Pac $560.00

Reviewer: Carol Magliocco, cmagliocco@eastconn.org

Rating A+

Looking for a tool that provides access to the curriculum for all students? Yes, all students and as the program documentation states that includes students who need access with the "mouse, keyboard, the IntelliKeys or IntelliKeys USB keyboard or switch user." If so, IntelliPics Studio may be just what you are looking for to provide your students with access to the general curriculum.

With the 1997 reauthorization of IDEA, the mandate for consideration of assistive technology was strengthened from one that was implied and implicit to one that was affirmatively mandated. This affirmative mandate requires the consideration of assistive technology in the development, review and revision of the IEP for all students who require special education services. Central to this consideration is the educational tasks that the student needs to perform but may not be able to access due to his or her disability. The beauty of a tool like IntelliPics Studio is that it can be tailored to your schools general curriculum while providing access modes to meet the needs of students with a variety of special needs. Access can be easily accomplished by creation of an overlay related to the activity for use with the Intellikeys alternate keyboard or through the use of a switch with scanning features incorporated into the IntelliPics Studio software.

IntelliPics Studio is a "multimedia drawing, painting presentation and authoring tool" that can be tailored to meet the needs of students from preschool and on throughout their academic experiences. Included in the program are sample activities and templates that help the user to learn the potential of the tool. However, a caution to note is that the program is so packed with features that its use requires that one spend some time learning and experimenting with the program before you are able to tailor the activities to meet the needs of the students in your classroom. The tutorial for the program is contained in written format in the manual that accompanies the program. This evaluator wonders whether a quick tour and an interactive tutorial that the user can access directly within the program might be more useful in helping familiarize one with program features. Going back and forth between the written manual and the program on the computer seemed somewhat cumbersome. It also does not allow for easy reference once one has initially reviewed the material and then needs a refresher on a particular component of the program. An additional resource available on the website, http://www.intellitools.com, to help you get started with the program in an Intellipics Quick Start guide that can be downloaded in a PDF format.

Having said that, I wish to emphasize that learning the program and learning it well is worth the time it takes in order to create materials that offer the flexibility to provide access to the general curriculum. IntelliPics Studio offers the opportunity for exploration of early concepts, such as size and numeric value, to preparation of a slide show that incorporates links from the web and video presentations. An example of exploration of early concepts is the opportunity to explore the number and size of items, such as animals, displayed on the screen. The student may select a horse and then choose to have a selected number of horses displayed in a large or small format. The ability to animate the selected item enhances students motivation and sense of discovery. Included in the exploration is a quiz feature that asks for the student to count the number of items displayed and provides repeated opportunities before offering the correct response model. In addition to the sample activities and templates that help you get started with this tool, there are a number of resources that share materials that you may find useful. One of the first places to check is the Intellishare area of the IntelliTools website at http://www.intellitools.com. Activities can be searched by the product used, skill level and curriculum area. An additional resource available for download or as a free CD is the Fun, Two, Three; a set of five activities complete with template and tutorial.

As you will see from the Intellishare activities, the applicability of the product goes beyond the early elementary school years. IntelliPics Studio offers the opportunity to create multimedia presentations that access curriculum areas, such as the common curricular activity of exploration of states and regions of the country presented in the sample activities. The ability to utilize the program across a range of student abilities and curricular areas makes it a valuable tool in the core of products that special educators should be familiar with and have available for their students use. The use of a free downloadable IntelliPics Player allows students who do not have Inttellipics Studio to access the activities that you have created.

One of the most valuable features of this product is its ability to provide access to students with a variety of special needs requiring specialized access. IntelliPics Studio provides for nearly automatic generation of overlays for use with the IntelliKeys or IntelliKeys USB keyboards and offers built-in scanning for switch access. Flexibility in overlay design is enhanced by the additional purchase of Overlaymaker, however Overlay Printer is available as a free download from IntelliTools and allows those who do not have OverlayMaker to print available overlays. IntelliKeys and IntelliKeys USB are separate products requiring additional purchase if needed for access.

In summary, IntelliPics Studio is a wonderfully flexible product that allows your students with special needs to have access to the curriculum. Though it takes some time to explore and become comfortable with the multiple features of the program, it is well worth the effort. Once the activity is developed, providing access through the IntelliKeys of IntelliKeys USB alternate keyboard or switch access with scanning is a simple matter. And, once you have mastered the palette presentation of IntelliPics Studio, you can quickly master the similar presentation format of IntelliTalk II, a mult-featured talking word processor to further enhance and expand your students writing abilities. IntelliPics Studio is an essential resource for those students who need alternate access to the general curriculum. Its a tool that is fun, flexible and motivating for students.