Say Cheese! 5 PrAACtical Ideas for No/Low Prep Activities Using a Phone Camera

Cell phones are ubiquitous these days, and almost all of them have a camera. In today’s post, we share some ideas for how to use that for AAC and language learning. If you’re looking for no-prep activities, this post is for you.

1. Create a Collage: Pick a target word or language concept, and walk around looking for things that are associated with it. Snap pictures of a handful of things, then use a free app like PicCollage to create a collage. You’ll find a lot of opportunities to say and practice the target word, both in taking the photos and making the collage.
2. Fun with Filters: Use Snapchat or another app to take photos with playful filters. The discussion about which filter to use and what accessories to add will offer multiple opportunities for you to model and elicit some of the words, phrases, sentences, and questions that are relevant for your AAC learners.
3. Timeline: Many AAC users don’t get as much practice as they need to use past tense verbs and time-related words like ‘yesterday,’ ‘before,’ and ‘after.’ Scroll through a timeline of photos to create the perfect opportunity for modeling those linguistic concepts and encouraging the AAC learner to use them as well.
4. Text: Co-create a message and text it to a friend, family member, or other stakeholder using Remind, Seesaw, ClassDojo, or another app that doesn’t divulge your private cellphone number.
5. Generalization: Help the AAC learner use their newly-developed communication skills with a range of communication partners by taking photos that are fun to talk about. Take a walk around the classroom, clinic, or neighborhood. When you encounter a familiar face, take some time to show the photo to your friend, neighbor, classmate, or colleague and engage them in some conversation. In addition to modeling and eliciting language through AAC, you can demonstrate good advocacy skills if/when communication partners forget to pause or respond to all communication modalities.

Do you have ideas for no-prep activities? We’d love to hear about them.