3 Reasons Why Digital Resources Aren’t Just A Trend

Episode 89:3 Reasons Why Digital Resources Aren’t Just A Trend

You're listening to the Speech Space Podcast, a podcast full of tips and resources for SLPs. I'm your host, Jessica Cassity, and this is Episode 89.

So today we're going to be talking about digital resources and why they are not just a trend. But before we get started, I did want to mention that this podcast is brought to you by The Digital SLP membership site, which is a site that features time-saving interactive digital resources that are all teletherapy platform-friendly. You can learn more or sign up by going to thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp. And we are now also offering a free trial, which you can also access at that same link, thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp. All right, let's go ahead and get started.

All right. So let's go ahead and talk a little bit about why digital resources aren't just a trend. So, you know, when the pandemic began in 2020, I think that a lot of SLPs who were not using digital resources had to suddenly start using digital resources. And I think pretty quickly you learned whether you were the type of SLP who liked digital resources or didn't like digital resources. However, I feel like because of this shift, due to COVID, things have changed a bit. It's shaken things up a bit where a lot of SLPs who might have never used digital resources had to try them out and some SLPs might even still be using them. And they might not be their preference but they might have to because of COVID. Or perhaps you're a teletherapist and you're using them because that is the easiest way for you to work with your students because you are treating them for them afar. So for whatever the reason it is, let's just go ahead and dive in, and we will talk about some perks for using digital resources and why they are not just a trend.

So one thing that you probably learned pretty quickly, when you went back into the schools--if you transition from using digital resources at home online--to being back in the schools with your regular resources, is that digital resources carry much less baggage. So I just remember when I used to service multiple locations, if I wanted to transport my resources, it was such an ordeal. And a lot of the time my trunk would just be full of various resources. And at one point, it was around that time that I think I started creating no print resources. It was at that time that I realized that I could carry multiple resources from one location to another all on one device. So this really changed the way I could do therapy because I could load up my device with different resources to meet the various needs of the students or the clients that I was working with. I do just wanna take a minute to clarify that I'm not advocating that anyone do all of their therapy on the iPad or a device. However, I feel like if your device serves as your vessel for providing great therapy, then it might be worth it, in your case. So, you know, I think that it's important to remember that without that device, you might not have any resources or therapy materials waiting at the next location that you're going to. So it's just something to keep in mind.

The next reason that I wanna bring up that highlights why using digital resources is not just a trend is the access to engaging multimedia. Now this might be, and it is the case for Digital SLP that might be videos, songs, games, interactive PDFs. You know, there are a lot of different things that fall under that umbrella of digital resources. But, you know, times have changed. And while I do love hands-on activities and I do love reading books with students, I am also aware that a lot of them have screen time at home. They are very motivated by videos and there are also lessons that can be learned and taught via video that can't necessarily be taught by just having that topic explained to the student. So I think that there are multiple reasons why multimedia should be considered in the speech room. Like I mentioned, I think the fact that these resources are engaging is kind of at the top of the list. If this is what students are interested in, if this is what they're consuming on a daily basis anyway, then that's going to be more consistent with what they're used to. And I think that is an advantage whenever it comes to building rapport and just increasing engagement and facilitating interaction.

The third thing that I wanna bring up that you might have noticed if you have returned to in person therapy is that using digital resources saves you a lot of time. So I noticed a big shift in how much more time I had whenever I did not need to make multiple photocopies a day or cut out little pieces and laminate those pieces and Velcro those pieces, and then start the process all over again when I lost those pieces. So digital resources, they're not going to get lost. They are stored on your device. They're accessed through the cloud online. You know, you're not going to risk losing these resources. So that is one big takeaway there, is that they save you time because you don't have to take extra time preparing them. It also can be a little bit easier to map out if you have links to your resources, whether that's on Teachers Pay Teachers, or whether that's on The Digital SLP site, where you have the links to the resources that you're going to use. That can really help from a planning perspective. Now, we just released a new feature on The Digital SLP that is called the Road Map feature. And we actually have, for each month of the year, we have resources mapped out with links for various speech and language goals. So it can make it a lot easier to plan your sessions in advance when you're just dropping in a little bit of text and a link that you can access with the click of a button. So there you have it. Those are the three reasons why I do not think that digital resources are going anywhere anytime soon.

I hope that you found this podcast to be helpful. And like I mentioned, at the beginning of the show, this podcast is sponsored by The Digital SLP. And we are now offering a free trial, which you can access by going to thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp. To access the show notes from today's episode, please head on over to bit.ly/TSSEP89. Alternatively, you can also go to thedigitalslp.com/podcast. Thanks again for tuning in. And I'll talk to you again in a couple of weeks.