Live workshop dates for 2024

New online workshop dates are now live

Interactive live workshops have a new home, joining a range of self-led Grid and AAC courses on Smartbox Academy. Initially, we’re launching with our two most popular workshops, three-hour sessions made for beginners, costing £25 / $30 / €30:

• Getting Started with Grid
• Simple AAC

Read on to find out what you’ll learn in both workshops, a date to suit your schedule and details on how to book. It’s free to sign up for Smartbox Academy, you can enrol below.

Getting Started with Grid

Who is this course for?

Anyone who wants to start using Grid, our flagship AAC software for people with disabilities. You may be a professional looking to get started with symbol and text AAC or a communication partner eager to help set up a device.

This training will cover

• Grid user stories
• Beginning with Grid: Settings, Users and Grid Explorer
• Symbol & Text AAC
• Editing basics
• Accessible Apps
• Next steps and ongoing support

Workshop Outcomes

• Know key features and theory behind a selection of symbol and text AAC vocabularies
• Be able to make simple edits to a grid set using write, find picture, jump and other key features
• Understand the opportunities to do more through accessible apps

Workshop dates

29 April 2024 –  5pm CT / 6pm ET / 8am AEST

25 June 2024 – 4pm BST / 10am CT / 11am ET

Simple AAC

Who is this course for?

Complete beginners, looking for strategies to help an AAC learner communicate at home or in school. Perhaps you are a family member overwhelmed by the quantity of information online. If you’re unsure where to start – this is the place.

This training will cover:

• Introduction
• Putting yourself in an AAC user’s shoes
• Show, Interesting, Months
• Pause, Language, Explore
• Add words, Always Available, Comment
• Next steps

Workshop Outcomes

• Know the nine Simple AAC strategies
• Be able to model on AAC successfully
• Understand how to use the strategies in everyday practice

Workshop dates

20 March 2024 – 4pm CT / 5pm ET / 8am AEST

23 May 2024 – 4pm BST/ 10am CT / 11am ET

17 Sept 2024 – 4pm BST / 10am CT / 11am ET

How to book

Watch videos on how to set your time zone and how to book a workshop or follow the step-by-step guide below.

1. Enrol and set your time zone.

Hover over your username → ‘my info’ → ‘time zone’

2. Browse workshops in the Course Catalogue

Look out for courses with titles starting with ‘Live Workshop’ (available times in description)

3. Click ‘Get this course’ and checkout

Select from various payment options. Select from various payment options.

4. Open and ‘Start course’ immediately to register for your chosen date.

Find the workshop on your Learning Dashboard – once in the course, register for your preferred date and view instructors.

5. Check your calendar on the day

Find it in the right column on ‘My dashboard’ to join the Live Workshop – use the ‘Export’ button to add it to Outlook and other services.

6. Why have we switched from using Eventbrite?

We want you to access all your Smartbox training in one place. On Smartbox Academy there are more ways to deliver high-quality training, including live online workshops, self-lead e-learning courses and the ability to combine both.

Try Grid for free

Our software is used by people with disabilities from all over the world. We have solutions for everything from getting started with AAC to controlling your PC and the world around you.