Technical support questions: 800.262.1984 / service@prc-saltillo.com
This guide applies to Empower® software version 1.12 or higher.
Engage® Overview
Designed for the emerging communicator with complex access needs, Engage helps facilitate growth of both early access learning and communication through simple explorative and interactive activities.
Start Simple and Build: Engage provides an array of interactive activities and communication displays. Entirely customizable, users begin to learn to communicate with others at their own pace – in a fun and engaging way. All activities allow the communicator to explore their movement through structured interactions and skill-based games with a wide range of adjustment. Engage can easily be modified to customize the content for any preferred activity.
Select Engage Vocabulary in Empower
Select Menu > Toolbox > Vocabulary > Select a Vocabulary.
Select the Engage tile. Choose the Engage vocabulary. Select Finished.
Select Go To Vocabulary.
Note: Once you edit a button or create a new page, the vocabulary will automatically be saved and placed in My Vocabularies.
Navigating Engage
Engage displays in Full Screen Mode to remove elements that may be distracting for the user. The standard Menu button that is typically at the top right of the screen appears smaller in Engage. You can also choose to remove this Menu button altogether and only access the Quick Menu via the hardware button below the touchscreen:
To remove the Menu button from the screen:
Go to Menu > Toolbox. From the User Settings tab, select Restrictions.
Set the Menu Button to OFF.
To navigate out of an activity page:
Use either the Go Back or Go To Home button located in the Quick Menu to navigate out of an activity page.
Engage Organization
In the left panel, there are practice options and multiple vocabulary grid options.
Practice Activities
The Practice activity provides links to Engage Videos/Activities, Timocco-on-Accent, and Target Practice.
Button Pages
Each Button page takes you to an Engage vocabulary grid with content designed to refine early access skills within a communication-rich activity. Each activity is designed to engage the communicator and the partner, creating many opportunities for personal engagement, social exchange, and turn taking. As AAC skills increase, the communicator can advance through the grids for more complex content, targeting, and choice making. The Engage vocabulary provides plenty of blank templates to begin customizing with personal favorites, and any pre-made page can be modified according to the communicator’s needs or interests.
Below is an example of how additional content is added to build upon the vocabulary with each grid step (1, 2, 3, and 6).
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1 BUTTON 
2 BUTTONS
3 BUTTONS
6 BUTTONSVocabulary Settings
In Vocabulary Settings, set your button preferences, fonts and styles, and colors.
Select Menu > Toolbox.
Select the Vocabulary tab, then Vocabulary Settings.
In the Button Preferences tab, set your preferences for the following:
Button Padding: Use the slider to set how much space you want between the buttons. The example on the right shows a larger margin between buttons.
From the Edit Fonts & Styles tab, select a font and adjust the font size.
From the Edit Colors tab, Select Home Background to change the background color of every page at once.
Edit a Button
Select Menu > Editor.
Go to where you can see the button you want to edit, then select Edit. Select the button you want to edit.
Add or edit the Message and the Label.
Suggested symbols will appear. If you want to take a photo, select the Camera button. Otherwise, you can Search, Browse, or Import symbols in the Symbol tab.
Additional button options:
Colors: Set various colors for the button.
Actions: Add an action to your button such as Play Audio to import a song or recorded file.
Settings: Change button level settings. Settings include Message, Speech, Alternate Pronunciations, and Alternate Prompt.
Select Finished, then Save.
Volume Settings
Use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons on the right side of the device, or select Menu > Volume from the Quick Menu and use the + and - buttons to increase or decrease the volume level.
Access Method Settings
Select Menu > Toolbox.
From the User Settings tab, select Access Method.
Once you select an access method, use the information in this guide to adjust settings for your access method.
Cursor, Dwell, and Selection Feedback
Adjust what you see when you are dwelling on a button and what happens when you select a button.
Select Menu > Toolbox. From the User Settings tab, select Cursor, Dwell & Selection Feedback.
Cursor Settings
Cursor: [Default = ON] When toggled ON, a real-time cursor appears on the screen in the shape of an arrow or hand.
Cursor Size: Choose small, medium, or large to adjust the size of the cursor.
Cursor Color: Select the color tab to the left and set the color of the cursor.
Dwell Feedback Settings
Pointer: [Default = NONE] The pointer is an on-screen indicator that shows what button the user is pointing to. Choose between None, Circle, or Square.
Pointer Size: Choose between 1 and 10.
Pointer Animation: Choose between none and shrink.
Pointer Color: Select the Color tab to the left and set the color of the cursor.
Dwell Feedback: Set how a button looks when you dwell on it. Choose between None, Invert, Border, or Fill.
Selection Feedback Settings
Selection Feedback: Set to Invert, Border or Fill, depending on how you want a button to look when it is selected.
Beep: To hear a beep when a button is selected, toggle ON Beep.
Engage Videos
To access the Engage Videos, goto the vocabulary and select the Practice tab, then select Engage Videos.
Video Grids are designed to help facilitate early access skills of increasing attention and following active content being displayed. The user can start a video by simply looking at it, and as long as they maintain attention, it will continue to play.
As skills improve, more videos can be added to the display and dwell time can be increased to help the user make more distinct choices and improve fixations skills. Use the video library provided – or upload your own!
Once the communicator is ready to make distinct choices, Video Thumbnails offer a more traditional video player experience.
Video Configuration
From the vocabulary, go to My Engage Activities.
Select Add activity.
Select Video Grids or Video Thumbnails.
In Video Grids, choose a Grid Size. In Video Thumbnails, choose a Number of Thumbnails.
Drag and drop videos where you want them or select Choose a file to upload your own .mp4 videos.
Tip: All screens do not need to contain a video. Leave screens empty to help focus attention in one area of the display.
Adjust the Dwell Time. Use None for mouse-over and increase as user’s skills progress.
Set the Activity Duration to automatically end the activity or select Off to run the activity until you manually close it.
Change Background Color to suit vision needs.
Name your activity.
Select Finished to save your Video Activity.
To run the Activity, select it from the My Engage Videos list.
Global Settings
These settings will apply to all Engage Video activities. To access Global Settings, select the gear
icon at the top right of the screen during video configuration or from the My Engage Videos list.
Cues
Cues act as a way to draw the user’s attention back to the screen after a period of inactivity. When Cues are toggled OFF, no auditory or visual cues will be given. When cues are toggled ON, you can choose how the Audio cues and Visual cues will behave.
Audio Cues: With Audio cues toggled ON, you can select from a variety of pre-installed sounds to cue the user back to the activity or Upload your own. Select the Play button to preview and select an Audio cue.
Visual Cues: With Visual cues toggled ON, you can select from a variety of colors which will flash on the screen to draw the user’s attention back to the activity.
Sound
For some individuals, the sounds of the activities might be too distracting or alerting. For these individuals you can mute the Sound of the Engage Video Activities. This does not affect the Audio cues setting or the sound of the Engage Vocabulary pages. It only mutes the sounds within the Engage Video Activities.
