Meet Speaky - the Speak2 Tablet

Tablet of content

Overview
Features
Speaky - the voice assistant
Guides

Speak2 Tablet

This guide helps community staff set up the Speak2 Neighbors tablet, introduce it to residents, and help when something goes wrong. It covers every resident screen and what staff need to do behind each one. Use it alongside the two printed resident pieces:

Speaky Booklet (8 pages): how to use the voice helper.
Resident Guide (12 pages): how to use each screen by touch.
Cheat Sheets (8 pages): how to use voice commands.

Before a resident starts

Check each item before a resident’s first session.

Tablet is placed where the resident usually sits, within easy reach and hearing distance
Tablet is plugged in or fully charged
Resident’s profile details are correct
Family contacts the resident wants are added or invited
Printed Speaky booklet and Resident Guide are left with the tablet

Getting around the tablet

Every screen has a green menu on the left and the chosen screen on the right. If a resident is lost, tell them to tap Home at the top of the green menu.

The green menu holds, top to bottom:

The resident’s name and apartment
Menu links: Home, Dining, Calendar, Social, News, Documents, Profile
Request Service button, available on every screen

On Home, the menu also lists the resident’s Active Requests and their status.

The Home screen shows nine large buttons:

Button	What it opens
Menu	Daily and monthly dining menus
Calendar	Community events and activities
Social	Posts, groups, feed and resident directory
News	Community announcements
Survey	Questions from the community for the resident to answer
Hello!	Daily check-in
I’m Out	Lets staff know the resident is away
Links	Shortcuts to websites chosen by the community
Docs	Community documents and notices

Tablet Features

Feature	What the resident does	Where staff come in
Calendar	Browses by day, filters All / My Events, registers for events, adds their own event	Post events and keep times and places current. Check registrations before each event
Dining	Chooses a restaurant, picks meals, reviews and adds extras, places the order	Receive and fill orders. Keep daily and monthly menus current
Request Service	Picks a department, a service, adds details, sends	Accept, complete and close requests; answer resident messages on a request
Social	Reads and replies to posts, joins groups, finds neighbors in the Directory	Post community updates; watch for posts that need a response
News	Reads announcements, newest first	Publish announcements
Documents	Opens notices and forms	Upload and remove documents; add ones residents ask for
Contacts	Views family contacts, invites someone	Help residents invite family; answer family sign-up questions
Profile	Edits details, views Wellness, changes password	Correct details residents can’t change; reset passwords
I’m Out	Answers questions to say they’re away	Views on/off premise status in resident record
Hello!	Taps to check in	Follow up on residents who haven’t checked in
Survey	Answers community questions	Create surveys and review answers
Links	Opens shortcut websites	Choose and update the links

Request statuses. Residents see one of three statuses on each request, so update them promptly:

Open - sent, not yet picked up by staff
Accepted - a staff member is taking care of it
Closed - finished

Residents can see when a request sits on Open, so move it to Accepted as soon as someone picks it up.

Speaky, the voice assistant

Residents can ask Speaky about community content instead of tapping. It always takes two steps: the resident says the wake words, waits for the reply, then asks.

Resident says “Hey Speaky”
Tablet answers “I’m listening”
Resident asks their question; Speaky answers out loud

Questions to suggest

Topic	Example question
Events	“What are the activities today?” · “What events are this weekend?”
Meals	“What’s for dinner tonight?” · “What’s on tomorrow’s menu?”
News	“What are my notifications?” · “What are the announcements?”
Requests	“I need help” · “Can I open a work order?”

Introducing Speaky

Say hello to Speaky. Open the Speaky booklet to page 3. Have the resident say “Hey Speaky,” wait for “I’m listening,” and ask “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Find the green menu. Point out their name, the menu links and Request Service.
Tour Home. Have them tap two or three of the nine buttons, then tap Home to come back.
Do one real task. Pick what they’ll use most, such as ordering a meal or registering for an event.
Send a practice request. Walk through the four steps, then show the status under Active Requests.
Leave the guides. Point out the help number on the back cover of each.

Coaching tips

Have the resident practice the three steps with you once, out loud.
Remind them to wait for “I’m listening” before asking.
Speak normally; there’s no need to shout or slow down.
One question at a time works best.
If Speaky doesn’t respond, try again closer to the tablet with the TV or radio turned down.