http://www.gamesdomain.com/tigger/mac/tykewriter.html
Author: David Lazarus
Free for non commercial use
$10 commercial use
Requires mac
system
Source: info-mac/edu/yng/tyke-writer-101.hqx
Download size: 212
k
Website: w3.idc.com/~lazarus/tykewriter.html
Description:
Tyke-Writer is a kid friendly word processor that allows children to
present
their work in a professional and accurate manner.
Instructions for teachers are available on the net,try clicking on the website.
I could not find instructions for children. This may be because the piece of
software is easy for children to use.
I found the piece of software very easy
to install as it gave me instructions on how to installl and solutions if I was
having problems installing the piece of software.
Teachers or parents may set the level they think their child may be at:
Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced.
Tyke-Writer presents children with a blank page where they can type their text by using the keyboard or for beginners a keyboard can be displayed on the screen. The children need to click on a letter with the mouse and the letter should appear. This enables children to type their text without looking away from the screen. This keyboard is helpfull for children to type text faster and more accurately because it is in alphabetical order. However, this can sometimes prove to be a disadvantage, as children may become confused as they famailiarise themselves with the alphabetical keyboard displayed on tyke-writer, then when they need to use the general-use keyboard they will see that the letters on the general-use keyboard are not in alphabetical order.
This is an example of what the children are faced with when they start
Tyke-Writer:
Instructions:
Children need to click on Tyke-Writer, and the piece of software will start
up. The following page will appear.
Children will have the opportunity to use the keyboard by simply clicking on the keyboard, a range of colours can be used by children by clicking on the palette of colours, different fonts and styles can also be used by simply clicking on them.
There is a special file for teachers, where they can set the software at the level the children are at. This is where files can be kept of each childs work, this can be found when clicking on "Grown-Ups".
Special features of Tyke-Writer includes sound: When children type they will hear the sound of a type writer but if this proves to be distracting to the classroom it can be easily turned off when clicking on "Grown Ups". Other feature include cut and paste under the "Edit" option and accent characters for European languages.
Observation Of Someone Using The Piece Of Software:
I gave Tyke-Writer to my 8 year old cousin to see how well he could use the piece of software. He found it easy to start the software up and needed little help. This may be because he has a computer at home and is encouraged to use the computer.
He also found the software accsessible and was able to use most of the special features. He espicially liked how easy it was to print for tyke writer and how he could experiment with the colours provided in tyke-writer.
Click here to see the lesson plan for Tyke-Writer.