Welcome to the new and improved Alphabet Zoo 3.0 Demo! This is just one program in the Early Learning Series, which was co-developed by Software Perspectives and France & Associates. This demo is fully functional, with sounds and animation, but only contains the letters A through E.
Three titles are available, all specifically designed to address pre-school and early elementary skills. Each can be purchased for $15.00, or you can order the entire Early Learning Series for $40.00. Information about each software product is as follows:
1. Alphabet Zoo--the flagship product in the series, Alphabet Zoo teaches the formation and recognition of upper- and lower-case printed letters. Kevin Koala and other animals demonstrate how to draw the letters. Then, IntelliTrace™ technology enables the child to use the mouse or TouchWindow® to trace a letter on screen and receive real-time visual feedback. A second activity promotes letter recognition by having the child move an animal to the letter corresponding to the name of the animal.
2. Number Aquarium--the second title in the series, this program is a fun way to help youngsters learn the basics of writing and counting the numbers 1 through 20. Number Aquarium integrates sound and animation to teach number formation and recognition to early education students. In the first of two activities, the numbers 1 through 20 are each represented by animals of the sea, which show how to draw the numbers. For instance, Pamela Penguin demonstrates how to draw the number four. The child can then use the mouse or other pointing device (such as the TouchWindow® or certain adaptive devices) to draw the number, formed on screen by IntelliTrace™. The second activity emphasizes counting skills. Each animal presents a number of objects to be counted. As the child points to each object, Number Aquarium counts along with the child.
3. Sun and Moon--the third title in the series, this program develops association and visual discrimination skills. Children find two objects that go together in the first activity. They point to the picture of the bird and the nest, for instance, rather than the car or the planet. In an alternate activity, students see a scene in which there are objects that don't belong. If they pick out all of the objects, they receive a reward! Sun and Moon encourages critical thinking, while appealing to children with its colorful graphics and sound.
System requirements:
System 6.0.7 or above
4 MB RAM
Hard disk drive
QuickTime™ (required for use with Sun and Moon only)
If you want to hear all sounds and see optimal graphics, we recommend that you have at least a 68020 color-capable Macintosh.
To order the complete Early Learning Series, simply print out the order form included in this software, and enclose $40.00 (check or money order, in U.S. funds only; purchase orders also accepted). If you wish to order only one title in the series, please make a notation on your order form of which title you would like to receive and enclose $15.00. Mail your order to:
Software Perspectives
3084 Peachtree Court
Lake Ridge VA 22192-1518
We will mail you the latest version of each program on diskette. Please let us know whether you would like to receive the 1.44MB or 800K diskette on your order form.
Instructions for Using Alphabet Zoo:
1. You have installed the software, since you are reading this file.
2. Double-click on the Alphabet Zoo icon.
3. You will see the opening animation with the animals; after clicking to continue, you should arrive at the main menu.
4. Be sure to click on the Register button if you have not already registered your software. Fill out and print the registration form. Click on the button to return to Alphabet Zoo and the main menu.
5. Choose which activity you would like to play from either "Find the Letter" or "Draw the Letter." Click on it.
6. In the "Find the Letter" activity, you will see a lot of letters appear on the screen. You should click on the animal (holding down the mouse button the whole time) and move it to the appropriate starting letter. When you place the animal correctly on the target letter, you will see the target letter "pulse."
To repeat the activity with the same target letter, click on the circular arrow. To play the activity with another target letter, click on one of the letters at the bottom. To change to lower-case, click on the lower-case "abc" icon at the bottom. To return to the menu, click on the bent arrow.
7. In the "Draw the Letter" activity, you will see an animal form a letter on screen. After the animal is done forming the letter, you will have a chance to draw the letter yourself. Start at the location of the pulsing dot. Use the mouse or TouchWindow® to trace the letter.
When using the TouchWindow® with the Early Learning Series, make sure you have the TouchWindow® Control Panel set to the option for "Touch." This is the best setting for users who tend to leave their fingers or stylus on the touch screen, as children would when tracing letters or numbers.
When using the mouse, DO NOT hold down the mouse button while tracing the letter.
After a portion of the letter has been correctly drawn, the next portion (if any) will pulse, and you should continue drawing at the location of the next pulsing dot.
When you have drawn the entire letter correctly, you will hear a reward sound (assuming you have the sound preferences turned on). At that time, you can choose to repeat the same letter by clicking on the circular arrow. Or, you can click on any letter at the bottom to see an animal draw that letter. Then you can continue tracing each letter. To change to lower-case, click on the lower-case "abc" icon at the bottom. To return to the menu, click on the bent arrow.
8. At any time, you can set preferences by clicking on that option. You have a choice of speaker volume, special effect sounds or voice sounds (or both), and whether you see only upper-case letters, only lower-case, or both cases.
9. To quit Alphabet Zoo, you can press command-Q at any time. Or pull down the File Menu and highlight "Quit." Or, at the main menu, click on the Quit button.
Troubleshooting:
If you experience problems with printing, check all cables and printer lights. Make sure you have the appropriate driver for your printer installed in the System Folder. Insert paper correctly into the printer. Use the Chooser to select the printer. If the page still will not print, you may be experiencing a memory problem. Assuming you have enough available RAM, you can raise this allocated amount of memory by taking the following steps:
a. Quit from Alphabet Zoo.
b. Find the icon for Alphabet Zoo. Click only ONE time on the Alphabet Zoo icon, to select (highlight) it.
c. From the File Menu, select "Get Info."
d. The current size of the memory allocated to the program appears in the lower right corner of the Get Info window. Try raising it to at least 256K greater than the present setting.
e. Close out the Get Info window.
f. Double-click on the Alphabet Zoo icon.
g. Try printing once again. If it still does not work, you will need to follow steps a through f again, repeatedly raising the memory allocation by 256K increments until you can print properly.
If you get an out of memory message that tells you that you do not have enough memory to run Alphabet Zoo, then you should consider buying more RAM in the form of SIMMs for your Macintosh. Your local Apple dealer can assist you in the selection and installation of these SIMMs. Alphabet Zoo runs optimally under more RAM, and you will find the extra RAM useful with many other newer programs and systems.
If you are a subscriber to America Online (a service accessible by modem), you can reach us at the user names SPerspect or JanF or post a message in the France & Associates support forum (reach it by using keyword MED and then click on the Company Support button). If you are interested in becoming a subscriber of America Online, you can call their voice number at 1-800-827-6364 to inquire about setting up an account.
We value our customers’ opinions and suggestions for improvements in our products. If you have a feature that you would like to see incorporated in the next version of Alphabet Zoo, please let us know.
------
Changes since version 1.0:
1.01 - July 1993: Fixed problem which caused icons not to appear in dialogs on Macintoshes without Color QuickDraw.
2.0 - October 1993: Added IntelliTrace capability. Added the "Find the Letter" activity. Changed formation of some letters to correspond with left-to-right motions and to minimize lifting of the "pencil."
3.0 - May 1994: Changed to standalone application capability, rather than a HyperCard stack. Fixed problem where, if children pointed to an already completed "dot," the pulsing would appear again, even though they had already traced that portion of the letter.
----------
CreditsDisplay 1.01 XFCN, DialogDisplay 2.0 XFCN, and the SndVolume 1.0 XFCN are copyrighted 1993-4 by Software Perspectives.
MaxDepth XFCN is copyrighted 1991 by BungDabba Productions.
Gestalt 4.1.1 XFCN is copyrighted 1993 by Jeffrey C. Iverson.
DeskCover 1.1 is copyrighted 1994 by Mark Klink.
IntelliTrace is a trademark of Software Perspectives.
