TykeWriter is a word processing program intended for children who are learning to read and write. It is trivial to learn and use. TykeWriter can be used without the keyboard, using only the mouse and on-screen alphabet. This makes the child task of learning to write much simpler. The child is no longer confused and distracted by having to look down at the keyboard to find each character’s hiding spot. Also, the child is presented with only the features that they are likely to use. As the child develops, new features can be added by changing the level setting for that child.
The "Grown-Up", a parent or teacher, can customize TykeWriter to best suit each child using the "Grown-Ups" pull down menu. The Grown-Up should set the "Level". The "Level" determines a number of different TykeWriter features. Many of these features can be overridden using the other Grown-Up menu selections. The levels are defined as follows:
Beginner - Only the most essential set of features are included.
Intermediate - Adds the complete Macintosh characters and a
simple tool for selecting predefined styles.
Advanced - All of TykeWriters features are enabled. This includes
the ablility to open and close documents. Also, text can be copied
and pasted. An easy to use tool for selecting text color, font and
style is also added.
Install and Setup:
TykeWriter can be used without proper installation and setup by simply double clicking on the TykeWriter Icon.
To correctly install TykeWriter:
1) Drag the TykeWriter folder onto a hard drive. If you have a folder
labled "Applications", that would be a good place to store the
TykeWriter folder.
2) Regardless of where you stored it, double click on the TykeWriter
folder. For each child who will be using TykeWriter, repeat the
following steps:
- Duplacate the "Sample Kid" folder and rename after the child. Drag
the new folder to a logical place on the hard disk if you want. Your
child should store his or her masterpieces in that folder.
- Double click on the child's new folder. Inside will be a file labled
"Tyke's Settings". Select that file by clicking on it once make an
alias of it by pulling down the file menu and selecting the "Make
Alias" command. Rename the new alias file to the name of the
child. Leave the file "Tyke's Settings" unchanged.
- Drag the new alias file to either the desk top or the launcher (or
both). The child should run TykeWriter by double clicking this alias.
3) The User Guide is a ClarisWorks (version 2.0) document. If you don't
have ClarisWorks, find a Preforma with a color printer. The
Tykewriter website has an online user guide.
4) Look down at the lower right corner and find the "READ" button. It
should be just above the "EXIT" button. If the "READ" button is not
present, the Speech Manager is not running on your machine.
TykeWriter will work without the Speech Manager but you will be
missing a great feature. To install the Speech Manager, do the steps
in the following section.
How to Get the Speech Manager:
The Speech manager can be downloaded from the following Apple URL:
http://speech.apple.com/ptk/ETTS.hqx
The download should produce a document named “ETTS.hqx” on your computer at the location you select.
Double clicking on “ETTS.hqx” will run Stuffit Lite.
Click on the “English Text-to-Speech” folder once to select it. While running Stuffit, pull down the “Archive” menu and select “UnStuff.” It will ask for a location on your machine to store the folder. Select a location and press “UnStuff.”
A folder named “English Text-to-Speech” will be created. Open (double click) this folder. Inside is a document named “Using English Text-to-Speech.” Open this document and follow the installation directions.
When you have the Speech Manager installed, test it out on TykeWriter. When it works, you can throw out both “ETTS.hqx” and the “English Text-to-Speech” folder.
My website will have a page of information about downloading and setting up the Speech Manager.
Hints:
If you have a high resolution display, TykeWriter's icons may be too small for a child to read. In that case, find the control panel with the word "monitor" in it. Select a smaller resolution. Never drop the resolution below 640 by 480.
After changing the "level" setting in the "Grown-Ups" pull down menu, it is a good idea to exit TykeWriter.
If you have a Proforma and when you go to store a file, the dialog always starts with the desktop, you need to disable the "Proforma" control panel.
For More Information:
TykeWriter has web-site provides information about new releases, documentation, bugs and reviews. It is at:
"http://www.erols.com/lazarus2/tykewriter.html"
Please report any problems and send comments to lazarus2@erols.com.
I hope to write user documentation for this version of TykeWriter and it will be posted on the usual archives. A new and improved version of TykeWriter should be released every 6 months or so.
Hardware/Software Requirements:
TykeWriter was developed using version 7.1 of the System Software. It should work with all Macintoshs running any version of System 7 or System 8. I doubt that TykeWriter runs correctly under System 6 and older OS releases. Please let me know if it does! On computers with high resolution monitors, the icons may be small and hard to read. Use the control panel to reducing the resolution of the monitor to correct this problem.
The current version of TykeWriter requires 1.5 Megabytes (1500 K) of memory. If your computer does not have enough free memory, you should buy more memory. Reducing the Mimimum Size below 1500 K may make your computer system crash.
New Features:
Voice features:
When TykeWriter is reading a document, the reading can be stopped by clicking a button. Using the new Voice Switching button, the child can switch reading voices. This voice selection can be remembered between TykeWriter uses. Two documents can be read concurrently with different voices.
Online Help:
In the "Grown-Ups" menus, help is available by pressing the help button.
Style Customization:
Predefined and default styles can be customized by "Grown-Ups"
Bugs (and stupid features) fixed:
1) Graceful transition between skill levels
2) Typing also can make the same sounds as clicking on the on screen keyboard.
3) The sounds made when typing non-alphanumeric characters is corrected.
4) The style and font selections update automatically when characters are selected.
Legal Stuff:
This version of TykeWriter may be copied and distributed for free. Its use is limited to educational and recreational purposes. Use at your own risk. We are not responsible for any damages arising from use of this software.
All rights reserved. This program may not be modified.
This version of TykeWriter is shareware. For a one month trial, you may use it for free. If you wish to continue using it, you must do one of the following:
1 - Post or submit a review of TykeWriter to a website or publication. The size and stature of the publication does not matter. All reviews should be of the latest release and should mention the website (or some means of distribution).
2 - Introduce TykeWriter to 5 Mac owners.
3 - Pay me $10 plus $5 for each additional computer which you plan to use with TykeWriter. Once you have paid to use TykeWriter on a computer, you can upgrade that compurer to a new shareware release for free. Please make checks payable to David Lazarus and send to the following address:
David Lazarus
7852 Spring Ave.
Elkins Park, PA 19027
Limitations:
TykeWriter is not intended to be a full featured text editor for adults or advanced students. There are a number of very good word processing programs such as Word, Word Perfect and MacWrite Pro which should be used by anyone who is serious about their writing.
TykeWriter documents are limited in length to a few thousand words in length.
