This stack is ShareWare. Please see below for pricing info.
Version 3.0:
Adds on screen keyboards with digitized voice pronunciation of each letter. This will allow students to click on screen to spell the words. The first keyboard available is in Spanish due to numerous requests. Additional keyboards will be developed based on requests received. Each language will be a separate HyperCard stack that you can place in the audio spelling folder to add its functionality to those already available.
** Online versions do not include the keyboard stacks due to their size (over 400K) Send a disk and your shareware fee and I'll mail you the Spanish keyboard. Or let me know of requests for other keyboards. English will be next.
You can now double-click on lessons to load them, you don't have to load the audio spelling tester stack first.
A volume control has been added to each test so that students can set volume to an appropriate level without going to the Control Panels.
Test options are now saved with each test. They used to be set globally in the teacher stack and would apply to all tests until the teacher stack was loaded and settings were changed. Options include test mode or review mode, save scores, and on-screen keyboards. The options screen has been redesigned to resemble a dialog box.
Version 2.0:
There is now a testing mode and a review mode. In testing mode, no review is given. Scores can now be saved to disk or printed out. See below for more detailed information.
System 6.0.7 or higher, including system 7; microphone (provided with most new macs); or MacRecorder available from Farallon Computing, 2000 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville, CA 94608, phone:414/596-9000; HyperCard 2.0 or higher, and a hard drive.
This program allows you to record words, phrases, or questions in your own voice (or a students voice), or even record sounds of birds, animals, etc. for the student to identify and spell correctly. This program consists of two primary parts. The Teacher Stack is what you will work with to create and/or edit a word list/lesson. The Audio Spelling Tester is what the student will load to actually take a test. The folder named Lessons is where all new lessons are automatically placed when you create and save them. The file called template is used by the Teacher Stack program, but you won't ever need to load it or work with it directly.
Do not change the names of any of these files. Due to the way these programs interact with each other it is important that they retain their given names. Keep your original copies on a locked disk so you can restore them on your hard drive if anything happens.
1. If you're using a MacRecorder, plug it into the Printer Port before
turning on the computer.
2. Turn off AppleTalk in the Chooser if you're using the MacRecorder.
3. Load the program by double-clicking on the Teacher Stack icon.
4. Click on the "Set Options" button on the bottom of the screen to
set the correct input device for your computer: Microphone or
MacRecorder (it will remember your last setting, so if you always use
the same input device you will only need to do this once.)
5. You can select to have student activity saved to a text file on disk. This allows you to monitor who has been taking tests, what test they have taken, whether they completed the test or not, and their score.
6. You can also select test or review mode. If Test Mode is selected, a student receives no remediation and cannot take a review test based on words missed the first time through.
7. If Review mode is selected, when student spells a word incorrectly, it is spelled for him and placed in a review list so that he can take a review test of words missed after the initial test.
8. After options have been set, click on the return arrow to return to the main screen.
9. Choose Create a New Lesson or Edit a Lesson.
10. Click on Add a New Sound. You will be asked to type in the word/phrase exactly as the student should spell it. Wait for the meter to start filling before you record the phrase or sound. Move or click the mouse to stop recording.
11. Click on Save(Done) when you are done creating the lesson. The lesson
will be saved into the Lessons folder and the screen will be cleared.
Other info about Teacher Stack:
Any word/phrase recorded under the same name as an existing sound will
replace it.
When you delete a sound, it is deleted immediately, not just when you save.
Watch your disk space. Each second of recorded sound takes up about 11K of disk space. This may not sound like much, but a 25 word list at 6 seconds each will take up 1.6 megabytes. Single words or sounds are better than lengthy sentences unless disk space is of no concern.
Don't run this from a floppy, the sounds get all messed up.
1. Load it up by double clicking on the Audio Spelling Tester icon from the desktop, or
double-click on a lesson to load it directly.
2. You are asked to select a test when the program loads. Select the test
you would like to take. They are usually in the Lessons folder. (If you load a lesson
directly then skip this step.)
3. The word or sound is played and then you type in the correct answer.
Press return or click on OK after typing in the answer. If you are using an on-screen
language keyboard, just click on the correct letters and then click on OK. The
keyboard is disabled when using an on-screen keyboard.
4. Words are randomized and if you miss a word, you get a quick spelling
of it on the screen if Review Mode was selected for this test in the Teacher Options,
and then you go on to the next question.
5. When you're all done with the test, you are taken to the score screen.
The number correct, incorrect, and percent are displayed. Words missed
are also displayed in a scrolling field. Clicking on a word will play the
sound. If in Review Mode, you can choose to take a mini-test based on the words you
missed , or return to the testing screen and start over. If in Test Mode, your only
option is to return to testing screen and load another test, or quit.
Using the language keyboards:
1. Put a keyboard stack (e.g. Spanish) in the Audio Spelling Tester Folder.
2. Click once on the stack to hilight it.
3. Select Copy from the edit menu, or press Command-C (this copies the name of the stack only.)
4. Load the text document "kbds.txt"
5. Click after the last line of the document. If this is the first keyboard stack you are adding the document will be:
none
-----
This document contains a list of keyboards available. This list will be read into the teacher stack when its loaded so that you can select the appropriate keyboard.
6. Press Command-V, or select Paste from the edit menu.
The document would now be:
none
-----
Spanish
(or whatever language you installed). Be sure you have pressed RETURN after the last line of the document.
7. Save the document and Quit.
When you are creating or editing a test in the Teacher Stack, you can now go to the Options screen and select any keyboard that you have installed. When a student loads a test, the keyboard will appear on the screen. You may be asked where the stack is located the first time it is used, just find it and double-click on it. From then on, HyperCard will remember where it is.
The keyboard stacks will be rather large due to the digitized voice for each key. This will result in significant download times on electronic bulletin boards. You can send me a disk at the address below and I'll mail it to you if you'd like to save on the download time.
Updating previous versions of audio tests:
Audio tests created in versions prior to 3.0 WILL NOT WORK unless you convert them. To convert an audio test created in a version prior to 3.0:
1. Load the Teacher Stack
2. Click on Set Options
3. Click on the button on the bottom of the screen that says
"Update 2.0 Lesson to 3.0"
4. You will be asked to locate the file to be converted.
5. The file will be converted.
6. That's all there is to it.
Adding sounds to other stacks:
You can use the Teacher Stack to add sound to any existing HyperCard stack. Just select "Edit word list" in the Teacher Stack. After you've saved sounds to the stack you can load up the stack and play them by typing -- play "sound name" -- in the message box, where sound name is the name you gave the sound when you created and saved it.
This stack is ShareWare. ShareWare fee is $5.00 for individual copies, $100 for a one building site-license, or $250 for an unlimited, district-wide site license. Please send payment to: Jim Nauta, 535 Milton Drive, Naperville, IL, 60563. Based on the support that this program receives, I have some really neat updates planned. Happy Trails.
