LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsdspr06.dms/lsdspr06.adf/KeyboardCadet.doc.pp/KeyboardCadet.doc

Text File | 1990-09-07 | 26KB | 613 lines

                             Keyboard Cadet

                       Contents

Introduction........................................................ 4

Getting Started..................................................... 6
    System Requirements
    Loading Instructions
    Pre-Launch Checklist
    Exiting from a Lesson

The QWERTY and Dvorak Keyboards..................................... 8

Good Form.......................................................... 10
    Posture
    Correct Hand Position

The Control Panel.................................................. 11
    Choose Your Mission
    Enter Cadet Training Program
    See Hall of Fame
    Sound
    Keyboard
    ID
    Blast-Off

Lesson Format...................................................... 16
    Lessons 1-12
    Lesson 13
    Ending Lessons 1-13
    Lessons 14 and 15

Speed and Scoring.................................................. 21
    Mother Ships and Home Ships
    Cadet Training Programs Scores
    Timed Typing Test: Words Per Minute

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                          INTRODUCTION

As long as computers have keyboards, learning to type effectively will be
important to all computer users.  Mindscape's Keyboard Cadet offers a
winning combination of proven typing methods and motivating graphics and
excitement.

We simply put the developers of the most successful traditional typing
program for schools in a room with award-winning computer entertainment
designers and programmers.  The result was Keyboard Cadet - everybody's
space age ticket to typing mastery and fun.

Novice typists will benefit from Keyboard Cadet's step-by-step approach to
learning typing fundamentals, which is based upon the best-selling typing
course in schools.

Intermediate typists will use Keyboard Cadet to brush up on important or
troublesome areas as they make steady progress toward typing fluency.

Advanced typists will be challenged by Keyboard Cadet's many levels and its
timed typing tests.

And everybody will enjoy flying through a universe where excitement lurks
behind every turn.  And where your only defense is those little keys
beneath your fingers.

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                         GETTING STARTED

System Requirements

Amiga computer; 256K            single disk drive
Kickstart 1.1 (or later version)    monitor or TV

Loading Instructions

1. Insert the Kickstart disk into the drive.

2. Turn on the computer and monitor or TV.

3. When you see the "Workbench" picture, remove the Kickstart disk and
   insert the Keyboard Cadet disk.

4. Click the left mouse button twice on the "KC" disk symbol in the upper
   right corner of the screen.  The disk window will open.

5. Now click the left mouse button twice on the "Keyboard Cadet" program
   symbol in the disk window.  The program will load.

NOTE: If you are having problems loading the program and are using a 256K
machine with an external drive attached, try disconnecting the external
drive.  Then follow steps 1-5 again.

Pre-Launch Checklist

Before blasting off, make sure you follow the steps below to ensure a
successful launch.

1. Load the program. (See "Loading Instructions" above.)  The title screens
   will appear.  Then the cockpit window of your spaceship will appear on
   the top half of your screen; the control panel, on the bottom half.

2. Click the left mouse button on ID.  Then click the left mouse button in
   the Name box that appears on the top half of your screen.  Type your
   name or the name of your spaceship, and press RETURN.

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3. Select either the QWERTY (standard) or Dvorak keyboard by clicking the
   left mouse button on the Keyboard switch until the one you want is
   highlighted.

4. Set the Sound switch to ON or OFF.  If you flip the switch on, space-age
   sounds will accompany the lessons.

5. Select Choose Mission or Cadet Training mode by clicking the left mouse
   button on the appropriate indicator.  It will light up when it is
   selected.  (The Choose Your Mission and Cadet Training options are
   discussed in detail below.)

6. Choose Mission mode only: Select one of the 15 lessons displayed on the
   screen.  Then click the left mouse button on Go.

7. Cadet Training mode only: Click the left mouse button on Blast-Off.

8. Now you will see the Speed controls on the top half of your screen.
   Adjust the dial by clicking the left mouse button on the lesson speed -
   Fast, Super Fast, or Hyper Fast - you want.  Then click on OK.

9. The next thing you see is the cockpit of your spaceship.  You are in
   orbit, at the controls, looking through the window of your ship at the
   letters zooming towards you.  Blast the letters out of the sky by
   typing the correct keys on your keyboard.  Good luck!

Exiting from a Lesson

If you find it necessary to abort a typing mission, you can press Esc to
exit from any lesson in the program.  When you press Esc in the middle of a
lesson, the control panel will reappear, along with a Repeat lesson option
at the top of the screen.  If you want to start the lesson again, simply
click the left mouse button on Repeat lesson.  Or use the control panel to
select another lesson or quit working.

Note: If you are in Cadet Training, the program will automatically save all
completed lessons up to that point.

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               The QWERTY and Dvorak Keyboards

The standard keyboard, known as QWERTY for the first letters in the top row
of letter keys, has been around for over 100 years.  The Dvorak keyboard,
named for its inventor, August Dvorak, has been available for almost 50
years, but people are just becoming aware of it.  The reason: the Dvorak
keyboard, which arranges the letters so most typing is done on the "home
row", allowed many typists to type faster than on the QWERTY keyboard.
Some people typed so fast that the keys on mechanical keyboards got
tangled!  Now, with the coming of electronic keyboards, people are
re-evaluating the Dvorak keyboard.  The two keyboards are pictured below.

Dvorak rearranged the letters on the QWERTY keyboard, putting most of the
vowels on the "home row" and eliminating awkward finger reaches.  Most
people report increased typing speed and accuracy with the Dvorak layout.
Because of this, the Dvorak keyboard is gaining in popularity as a
productivity tool.  Although most computer keyboards utilize the QWERTY

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arrangement, some computers have switches that let you switch to the Dvorak
keyboard.  Also, software is available for many microcomputers that
converts the keyboard from QWERTY to Dvorak.

With Keyboard Cadet, you can choose to practice typing with either
keyboard.  It makes no difference whether or not you label your QWERTY keys
with their Dvorak counterparts since a picture of the keyboard is displayed
at the bottom of your monitor screen, with the correct hand position shown.
When you are doing lessons using the QWERTY keyboard, a picture of the
QWERTY keyboard is shown on your screen; when you are doing the Dvorak
lessons, a graphic of the Dvorak keyboard layout is displayed on your
screen.  Regardless of the keyboard, your goal is to learn to touch type
without looking down at your hands!

If you're a beginning typist, we recommend that you first learn the
standard QWERTY keyboard since it's the most prevalent keyboard
arrangement.

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                            GOOD FORM

Good form usually results in better performance at whatever you're doing.
Typing is no exception.  Correct posture and hand position are very
important.

Posture

Correct posture and typing technique make it easy to keep your fingers on
the right keys.  With good posture, you will not strain your arm and
shoulder muscles, even when you type for hours at a time.  Follow these
guidelines:

1. Sit directly in front of your keyboard.

2. Keep your head up and your eyes on the material you are typing.

3. Keep your feet flat on the floor, if they reach.

4. Relax your arms and shoulders.

Correct Hand Position

Whether you are using the QWERTY or Dvorak keyboards, it is important to
place the fingers of both hands on the "home row", the middle row of letter
keys.  Curve your thumbs over the space bar, but do not let your thumbs
touch it.  Study the drawings of the keyboards in this manual to see the
correct finger positions.

If you are using the QWERTY keyboard, position the fingers of your left
hand on the A S D F keys in the middle row, putting your first finger on
the F key and your little finger on the A key.  The fingers of your right
hand go on the J K L ; (semi-colon) keys in the middle row, with the first
finger on the J key and the little finger on the semi-colon key.  These
eight keys are called the home keys.

If you are using the Dvorak keyboard, position the fingers of your left
hand on the A O E U keys in the middle row.  Place the fingers of your
right hand on the H T N S keys.

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When you need to type a letter that is not in the home row, only one finger
should leave the home row to strike that key; the other fingers should
remain in place.  Then bring that finger back to the home row again as soon
as you strike the appropriate key.  If you don't keep your fingers on the
home row, you will find yourself typing the wrong keys.

While your fingers are on the home keys, let your wrists drop slightly.
But make sure they do not touch the frame of your machine.

Strike each key with a quick, firm finger stroke.  One exception: Strike
the space bar with your right thumb.  Use a quick down-and-in motion.

                        THE CONTROL PANEL

Your spaceship is equipped with the latest high-tech instruments.  These
are located on the control panel, which appears on the lower half of your
screen when you first load the program.  Before launching your first
mission, it's a good idea to review the instruments and options at your
command.

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On the left side of the panel are three large buttons: Choose Mission,
Cadet Training, and Hall of Fame.

Choose Your Mission

When you select the "Choose Mission" mode, the Lesson Menu will appear on
the lower half of your screen.  You can choose any one of 15 lessons
(missions), beginning with typing practice on the "home row" in Lesson 1
and ending with timed typing tests in Lesson 15.  In "Choose Mission" mode,
intermediate and advanced typists can work to improve their weak areas
without having to start from the beginning.  But if you are a beginning
typist, it's a good idea to do the lessons in order, since later lessons
build on the material learned in earlier lessons.

Remember that if you have chosen to work on the Dvorak keyboard, the Dvorak
lesson menu will appear.

Cadet Training

The Cadet Training Program starts you off with elementary typing challenges
and moves you along one step at a time until your typing reflexes are
lightning quick.  All Cadets start with Lesson 1 and work their way through
the program until they complete Lesson 15.

If you choose this option, the program keeps track of your progress.  When
you finish each lesson, your score and lesson number are updated.  When you
finish a session at the computer, your overall score is automatically
saved.  Then, next time you work with Keyboard Cadet, the program will
start you where you left off.  For example, if you last completed Lesson 5,
the program will start you off at Lesson 6.  If you are entering Cadet
Training for the first time, you will automatically begin at Lesson 1.

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Here are the rules of Basic Cadet Training: If you successfully complete a
lesson, the program will give you the option to go on to the next lesson.
For example, when you finish Lesson 1, you can go on to Lesson 2.  But if
you fail to successfully complete Lesson 1, you will have to repeat that
lesson until you master it.

If you want to improve your score, you may also repeat lessons that you
have successfully completed.  If you do not repeat a lesson, however, keep
in mind that the program will subtract your lesson score on your first try
from your total score; when you complete the lesson the second time, your
new score for that lesson will be added to your score.

Hall of Fame

Keyboard Cadet gives you the option to visit the QWERTY or Dvorak Hall of
Fame.  To select this option from the control panel, first adjust the
Keyboard switch so that it is pointing to the keyboard - QWERTY or Dvorak -
that you want.  Then click the left mouse button on the Hall of Fame
indicator.  You will see the five highest scores earned in the Cadet
Training program for that keyboard, along with the names of the fabled
Cadets who have earned this lofty honor.  Who knows, if you're good enough,
you may be inducted into the QWERTY or Dvorak Hall of Fame.

Only scores earned in Cadet Training mode are eligible for the Hall of
Fame.  The program will not store your lesson results in Choose Your
Mission mode.  Although the program can keep track of more than 100 Cadets
at a time, only the top five will appear in the Hall of Fame.

Sound

Sound may be turned on or off by clicking the left mouse button on the
Sound switch.  To hear space-age sounds during your typing missions, flip
the switch to On.

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Keyboard

Keyboard Cadet gives you the option to learn two keyboards: QWERTY
(standard) and Dvorak.  Click the left mouse button on the Keyboard switch
to get the keyboard you want.  For each keyboard, there are 15 lessons,
which are listed below.  (For more information, see the "QWERTY and Dvorak
Keyboards" section in this manual.)

    Lesson Menu: QWERTY Keyboard

    1)  home row (a s d f j k l ;)
    2)  h e o
    3)  t i and left shift
    4)  r w and . (period) ' (apostrophe)
    5)  n g and right shift
    6)  u c p
    7)  y x and , (comma)
     8)  m z and : (colon)
    9)  b q and ? (question mark)
       10)  v " (quote)
       11)  0 - 9
       12)  special characters
       13)  word review
       14)  sentences
       15)  paragraph/timed test

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    Lesson Menu: Dvorak Keyboard

    1)  home row (a o e u h t n s)
    2)  m i r
    3)  l d . (period)
    4)  c v p ; (semi-colon)
    5)  b , (comma) right shift
    6)  j g left shift
    7)  q w f
     8)  y ? (question mark) : (colon)
    9)  x z " (quote)
       10)  k ' (apostrophe) - (dash)
       11)  0 - 9
       12)  special characters
       13)  word review
       14)  sentences
       15)  paragraph/timed test

ID

All pilots are required to confirm their pilot identification (ID) before
blasting off.  To do this, click the left mouse button on ID, then click
the left mouse button again on the name box in the upper part of the
screen, type your name, and click the button on OK.  (The name box will not
disappear until you type at least one character other than a blank; Mission
Control needs to have a way to track its pilots).

If you are in Cadet Training, be sure to enter your name exactly the same
way each time you sign on.  That way, the program will keep your records
straight.  For example, if you sign on as "Bill" the first time, don't use
another name or spelling like "William" or "Bill S." the next time.

Blast-Off

This button will launch your spaceship on its typing mission.  After all
choices have been made on the control panel, click the left mouse button on
Blast-Off.

If you click on Blast-Off before entering a name, however, a name box will
appear.  Type in your pilot identification and click on OK.

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                          LESSON FORMAT

Lessons 1-12

Structure

Lessons 1-12 share the same format; each introduces one or several new keys
on the keyboard.  The specific content of each lesson is listed on the
Lesson Menus on your Keyboard Cadet disk and on p. 14.  Each lesson first
gives you practice with individual letters or symbols, then moves on to
combinations of two letters or symbols, and finally presents words for you
to type.  For reinforcement, you must press the space bar after each word.
A small spaceship will appear on the screen to remind you to press the
space bar.

In each of these lessons, you are at the helm of a spaceship, looking out
the cockpit window into outer space, where letters and symbols come at your
ship like comets and where words appear and disappear.  The challenge is to
make the letters explode by typing them on your keyboard before they
disappear from the screen.  For letter combinations (digraphs) and words
displayed on your screen, your goal is to type them correctly before they
vaporize.

Instructional Aids

At the beginning of Lessons 1-12, you also get some help from Mission
Control back on earth: As you look at the control panel of your ship, you
will see a picture of the computer keyboard on your screen, with the
correct hand position displayed.  The picture of the keyboard and hand
positions are shown on the screen to help you learn the correct finger
reaches and to help you learn to type individual letters without looking
down at your computer keyboard.

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Once during each lesson, a mysterious "Mother Ship" will appear out of
nowhere to make sure that your hands have not wandered from their correct
"home row" position.  The Mother Ship will explode if you can type the
eight home row keys your fingers rest on while the ship is visible.  Be
quick; it vanishes rapidly.  (See the "Mother Ship" section for more
information on how to win points by positioning your hands correctly).  As
a general rule, you should never look down at your computer keyboard as you
type.  It slows you down.  And while you are on a Cadet training mission,
you simply can't afford to look down at your computer keyboard because you
will miss valuable opportunities to vaporize letters.  If you are operating
your spaceship at the fastest speed (called Hyper Fast), you don't have
time to blink, so don't even think about taking your eyes off your cockpit
window

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and control panel.  If you can't remember where a key is, look at the
picture of the keyboard on the screen, not at the computer keyboard.

The key you are to type on your computer keyboard flashes on the picture of
the keyboard on your screen.  If you strike the wrong key on your computer
keyboard, that key lights up in red on the keyboard displayed on your
screen.  As a letter is displayed on your screen for you to type, a finger
on the picture of the hand moves to the appropriate key (if it is not on
the home key), showing you the correct finger reach.

Solo Mission

During the last ten words in a lesson, the hands on the screen no longer
guide you.  The picture of the keyboard still remains on the screen, but
there are no flashing keys to help you.  You're on a solo mission from this
point on.  But Mission Control will not leave you completely stranded: If
you fail to type a letter or word correctly, it will reappear on your
screen, and this time the correct keys will flash on the picture of the
keyboard.  If you make a typing mistake at this point, the incorrect key
will light up in red on the picture of the keyboard, just as it does during
the first part of the lesson.  Once you type that word correctly, however,
the next word will appear but no keys will flash on the screen.

Other Important Information

The score counter is at the top of the spaceship's control panel.  it is
constantly updated throughout each lesson.  See the section called "Speed
and Scoring" for more details.

When you first begin typing letter combinations and words in a lesson, a
number on the top of the control panel tells you how many more combinations
and words there are to type in that lesson.  Each time you type a letter
combination or word correctly, the number goes down by one, until you
finally complete the lesson successfully or until the lesson ends because
you lose all your Home Ships.

Your Home Ships are shown on the top of your control panel.  In Lesson
1-13, you start each typing mission with five Home Ships.  Try to protect
those ships; they are valuable.  See the "Speed and Scoring" section for
point values.  You protect Home Ships by typing letters before they zoom

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overhead and by correctly typing words before they vaporize.  You lose Home
Ships when a letter goes overhead or a word vaporizes before you've typed
it correctly.  The timer in the upper left corner of your screen shows you
the time remaining before each letter or word disappears.

Note: You can only lose one Home Ship per letter or word.  If you fail to
type the letter "c" before it zooms overhead, for example, you'll lose a
ship.  Then the letter "c" will appear again and continue to reappear on
the screen until you type it correctly, but you won't lose another ship if
you type it incorrectly.

Lesson 13

After Lesson 12, there is no more practice with letters and digraphs.  In
Lesson 13, still at the controls of your ship, you type only words, one at
a time, as they appear on your screen.  Remember to press the spacebar
after you type each one.

Ending Lessons 1-13

A lesson ends when 1) you correctly type all letters, digraphs, and words
before you lose all five Home Ships; or 2) you lose all five Home Ships
before completing a lesson.

If you finish the lesson with one or more Home Ships remaining, you get
Bonus points added to your score.  Then the control panel will appear on
the bottom of your screen and these choices will appear at the top of your
screen:

    Next Lesson        Repeat Lesson

Click the left mouse button on one of these choices to go on to the next
lesson or re-do the current lesson.  Or use the control panel to select
another lesson or activity.

If you lose all five Home Ships before completing a lesson, a "Try again"
message will flash in the window of your spaceship.  Then a Repeat Lesson
box will appear.  Click the left mouse button on this box to re-do the
lesson,

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or use the control panel to choose another activity.  Note: If you are in
Cadet Training, you cannot go on to a higher lesson until you successfully
complete the current lesson, but you may repeat the current lesson or
previous lessons.

Lessons 14 and 15

In Lessons 14 and 15, you are no longer in your ship's cockpit.  Instead, a
sentence (Lesson 14) or a paragraph timed typing test (Lesson 15) appears
at the top of the screen.

After choosing Lesson 14 or 15, you select whether you want to type in
"typewriter mode" or "word-processing mode".  If you choose "typewriter
mode," you must press RETURN at the end of each line you type and you
cannot back up to edit errors you may have made.  If you choose "word
processing mode," the program has a "word wrap" feature that automatically
breaks each line you type at the end and starts another line for you.  You
do not need to press RETURN.  In "word processing mode," you can also
insert or delete letters in the current word you are typing.

In these two lessons, type the sentence or paragraph as fast and as
accurately as you can on the bottom of the screen.  Note that the words
change color in sequence to indicate what you should be typing at any given
point.  Since Lesson 15 is an actual typing test, the program calculates
your words-per-minute rate as you type.

If you type a word incorrectly in Lesson 14, it will be erased, and the
program will prompt you to type the word again.  Press RETURN when you
finish typing each sentence.  You have five sentences to type in Lesson 14.

If you type a word incorrectly in Lesson 15, it will light up in a
different color.  The program will then prompt you to type the next word in
the paragraph.  Keep going; there is no turning back to correct mistakes in
words you typed earlier in the paragraph.  Remember to press the space bar
once and only once after each word.  Press RETURN when you finish typing
the entire paragraph.  Your time and words-per-minute rate will then
appear.

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                       SPEED AND SCORING

In Lessons 1-13, points are calculated according to how quickly you type
the letter, letter combination, or word on the screen and according to the
speed you've selected.  The program keeps score for you as you work through
a lesson.  The score counter is located at the top of the control panel and
is updated each time you correctly type the letter(s) or the word displayed
on the screen.  The program does not subtract points from your score for
wrong answers.

Recall that there are three speeds in Lessons 1-13: Fast, Super Fast, and
Hyper Fast.  At the Super Fast speed, letters move roughly twice as fast as
they do at the Fast speed.  At the Hyper Fast speed, letters move nearly
three times as quickly as they do at the Fast speed.  The table below shows
the maximum point values for each letter or word you type at each speed.

                         FAST         SUPER FAST    HYPER FAST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letters
or Symbols        25 pts. max.    50 max.        75 max.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
Combination
(Digraphs)        30 pts. max.    75 max.        150 max.
or Symbol
Combinations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Words            50 pts. max.    100 max.    210 max.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of points you receive for typing a letter, letter combination
(digraph), or word is calculated at the point when you type it correctly.
If you are typing individual letters at the Super Fast speed, for example,
and

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