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Simon Sounds it Out from Don Johnston

Simon Sounds It Out is a package, which provides phonics, practice for students who have learning disabilities. It assists in children learning the alphabet, letters sounds and words. Children can practise and work independently, concentrating on upper and lower case characters and phonics. The CD ROM based package is available for Apple Macintosh computer users.

The voice quality is of a very high standard. All instructions, from the welcome screen to the directions, letter sounds and rewards are voiced in either a male or a female voice. After launching the software, children can choose between a male and female “guide” who directs all of the activities. The amusing animations and colourful graphics reward effort and motivate students to interact with their chosen character. As all characters and pictures are cartoon-like and generic in appearance, they appeal to all ages.

Simon Spells It Out was developed for students who have learning disabilities, in conjunction with leading teachers and researchers in the USA. The vocabulary suits Grade 2 students. It is also quite suitable and appropriate for many other age groups as well. There are thirty-one levels of difficulty. The clear, well-drawn graphics support students who require pictorial representation of words. The software builds upon previous practice and knowledge and constantly gives appropriate auditory feedback.

Student progress is progressively tracked for each user. It has a high level of interest and will engage student attention and interaction. The design incorporates success monitoring, where students cannot move to a higher level unless they have completed the previous section to a satisfactory standard. Incorrect responses are dealt with sympathetically by the “guide” and further practice is offered at all levels. If the student begins making too many incorrect matches, then the guide announces, “You’ve done enough work today” and ends the lesson so that children don’t get overworked or overwhelmed. This supports students who usually may experience failure, and gives them a chance to rest.

The program remembers the sounds each child has practised and learnt, so that they can progress without having to repeat and become bored or frustrated. It works well in primary classrooms with all students of all abilities, too. It will integrate with other off-computer phonics activities and can be used with flash cards, posters or charts.

Features include:

• Pick the lesson: beginning sounds, ending sounds or both.
  
• You can print out worksheets after each lesson.
  
• Children can practise off-computer – before or after each lesson.
  
• Online Help, which is available at all times.
  
• The program can also be used to teach children to spell and read words as well.
  
• Teachers and parents can choose the program level and options for each child.
  
• Automatically increases the difficulty level when children are ready to advance.
  
• Positive rewards are heard throughout the activities, praising children when they’ve succeeded.
  
• A speed challenge reward reviews the sounds and words in a fun activity that rewards children for their effort and hard work. This game is engaging, has high quality pictures, and clearly voiced instructions.

Single Switch Scanning

Simon Sounds It Out has easy single-switch scanning built into the program. The capability for entering text is available with Ke:nx, Discover:Switch or Discover:Kenx. A custom scanning setup for Ke:nx 3.5 and later or Discover:Switch and Discover:Kenx is supplied on the CD-ROM. Simon Sounds It Out caters to younger children from Kindergarten to Grade 2. Used in mainstream classrooms, the package provides phonics practice for all learners using mouse, keyboard or single switch. Simon Spells it Out clearly, with good results.

For Apple Macintosh Computers

Simon Spells from Don Johnston

Simon Spells caters to Grade 1-3 classrooms. It has high quality “digitised “male and female human quality speech which is clearly articulated and modulated. Designed for young learners, it has all of the Dolch vocabulary words and 500 of the words most frequently used in reading and writing. It runs in full screen mode, so children aren’t tempted to inadvertently “leave” the program and explore the hard disk.

After installing the software onto your hard drive from the CD-ROM disk, the program is located in a folder titled “Simon Spells”, containing the program icon, a data folder and a ‘Read Me’ file. You then launch the program. A welcome screen appears, followed by a screen that asks you to “sign on”. You either click on your name or click “New” and type in your preferred name. You then choose your tutor, from Simon or Susan. If you wait, they prompt you by calling out, “Pick me!”. It is totally interactive from startup, with clearly voiced directions, instructions and prompts. It’s a great deal of fun, too.

The tutor begins a spell pretest. The word is stated, put into a simple sentence, then re-stated. Students type in the word from the keyboard. Enlarged, mini, or alternate keyboards could also be used, including onscreen keyboards using mouse or a Touch Window, if required.

Twenty words are presented. Children and teachers can click on Word, to repeat the word being tested, Use It to repeat the sentence or Parts, to provide a hint. If the child does not type the word, it can be passed. The software is very well designed in that it emulates the typical classroom-spelling test. After the pretest, correct words are added to that child’s spelling list. These are denoted with a ‘star’.

Simon Spells provides useful practice that is user-friendly and engaging. Children can happily work without intervention, as the tutors continually provide feedback, direction and positive suggestions. Every level is voiced. Independence can be provided for all students of all abilities using this spelling software.

Additional innovative features include:

• Choice of male or female tutor, using clear, well paced voices.
  
• Interactive content from start to finish, with all levels voiced.
  
• Automatically increases the difficulty level when children are ready to advance.
  
• Throughout the program, the spelling tutor offers positive verbal and written feedback to aid in building self-esteem and provides familiarity. This helps the child feel comfortable and confident.
  
• Children can print out worksheets with fun activities after each lesson. Teachers can provide off-computer tasks for revision and for homework tasks.

The software develops success in attacking and negotiating new spelling words, especially for those reluctant students who may have previously experienced failure. The spelling tutors present words phonemically to help students struggling with difficult words. The words are presented in context of sentences to help increase vocabulary comprehension as well as improving spelling skills. The language used suits Australian classrooms, with only a few terms foreign to our needs. Spelling lessons are continually tracked. The software is timed to improve experience and prevent frustration and failure.

In Summary

Simon Spells provides children with appropriate practice for learning spelling using mouse or keyboard. Teachers can also elect to use their own pre-made customised overlays on membrane keyboards, such as Discover:Board, Key Largo, IntelliKeys or Concept Keyboard. The package contains 500 of the most frequently used words in writing, and the entire Dolch vocabulary. It can be used with other Dolch-based spelling resources, associated spelling, and word usage strategies as well. Teachers will feel comfortable offering it to their students as it supports their language curriculum in a positive and empowering manner. Simon (and Susan) assists poor spellers to become more proficient and confident with spelling.