‘Teacher, how do you spell xxx?’ This is probably the most frequently asked question in classrooms around the country. If you believe the traditional weekly pencil and paper test just doesn’t cut it anymore as the main way to gauge spelling competence, maybe it’s time to get interactive. Spelling software can help pupils develop key spelling skills in an engaging and enjoyable way.
Spellmate from Sherston is designed to make learning spelling more enjoyable, removing the tedium often associated with traditional methods and in the process, encouraging children to practice spelling more frequently. Children begin by entering wordlists. As words are typed, the program’s spell-checker flags any typing errors and prompts the child to ensure the word has been entered correctly. The program also allows independent access and limits the possibility of incorrect spellings being entered and learned.
Once entry of the word list is completed, children choose from a series of four simple, yet highly motivating activities to learn and practice their words. ‘Splat’ displays a flash card of the word for a specific time, which then must be typed correctly against the clock. ‘Jumble’ presents the word in a jumbled anagram. ‘Slide’ opens a safe to reveal the letters horizontally and ‘Gurgle’ reveals the word vertically as water drains from a sink. All activities ensure children look closely at word shapes, letter order and develop different skills and techniques to recall and spell words. Feedback is instantaneous and an on-screen progress report is generated at the end of each session.
The sheer flexibility of Spellmate makes it a valuable classroom resource. Admittedly, some inbuilt wordlists of high frequency words would be beneficial and time saving, but input of personalised word lists ensures the program can be tailored to the needs of virtually any child, making it ideal for learning support and special needs scenarios. Game levels can easily be adjusted to suit as well. Detailed performance reports ensure teachers can monitor individual progress at a glance and customise content further as needs be. In addition, all word lists can be printed, but unfortunately print size can’t be adjusted which may prove a drawback for younger children.
Spellmate is best suited for individual and group work from third class upwards. Navigation is intuitive and once children learn how to enter wordlists, independent usage should result, with detailed audio instructions for each activity that can easily be replayed if required. A useful instruction booklet is also included with the CD, setting out clearly all you need to know about the package. Spellmate comes in dual format (PC and Mac) and will run effectively on PCs running Windows 95 and above. Costing EUR62.28 for a single user licence, the program is also easily networked; an unlimited network licence costs EUR249.12.
Spellmate is an excellent, well-structured and customisable program which helps develop essential spelling techniques in a fun and exciting way. Enhanced with excellent graphics, animation and sound effects, it should prove highly motivational and a welcome break from the pencil and paper routine.
However it is important to point out that more reasonably priced spelling software alternatives are also available, most notably Fallon’s Spelling Games (CJ Fallon 01-6166490) and 4Mation’s Superspell (Diskovery). Both offer fully customisable content, inbuilt wordlists and interactivity, but lack some of the multimedia prowess and record keeping features of Sherston’s offering. Schools would be best advised to investigate thoroughly which package can be best tailored to their individual requirements before parting with any of their limited IT budget.
Publisher: Sherston
www.diskovery.ie
01-8038822
09/02/04
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