A research-based, interactive application to teach phonics, vocabulary and typing.
The project idea is to develop a typing and language learning application for the target users of the 'Children's Machine' ($100 laptop)

Solution

After two months of development, testing and refinement, we developed a working beta version in Python and available as a Windows executable. The OLPC Typewriter consists of more than 2,500 lines of code, with 4 modes (3 currently working), 44 phonemes, 600+ vocabulary words, 600+ AT & T text to speech pronunciations and Flickr photos, and more than 65 hours of replay value.

mode chooser

The first screen the learner sees is the mode chooser screen:

• Top left is "Free Mode"
• Top right is "Lesson Mode"
• Bottom left is "Assessment Mode"
• Bottom right is "Collaborative Mode"

Free Mode

Free Mode

Free Mode is the exploratory mode where learners can freely explore the 26 alphabets without any predetermined sequence. The main objective of the free mode is to introduce to learners the "Alphabetic Principle" - that each sound in English can be represented by a corresponding letter (or combination of letters). This is important in the early stage of phonics instruction. Learners need to understand that all 26 of those strange little symbols that comprise the alphabet are worth learning and discriminating one from the other because each stands for one of the sounds that occur in spoken words.

In addition to the 'Alphabetic Principle', Free Mode has the following learning objectives as well:

• Names of 26 letters
• Recognition & Discrimination of upper and lower case letters
• Know the pronunciation of the 21 consonants and 5 vowels.
• Know which hand and finger to use for which letter

Typing on a letter on the keyboard shows the upper and lower of the letter and the image of a word that begins with that letter. At the same time, the sound represented by the letter is also played. Learner can click on the letter to hear its name and the image to hear the pronunciation of the word.

The keyboard image shown on the bottom half of the screen is color-coded to imbue in the user the concept of different hands (and fingers) for different letters on a keyboard.

The same screen layout is used in the other three modes to provide a consistent learning environment.

Lesson Mode

Lesson Chooser

Upon entering lesson mode, learner will choose a lesson from the "Lesson Chooser" screen. There is a total of 44 lessons, one for each phoneme identified by the National Right to Read Foundation.

The 5 vowels are listed first, followed by consonants, diagraphs, long-vowel sounds, r-controlled vowel sounds and finally, dipthongs and other special sounds.

Upon clicking on a lesson, the learner enters the lesson mode.

Lesson Mode

Each lesson consists of 15 words that are carefully selected for its importance and usefulness in explaining the phoneme of the lesson. The words are chosen from the Oxford 3000 wordlist, a list carefully selected by a group of language experts and experienced teachers as the words which should receive priority in vocabulary study because of their importance and usefulness.

Each letter of the word is color coded to denote the right hand to use to type the letter. A picture representing the word is shown on the left panel. Clicking upon the picture and the word plays its pronunciation.

As learner types each letter, the phonetic pronunciation for the letter is played as well. The application is also intelligent enough to recognize diagraphs and dipthongs. For example, "ch" would be pronounced as its own phoneme (instead of separate "c" and "h" sounds).

After every three word, there will be a review. This is to help refresh learner's memory and reduce the cognitive workload.

At the top of the screen, there is a memory bar that shows the words the learner has currently learned for that lesson. As learner finishes typing a word, the memory bar is updated immediately to show that word. Any word on the memory bar can also be clicked to go back to that particular word. This is useful if learner need to revise any particular word again.

Finally, a help button (represented by "?" symbol) is provided in the top left corner. Learner can click on this button to trigger a sequence of animation that shows the right letters to type in the right sequence with the correct hand/finger movement.

Assessment Mode

Assessment Mode

There are three modes in assessment:

• By sound (test phonemic awareness)
• By image (test vocabulary recall)
• By word (test typing skill)

Any combination of the three modes is allowed. Having these three modes help learners to focus on their particular weak areas.

The words to type are randomly selected by the learner's memory bank - words from all the lessons the learner has completed.

As with the lesson mode, a help button is provided in all the different assessment modes.

Assessment Mode

At the end of the assessment, the accuracy and the typing speed (wpm - word per minute) is shown. Also, a list of the words that were tested appears at the bottom, with those that the learner had problem with highlighted in red.

Collaborative Mode

Currently under development.

Back to main