Quick Start

On Screen 1 of the program, click on the Styles icon at the top left of the screen and choose Standard from the drop-down menu of Style sets.

You will not normally need to choose a Style set every time you run the program: I Can Spell automatically uses the last Style chosen.

Then choose Example from the Game set panel.

Screen 2 shows you four helpful characters. Roll the mouse pointer over each character in turn to find out names and hear the voices. Click on the character that appeals to you.

Screen 3 – the Menu screen – shows you the six activities that make up the program. In the Example set, all are active, but each of the activities can be turned off. Activities which have been disabled will be in grey. Right-click on any activity to choose a list to work with.

In the Example set, all lists can be used, but the available lists can be restricted: if right-clicking on an activity does not give you a choice of lists, then only one list is available to that activity. There are a number word lists included with the program. You can also add your own.

Select the spelling list you want from the menu on the left and the words in the list will appear on the right.

If a word is particularly suitable for use in the Magnet – if it has five or more words within it – it will be shown in blue.

Press ESCAPE or click on the Back button to close this screen.

At the end of each activity – or if you press ESCAPE or click on the Back button before the end – you will be returned to the menu screen. The ESCAPE key and Back button can also be used to go back to the startup screen and to quit the program.

Each of the activities in I Can Spell can be set up to allow for a wide range of abilities and needs. For example, the Sharky character that appears in Ladders and Corrections can be turned off so that there is less pressure on the player; the number of lists available in each game can be restricted to avoid confusion. The Example game set has been included to give you a basic introduction to the activities and the supplied lists.

Balloons:
Word creation by matching word segments

Matching a beginning to an ending can be used in the context of onset and rime, adding prefixes or any other situation where you wish to break words into two components. The beginning of a word is displayed at the top of the screen. Various word endings are shown on the balloons. Some will make words, others will not. Click on any balloon which, together with the letter(s) at the top of the screen, will make a word. The word is spoken and when you click again another beginning is displayed.

If you choose an incorrect ending, the word will still be spoken but on the next click your balloons will disappear. A list of correct alternatives will be spoken and displayed. You will be told, 'Sorry, that word is not in my list.' The word can be added to the program's dictionary if required.

The Race:
Sequential spelling from keyboard or on-screen alphabet list

The Race is a good way to reinforce the pattern of learning spellings through the Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check method. It can also be used in conjunction with split points which enable you to present words in segments. Split points can be used in a number of ways. You may use them (for instance) to create segments to aid the recognition of word parts (part/i/cle), to break down words into phonemes (sh/a/ck) or to indicate onset and rime (b/ack). The ability to alter the split points in this activity allows it to be used for either an analytic or synthetic approach to phonics.

The Race begins once the runners have reached the start. A word from your selected word list is displayed and spoken.

You are then asked to say it. When you click on OK, the computer will spell it out a letter at a time followed by the complete word.

Click on Say to hear the word again. When you are ready, click on Cover. The word is covered and you are asked to Write. The word can be written from the keyboard or by clicking on the letter display at the top of the screen.

When ready, click on Check. If your spelling is correct, the race resumes and you will be asked another spelling soon. If your spelling is incorrect, a runner leaves the race and the same word will be presented again. You have three runners. Try to get as many of them as you can to the finishing post!

Ladders:
Sequential spelling by collecting letters from an on-screen array

This is an activity based on a common computer game format. The scene shows a number of platforms and ladders. A word is displayed briefly on the top platform. Depending on the level of difficulty selected the word will disappear after a few seconds.

The letters to form the word will be displayed at various points and your task is to collect them in the right order. You can use the arrow (cursor) keys, to move Alfie around the screen. When you reach a letter, press RETURN or SPACE. Your collected letters will be displayed at the top left of the screen. If you get one in the wrong order your letters will turn red. DELETE, the back space key or the on-screen delete button will remove the last letter and replace it in the game area.

If Sharky is selected in the options, it will try to knock you off, so keep away from it! If it does get you, your most recent letter will be lost and you'll have to collect it again.

(A tip: you can always run off the end of a platform and reappear at the other side. That's a good way of getting away from a chasing Sharky – but he can swim faster than you can run.)

When you have all the letters in the right order, there's one more task: to type the word. If you don't get it right you can't go on to the next game . . .

At any time in the game you can click on your helper at the bottom left of the screen to be reminded of the chosen word.

Scramble:
Non-sequential spelling by rearranging letters

The Scramble activity muddles up the letters in a word for you to unscramble. Your first word is presented and spoken. Click or wait and the letters will be jumbled.

Click on individual letters to rearrange them into the right order. When you have done this, click again and the word will be spelt as the letters disappear. If you need help to remember the word you are trying to spell, click on your helper at the bottom left of the screen. Try to rearrange the word in the fewest number of goes.

Corrections:
Checking for misspellings

On the activity screen fifteen of the words from your chosen word list are displayed. Some are correct and some are spelt wrongly.

The way in which individual words are misspelt can be edited using the I Can Spell Editor.

Click on any of the misspellings and the jet propelled character will leap and correct it. A word which has been corrected is shown with a green dot.

If you select a word which is correct, the white dot changes to red and you lose one of the dancing crablets. If you collide with Sharky, you also lose a crablet.

The message at the top left of the screen will tell you how many mistakes remain to be found. Any other messages will also be displayed there. The number of words you have corrected will be shown at the top right.

Magnet:
Recognising shorter words within other, longer words

This activity concentrates on identifying words which exist within other words; for example: heat, eat, heating, at, in or cheat in the word cheating. The words must comprise consecutive letters.

The train will bring on the first word. Use the left and right mouse buttons to pick out the first and last letters of a new word. You can also drag the mouse over a group of consecutive letters to highlight a new word. Alternatively, use the left and right cursor keys to select the first letter and then SHIFT + cursor key to extend the selection; ENTER will submit your choice.

In the word 'lawnmower', for example, click the left button on the letter 'o' and the right button on the letter 'e'. Then click on the magnet. Your set of letters will be drawn up by the magnet and displayed above the railway track. Any word selected must be of two letters or more.

If the word is recognised in the I Can Spell dictionary it will remain. If it is not recognised as a word, it will disappear.

Up to five smaller words can be drawn from each word which is presented. A list is kept at the top right of the screen showing all the words collected and how many remain to be found. If you have found all the possible smaller words (to a maximum of five), the train will bring a new word for you to try. If you get stuck, click on the Station Guard.

At the end of the set number of words, the word list at the top right of the screen changes to allow the pupil to review the words they have found or print them out as a list. To review the words found, scan through them using the left/right cursor keys. Click on Print to print out the list ensuring first that the printer is connected and on line. The printed list will show each word presented, each smaller word found, and a dash to indicate words not found. These can then be completed away from the computer.

The Editor

To open the Editor from the any of the first three screens, hold down SHIFT and click the right mouse button on the icon at the top left of the screen. Select Editor from the drop down menu. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + F2 when any of the first three screens is displayed.

Icons

Lists editor	Game settings	Style settings	New	Delete

Lists editor

Dictionary

Here you will find a list of the words which I Can Spell recognises. You cannot remove or add words to the main dictionary, but you can disable or re-enable words. You can also add words to and delete words from the User dictionary. Simply click on Add and type as many words as you wish, but you will not be allowed to use words of more than 13 letters. If it is suitable for Magnet – if it has three or more words within it – it will be displayed in blue.

There is an encrypted list of rude words which cannot be altered and I Can Spell checks this list for inadvertent offences.

To search the dictionary, click on Find and type a word or the beginning of a word.

A note about lists

A list must be enabled for use with an activity in the current game set. Disabled words are removed from lists before use. Not all wordlists are suitable for all activities; a check is made when an activity is started and you are asked to choose another list if an unsuitable one is specified.

Balloon List

The word list for Balloons is separate from the other lists. This is because it consists of word beginnings and endings rather than whole words.

You can edit existing lists by typing into the Beginnings or Endings panels. Alternatively, you can create a new list by clicking on the New icon and starting afresh. The List name can be anything you wish: a number, a description, the name of a pupil, a class or group etc.

Lists must be able to make at least one word from Beginnings/Ends.

If a word in the rude words list is created, it won't be spoken.

Other lists

Use this section to edit lists for all the other activities. Again, the list name can be anything you wish. The words in the selected list are shown in the panel on the left. You can Add, Delete or Disable any of them. You may also remove all the words by clicking on Clear. Word lists may be exported for use in another application; similarly, a text file can be imported for use as a spelling list.

Select any word to show the use of the Word analysis panel.

The example, summer, shows the split point (used in The Race), the misspelling (used in Corrections) and Words within (used in Magnet). Split points and misspellings can be altered here. Alterations to the split points and misspellings of words are not transferred to instances of the same word in other lists.

There are some restrictions on the lists used in some activities:

Search

I Can Spell contains a powerful search facility which is shown in the panel on the right when you select Search. It can be very useful when making new lists.

There are various ways of refining your search: the length of the word, the letters it contains and their position in the word. Click on the blue text to alter the search parameters. For instance, you can search for words of more than five letters containing 'igh' (102 words!) – or words with exactly four letters beginning with 'bl' (11 words).

You can create a new word list very quickly using this method. For example, click on the New list icon and select 'Find words with less than 6 letters ending with ite'. Click on Go and you will see that fifteen words are found. Select the words you wish to use. You can do this by holding the CTRL key and then clicking on the words you want. Release CTRL and drag the highlighted words into the left hand panel. Give your list a name.

Game settings

Game sets

There are a number of settings that can be made for each activity:

• each activity can use any number of lists, from one to all;

• each activity has a number of unique settings;

• each activity can be turned on or off.

All the settings are saved in a Game set. Each Game set has a name and number. You can have as many of these as you like, including configurations for specific pupils or groups, and the name that you use will appear on the Game set panel on Screen 1.

You can alter existing Game sets or create new ones. To create a new one, click on the New icon and type the name you wish to use in the box next to Game set. Changes made to any style will be saved automatically; creating a new style will copy the current settings so that changes can be made without altering the original. To remove an existing Game set, click on the Delete icon.

The Users tab allows you to fine tune the Users to whom this configuration is available and when – whether your students log on to their computers as individuals or groups, or whether the computer is available to anonymous users. You may wish to discuss this facility with your ICT Coordinator or Network Administrator.

The left-hand part of the tab is the inclusion list, the right-hand the exclusion – the one you use will depend on how many names you are handling. In each panel, click on the blue text to toggle between 'all' and 'these'. If you wish a Game set to be available to all users, set the flag to 'all'. If you wish it to be available but restricted to some specific users, set it to 'these' and enter the students' logon IDs in the appropriate panel.

This technique can also be used for Game sets that give access to seasonal wordlists, or wordlists that you wish to use on specific occasions.

Common activity settings

There are some settings that are common to the six activities:

Specific activity options

Style settings

The I Can Spell interface can be set up to meet a wide range of special needs. In most instances, the Standard style will serve, but you can use this panel to adjust the way you wish I Can Spell to look and sound.

As in the Game Setting section, each of these configurations has a name and a number. Again, you can alter existing configurations or create new ones. To create a new one, click on the New icon and type the name you wish to use in the box next to 'Style set'. Changes made to any style will be saved automatically; creating a new style will copy the current settings so that changes can be made without altering the original. To remove an existing Style set, click on the Delete icon.

The results of your settings will be shown in the Preview panel.