Here's info on new typing software for the blind.

kelly 



From: [log in to unmask] (Craig Faris)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.blind-users

ATTENTION ALL TYPISTS!  Are you a new computer user just learning
how to type?  Do you wish to dramatically increase your typing
speed so that you can use a computer more efficiently?  I CAN SEE
BOOKS is proud to present "TALKING TYPING TEACHER", our newest
and hottest computer program yet!  Talking Typing Teacher, or TTT
for short, has been designed especially to help teach
you to type or increase your typing speed.  The program guides
you through every aspect of typing in such a straight-forward,
exciting manner that you won't even realize how much your typing
ability is improving.  Since typing is so essential in our modern
society, we felt that it was about time a program be written to
teach you to type without typing boring drills over and over
again.  The main goal, kept in mind when TTT was written, was to
change the method of learning to type from a boring, strenuous
process to an exciting and rewarding activity.

As its name implies, Talking Typing Teacher has built-in speech. 
By this we mean that you do not require speech output devices to
use TTT.  You are guided through the menus, prompted to type
drills, asked questions and informed of everything else by Eager
Eddie, our friendly, prerecorded man's voice.  The built-in
speech option allows you to run TTT on your computer, regardless
of whether it has a speech synthesizer installed.  In most cases,
you don't even require a sound card to be installed on your
computer, as TTT presents you with the option of playing its
sound on the internal PC speaker--the speaker inside your
computer on which all system beeps and whirs are heard.  In fact,
we originally designed TTT for blind and visually impaired users,
but found that our sighted customers also enjoy having their
computers talk to them while learning to type or increasing their
typing speed.

TTT consists of ten main menu items and twenty sub-menu options,
which are arranged with the easiest first and the hardest last. 
Under each menu, you are presented with a series of choices
designed to take the repetition out of typing and keep it
interesting.  Here are just a few of the highlights of TTT:
ù The LEARN THE KEYBOARD option--under the FIND KEYS menu--allows
you to press any key or key combination on your keyboard and hear
the name of that key spoken aloud.
ù Under the VERY BASIC DRILLS menu, you can practice typing the
keys on the home row of the keyboard, or type amusing words,
phrases and sentences, consisting entirely of words which can be
typed on the home row.
ù Under the BASIC DRILLS menu, you are presented with a series of
choices, allowing you to practice typing on specific areas of the
keyboard.  Rather than randomly selected letters, we have found
words that are typed almost entirely on the area of the keyboard
you wish practice with.
ù By the time you enter the HARDER DRILLS menu, you will have the
opportunity to type interesting sentences.  These sentences are
not all about the benefits of typing and working hard; rather,
every sentence will present you with an interesting fact,
anecdote, saying or moral which you will find absolutely
fascinating.
ù In both the VERY BASIC DRILLS and HARDER DRILLS menus, we have
included special choices to allow you to practice typing numbers,
since we have found that many people do not get enough practice
typing numbers and end up developing hard-to-break, incorrect
habits of reaching these keys.
ù The MATH and SPELLING menus allow you to practice typing
numbers and letters as the answers to questions asked by your
computer.  ù When you suspect that your typing speed is
improving, you can always select the OPEN TYPING menu and have
the computer tell you your current typing speed.
ù If it is ever possible to get tired of practicing typing with
the numerous choices already described, you even have the option
of playing memory games under the GAMES menu!
ù As well as allowing you to practice typing in the fun and
interesting ways listed above, TTT also contains traditional
typing drills for you to practice learning the locations of keys
by repetition, such as typing drills like "asdf" and "qazaq".
ù As is everything else in TTT, the drills you are asked to type
are spoken aloud for you to repeat back to the computer.

Remember: TTT isn't just another traditional typing tutor; it has
all of the traditional drills and options contained in other
typing tutors PLUS our new typing made fun program as well! 
Before long, you will find yourself forgetting that you are using
TTT to help you learn to type, because the interactive
environment, the constant enthusiasm offered whenever you type
something correctly, and the friendly, always encouraging voice
of Eager Eddie will make learning to type the most enjoyable
project you've ever undertaken!

On a personal note, all of us here at I Can See Books are very
fast and efficient typists, but still manage to get sidetracked
for hours playing the various games and typing all of the drills
in TTT.  "Every option in the program is just so fun and
addictive," says ICSB's secretary, "that I find myself spending
all of my breaks in the program instead of catching up on my
paperwork!"

Technical requirements: IBM-compatible computer, 386 or better,
2.5 megabytes of free hard disk space, MS-DOS 4.0 or higher, and
a 16-bit sound card (optional).  If you do not have a sound card
installed in your computer and wish to know whether TTT's built-
in speech will play adequately on your internal PC speaker,
please call us and we will help you determine whether your PC
speaker has the appropriate volume to support the program's
built-in speech system.

Your copy of Talking Typing Teacher will come with a
comprehensive disk and print manual and your choice of either a
Braille or audio/cassette version of the manual.

You can order your copy of TTT today by contacting us with your
credit card number, expiration date, and the name of the card
holder, or by sending a cheque or money order for $49.95
(Canadian funds), made payable to I Can See Books.

I Can See Books
88 Captain Morgans Blvd.
Nanaimo, British Columbia
V9R 6R1 Canada
Phone: (250) 753-3096
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
World Wide Web address: http://www.ncf.ca/~dr100

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