A Montana Corporation, since 2001

Four Part Tutorial

for

Quiz-n-Spell^Ó*

the

Quiz Master/Study Buddy

“The list-quizzing tool that re-enforces accurate spelling.”

Quiz-n-Spell was designed as a tool to help busy teachers and parents who want to put their PC-Windows computers to good use during non-instructional time.

Quiz-n-Spell has four main areas of functionality:

· List management

· Student Practice sessions

· Student Test sessions

· Report generating and printing

These four areas are logically divided into two main groups: Administration (click the large ‘A’), and Student Activities (click the large ‘S’).

A Quick Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell:

· Build a Word List (the large ‘A’),

· Student Practice Session (the large ‘S’),

· Student Test Session (the large ‘S’’),

· View and Print Test Results (the large ‘A’).

NOTE: When you first use Quiz-n-Spell, move the mouse slowly around the Quiz-n-Spell windows and over the buttons. You will see ‘Tool-tips’ pop up to describe what the buttons do. As is standard with all Windows programs, clicking any button with an ellipsis (‘…’) following the text will open a new dialog box or window. As in most Windows programs, there are usually several ways to accomplish a task. Press the <F1> key at any point to get a full description of the features on that window.

USERS TIP: Users have told us that the easiest way to enter a list by typing is to type in all words, definitions (optional), hints (optional), and grammar/context sentences before doing any recording. After the list has been typed in, go back through the list and do the recording.

Also, read through the complete Help file that can be viewed by clicking on the <View All…> button on the main Quiz-n-Spell screen. It is in .html format, and has a table of contents for easy navigation.

1) Build a Word List

Open the Word List Editor:

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.

· Click on the large red ‘A’ to start the ‘Administration’ session.

· (In the Network Version, the Administrator will select the correct Instructor Group and type in the password.)

· In the edit box above the list, type in the name of a new list, perhaps ‘Tutorial 1’. Keep the name of the list relatively short. Long list names can be difficult for the Students read, and are difficult to sort through when selecting files from Test Results (see below).

· Press the <Enter> key, then click the <Add> button. This will add the name to the list in the listbox.

· Click the <Edit> button to open the List Editor.

Add words to the list (Method I):

· Type (or paste) a word into the ‘Add Word’ edit box.

· Click the <Add Word> (or press the <Enter> key twice).

· The Word has been added to the list, and the focus will move down to the new row.

· To add a definition to the word, point to the right of the blue ‘D’ image and double-click, or press the <F5> key.

· An edit box will open. Type or paste in the definition.

· Add hints and/or sentences by double-clicking next to the ‘H’ or ‘S’ icons, or press the <F6> key or <F7> key.

· To delete a word, highlight the row by pointing and clicking it. Then click the <Del. Word(s)> button.

· Open the lexicon (ELexor) if you like, and copy and paste from ELexor into the list.

· Continue adding words until you have built the list.

· Click the <Save File> button to save the list.

Add words to the list (Method II):

· Open the Quiz-n-Spell Text Entry Editor (click the <Text Entry…> button)

· Set the check on the ‘Tab’ delimiter if it isn’t checked.

· Type a word or term into the edit box.

· To add a definition, press the <Tab> key. Type in a definition.

· To add a hint, press the <Tab> key. Type in a hint.

· To add a sentence, press the <Tab> key. Type in a sentence (replace the ‘word’ with three question marks [???])

· Press the <Enter> key.

· Repeat until all words have been added to the list.

· Notice the automatic color-coding. Definitions, hints and sentences are optional. Any or all may be included with a word, but the delimiter must be inserted to hold an empty place. See the “Delimited List Example” on page 29.

· Open the lexicon (ELexor) if you like, and copy and paste from ELexor into the list.

· When you have finished typing in all the words, run the spell checker to guard against common spelling mistakes. The spell checker is not an interactive dictionary, although it can be used during spell-checking to suggest alternatives to a misspelled word.

· If the spell checker does not detect any mistakes, you will only hear a beep.

· Merge the new text into the list by clicking the <Merge> button. You will be given the option of merging the new text with the list, or overwriting. Merging checks for duplicates and removes them. So if you changed the definition for a word, but didn’t change the word, merging will erase the change you made. Overwriting replaces the current list with what is in the edit box. If you had clicked the <Clear> button, then added some words to the empty list box, overwriting would erase all the words in the list except those that are in the list box.

Record pronunciations or quiz questions:

· Get the microphone ready.

· Select a word in the list - you MUST point and click on the word or term in the first column, to activate the record button.

· Click the Record button, speak the word (or a suitable question or whatever you want to record), and then click the Stop recording button.

· Replay the recorded word (click the Play button) to verify a good recording - re-record if necessary.

· Continue through the list until you are finished.

· Save the list when finished.

Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell

2) Student Practice Session

Open Student Practice Dialog Box

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.

· Click on the large ‘S’ to open Student Activities.

· Type in the Student’s name. In the Network Version, the Student’s login ID will initially be displayed. In the Personal Version, the name of the last student, if any, will be displayed. Change it as necessary.

· Click on the large ‘P’ for a Practice Session.

· Select an Area from the List (this will determine which of the eight global Misspelled Word Lists are used to store any misspelled words).

· The Practice Session dialog box will open.

Select List to Practice

· From the list in the upper left corner you will see ‘Current Word List:’ and a dropdown listbox, select one of the lists from the dropdown list, then click the <Sel. List> button.

Start Practice Session

· When you are ready to start the session, click the <Start> button.

· The prompt will be spoken, and the first word will be read.

· Type the word in the box next to the word ‘Answer:’

· After typing the word, press the <Enter> key. The word will be compared to the word in the list for the proper spelling. If the word was spelled correctly, the program will say ‘That’s right’, and automatically read the next word. If the word was spelled incorrectly, the program will say ‘No, sorry, try again’ and will repeat the word. To skip the word, click the <Next> button.

· The student can ‘peek’ at the correct spelling of the word by pressing the <Alt><k> key combination.

· Continue until all the words have been spelled.

· The student can practice the list over and over until he or she has mastered spelling each word.

Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell

3) Student Test Session

Open Student Test Dialog Box

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.

· Click on the large ‘S’ to open Student Activities.

· Select an Area from the List (this will determine which of the eight global Misspelled Word Lists are used to store any misspelled words).

· Click on the large ‘X’ for a Test Session.

· The Test Session dialog box will open.

Notice that other active applications and desktop icons are disabled for the duration of the test. After the test, the desktop is restored.

Select Test List

· From the list in the upper left corner you will see ‘Current Word List:’ and a dropdown listbox, select one of the lists from the dropdown list, then click the <Sel. List> button.

Start the Test

· When you are ready to start the session, click the <Start> button.

· The prompt will be spoken, and the first word will be read.

· The Student will type each word into the box under the word ‘Answer:’ and press the <Enter> key after typing each word.

NOTE: the Student MUST press the <Enter> key, and not use the mouse.

· When the Student presses the <Enter> key, the next word will automatically be read.

· This will continue until all the words in the list have been spelled.

· Immediately after pressing the <Enter> key after spelling the last word, the test will be graded and the results will be shown to the Student, along with a list of any words he or she misspelled and the correct spelling.

Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell

4) View and Print Test Results

Open the Test Results Dialog Box

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.

· Click on the large ‘A’ to start the ‘Administration’ session.

(In the Network Version, the Administrator must select the correct Instructor and type in the password.)

· Click on the <Results…> button (lower, middle of dialog box).

Select the Test Results for Report

· An ‘Open File Dialog’ box will open showing a list of all the test results currently stored in the Test Results folder.

· Each of the files in the list start with the name of the Word List that was used for the test. Next, the Date and Time are included in the form ‘MMDDhhmm’, or month, day, hour and minute. Next is the Student’s name, and finally the Area number, which corresponds with the Misspelled Word List, used for the test.

For example: a file named ‘Tutorial_1_10211015_Chris_4.sbx’

means that Chris took a test for the ‘Tutorial 1’ list

on October 21 at 10:15,

and any misspelled words were added to the ‘MissedWords_Lvl_4’ list.

· Select one or more files and click the <Open> button. To select more than one file, hold down the <Ctrl> key with your left hand and using the mouse with your right hand, point to and click on the names of the files you want to see.

Generate the Report

· The ‘Misspelled WordList Admin Dialog’ box will be displayed with the results visible in the preview listbox.

· To generate a report, click the <Report…> button. If you want an ‘Award’ picture to print for each test result, leave the <Print Award Graphics> button checked, otherwise uncheck it.

· A ‘Save File Dialog’ will open, where you can give the report a name that has distinct meaning to you, the Instructor/Administrator. To clear the list and view different results, click the <Clear List> button, the click the <Select Result List(s)’ button and select the lists you want to view.

· When you select multiple results, you can print them either in a continuous form (you will probably want to uncheck the award graphics for this option), or print each on its own page.

Print the Report

· After the report has been generated, you can view it and print it by clicking the <Print…> button.

· NOTE: Reports are generated as standard .html (or web page format) documents so that they can easily be put on a web page.

The Results and Print List dialog boxes can be resized.

Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell

Four-Step Tutorial Final Note

After practicing this short tutorial, you may want to experiment with using sentences for context, merging a misspelled word list into another word list or any of the other powerful features of Quiz-n-Spell. Some Hints, Tips and Tricks to help you are listed in the following sections.

For more Help and Information, look at the full Help manual that is available by clicking on the <View All…> button on the main Quiz-n-Spell program window.

Also, visit our Quiz-n-Spell website, http://www.21firs.com/Quiz-n-Spell/, browse the Frequently Asked Questions section of the support database for more tutorials and hints and tips, and look over the other documentation.

Four-Step Tutorial for Quiz-n-Spell

The keyboard has been optimized so that you don't have to fumble between the keyboard and the mouse. By pressing the < Alt > key (at the bottom of the keyboard near the spacebar), in combination with another key, you can move quickly around the editor. A key combination can be activated by holding down the first key, then pressing/tapping the second key.

Here is a partial list of the key combinations for the Quiz-n-Spell Word List Editor:

< Alt ><c> will move the keyboard focus and cursor to the Word edit box
< Alt ><d> deletes the currently selected word
< Alt ><f> plays the definition
< Alt ><t> plays the hint
< Alt ><p> plays the word
< Alt ><r> starts recording
< Alt ><s> stops the recording
< Alt ><v> saves the file
< Alt ><e> opens the Sentence Editor
< Alt ><m> opens the Prompts Editor
< Alt ><h> opens the Help file (the <F1> key does the same thing)
< Alt ><x> closes the Word List Editor

You can click the buttons with the mouse, or tab to the button and press the <Enter> key or <Spacebar> to activate it.

Here is a brief description of general editing commands for most Microsoft Windows products.

2) Student Practice Session

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.
· Click on the large 'S' to open Student Activities.
· Type in the Student's name. In the Network Version, the Student's login ID will initially be displayed. In the Personal Version, the name of the last student, if any, will be displayed. Change it as necessary.
· Click on the large 'P' for a Practice Session.
· Select an Area from the List (this will determine which of the eight global Misspelled Word Lists are used to store any misspelled words).
· The Practice Session dialog box will open.
· From the list in the upper left corner you will see 'Current Word List:' and a dropdown listbox, select one of the lists from the dropdown list, then click the <Sel. List> button.
· When you are ready to start the session, click the <Start> button.
· The prompt will be spoken, and the first word will be read.
· Type the word in the box next to the word 'Answer:'
· After typing the word, press the <Enter> key. The word will be compared to the word in the list for the proper spelling. If the word was spelled correctly, the program will say 'That's right', and automatically read the next word. If the word was spelled incorrectly, the program will say 'No, sorry, try again' and will repeat the word. To skip the word, click the <Next> button.
· The student can 'peek' at the correct spelling of the word by pressing the <Alt><k> key combination.
· Continue until all the words have been spelled.
· The student can practice the list over and over until he or she has mastered spelling each word.

back up to Tutorial List

3) Student Test Session

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.
· Click on the large 'S' to open Student Activities.
· Type in the Student's name. In the Network Version, the Student's login ID will initially be displayed. In the Personal Version, the name of the last student, if any, will be displayed. Change it as necessary.
· Click on the large 'X' for a Test Session.
· Select an Area from the List (this will determine which of the eight global Misspelled Word Lists are used to store any misspelled words).
· The Test Session dialog box will open.
· From the list in the upper left corner you will see 'Current Word List:' and a dropdown listbox, select one of the lists from the dropdown list, then click the <Sel. List> button.
· When you are ready to start the session, click the <Start> button.
· The prompt will be spoken, and the first word will be read.
· The Student will type each word into the box under the word 'Answer:' and press the <Enter> key after typing each word. NOTE: the Student MUST press the <Enter> key, and not use the mouse.
· When the Student presses the <Enter> key, the next word will automatically be read.
· This will continue until all the words in the list have been spelled.
· Immediately after pressing the <Enter> key after spelling the last word, the test will be graded and the results will be shown to the Student, along with a list of any words he or she misspelled and the correct spelling.

back up to Tutorial List

4) View and Print Test Results

· Start Quiz-n-Spell.
· Click on the large 'A' to start the 'Administration' session.
· In the Network Version, the Administrator will select the correct Instructor and type in the password.
· Click on the <Results…> button in the lower, left corner.
· An 'Open File Dialog' box will open with a list of all the test results currently stored in the Test Results folder.
· Each of the files in the list start with the name of the Word List that was used in the test. Also, the Date and Time are included in the form 'MMDDhhmm', or month, day, hour and minute. Next is the Student's name, and finally the Area number which corresponds with the Misspelled Word List used for the test.

For example: a file named 'Tutorial_1_10211015_Chris_4.sbx'
means that Chris took a test for the 'Tutorial 1' list on
October 21 at 10:15,
and any misspelled words were added to the 'MissedWords_Lvl_4' list.

· Select one or more files and click the <Open> button. To select more than one file, hold down the <Ctrl> key with your left hand and using the mouse with your right hand, point to and click on the names of the files you want to see.
· The 'Misspelled WordList Admin Dialog' box will be displayed with the results visible in the center listbox.
· To generate a report, click the <Report…> button. If you want an 'Award' picture to print for each test result, leave the <Print Award Graphics> button checked, otherwise uncheck it.
· A 'Save File Dialog' will open, where you can give the report a name that has distinct meaning to you, the Instructor/Administrator. To clear the list and view different results, click the <Clear List> button, the click the <Select Result List(s)' button and select the lists you want to view.
· When you select multiple results, you can print them either in a continuous form (you will probably want to uncheck the award graphics for this option), or print each on its own page.
· After the report has been generated, you can view it and print it by clicking the <Print…> button.
· NOTE: Reports are generated as standard .html (or web page format) documents so that they can easily be put on a web page.

back up to Tutorial List

For more Help and Information, be sure to read through the Quick Start manual insert included in the front of the Quiz-n-Spell CD case, and also look at the full Help manual that is available by clicking on the <View All…> button on the main Quiz-n-Spell program window.