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The
PM Version 6.1 software is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD to those
in the THRASS UK territory that fill-in the online form.
Register for the
software
Right Click
on the hyperlink.
Select Save Target As.
Specify where you would like to
store the file on your hard drive.
INSTRUCTIONS - PDF Format (54KB)
INSTRUCTIONS - Doc Format (75KB)
Index
1. Overview
2. Registration
3. Installation for PC
4. Installation for Mac
5.
Check for Updates
6. Three Main Sections
7. Calendar Chart Section
8. Word Grid Section
9. Word Grid Auto-on
10.
Phoneme Grid Section
11. Interactive
Whiteboard (IWB)
12. Interactive Teaching
13. “Synth and Seg”
14. Mute or Reduce the Volume
15. Help and Quit
16. Cued Speech Option
1. Overview
The software uses 500 basewords to
teach the 44 sounds (phonemes) and 120 main spelling choices of
English.
There are three sections - Calendar,
Word Grid (WG) and Phoneme Grid (PG). Calendar has children's voices
saying the days, dates, months, numbers, colours and letter names.
Calendar charts for other languages can be added by downloading the
relevant zip file using the More button. In WG and PG, a female
voice and moving human lips pronounce the words and phonemes and a
male voice names the letters.
Version 6.0 has a Cued Speech option
(turned on and off in PG). The shape, position and movement of the
hands are displayed alongside the lips. These sound-based units give
deaf children access to spoken and written English. To install the
CS video clips, download the zip file using the hyperlink.
For further details, including
instructions, PowerPoint, video and the downloads, please visit
www.phonememachine.com
or email THRASS UK using
pm@thrass.co.uk
2. Registration
The Phoneme Machine software is
developed and distributed as part of THRASS UK’s Corporate Social
Responsibility Programme (CSRP), which aims to improve the quality
of life for the local community and society at large. It is
available free-of-charge (in PC and Mac) in the countries that
THRASS UK is licensed to serve (Europe, Africa, the Middle East,
South America, Central America and the United States of America) and
these are shown in blue on
www.thrass.co.uk/worldmap.htm. For legal reasons, the software
must not be downloaded and installed in countries outside these
areas. The restriction is clearly stated on the download and
registration web pages and repeated in the Terms and Conditions -
agreed during the installation process. A serial number is obtained
through registration.
Follow the link ‘Register and
Download Version 6.0 Now’ on
www.phonememachine.com or go directly to www.thrass.co.uk/pm6options.htm
and fill-in the form to obtain a unique serial number (for a
specific address). The serial number will appear on-screen and it
will also be sent to your email. Please keep the email safe for
future reference. Copy & paste this serial number (from on-screen or
the email) so that you do not confuse letters with numbers e.g. O
and 0 and and I and 1. The serial number can be used to activate the
software on any number of computers and/or terminals at the same
address. A new serial number is required for computers and/or
terminals at a different address.
3. Installation for PC
Obtain a copy of the case file
CASE_6.exe. The file size is about 50MB. You can obtain the file by
downloading it from
www.thrass.co.uk/pm.htm or by copying it to your desktop
from a memory stick or disc (supplied by a friend, relative,
colleague or, if you are a parent, your child’s teacher). Contained
within this case file is the TPM_6.exe file (the actual Phoneme
Machine programme), a ‘words’ folder and an ‘uninst.exe’ file (the
uninstall programme).
Double-click the CASE_6.exe file to
activate the Setup Wizard. Use the ‘Next’, ‘I Agree’, ‘Install’ and
‘Finish’ buttons to automatically load the Phoneme Machine in your C
drive (in Program Files), create a desktop short cut, add a link in
the Programs Menu and then launch the programme.
There are a large number of audio
and video files in the programme. It usually takes about 30 seconds
to load. Please take account of this loading time every time you
launch the Phoneme Machine programme.
Click the box that says ‘Enter
Serial Number’ and then copy & paste your unique serial number (for
any number of computers and/or terminals at the same address). If
your serial number is validated, the software will be activated and
you will be taken to the screen that has the buttons ‘Check for
Update’ and ‘Continue’. Press ‘Continue’.
The Cued Speech video clips (for
teaching the sounds and spelling choices of English to learners that
are deaf) can be installed at any time. You will need to download a
copy of the zip file CS_Video_Clips_Installer.zip using the link on
www.phonememachine.com or by going go directly to
www.thrass.co.uk/csvc.htm
(the link ‘Download Cued Speech Video Clips’, at the bottom of the
Phoneme Grid, takes you to this page). The file size is about 80MB.
This zip file has a CS_Video_Clips_Installer file, containing the
CS_Video_Clips_Installer.exe (the ‘Di’ icon), a ‘CS’ folder and an
‘Xtras’ folder. If someone has already opened the zip file, by
activating ‘Extract All’, you may only receive a copy of the
CS_Video_Clips_Installer file (containing the exe file and two
folders) on a memory stick or disc.
Open the CS_Video_Clips_Installer
file, containing the CS_Video_Clips_Installer.exe file and
double-click it (the ‘Di’ icon). The clips will be automatically
placed in the correct sub-folders, in the Phoneme Machine folder in
Program Files.
Should you wish to uninstall the
video clips, at a later date, click Uninstall in the Programs Menu
(or double click the uninst.exe in the Phoneme Machine folder in
Program Files). This will uninstall the whole programme. To
re-install the original software (as explained above), double click
the CASE_6.exe file to activate the Setup Wizard.
To make space on your hard drive,
the CASE_6.exe and the CS_Video_Clips_Installer file (which together
amount to about 130MB) can now be deleted with or without first
being saved onto a memory stick or disc (for passing on to others).
Remember, if the software is to be used at a different address,
someone will need to visit
www.thrass.co.uk/pm.htm to register for a new serial
number. A network version of the software is also available.
4. Installation for Mac
Obtain a copy or the case file
CASE_6.zip (about 50MB). Unzip the file and it will create a folder
called PM_6_MAC which will contain two files, an executable file
called PM_6 and a ‘words’ folder. Drag this folder PM_6_MAC to your
Applications Folder.
Once you have agreed to the terms
and conditions and have received your unique Serial Number, you can
click to open PM_6_MAC and then click on the PM_6 executable file.
Enter your serial number in space provided and then click on the
grey button ‘Click to Enter Serial Number’.
The Cued Speech video clips (for
teaching the sounds and spelling choices of English to learners that
are deaf) can be installed at any time. Obtain a copy of the zip
file CS_Video_Clips_Installer.zip (as described above for PC). As a
Mac user, you will not be able to use the installer so you will need
to drag the unzipped video files to the ‘words’ folder, where
Phoneme Machine 6.0 is located. If you are asked to overwrite any
files, select ‘Yes’.
There are a large number of audio
and video files in the programme. It usually takes about 30 seconds
to load. Please take account of this loading time every time you
launch the Phoneme Machine. Mac networks use the original case file.
It is widely accepted that the
Phoneme Machine is groundbreaking software so we are bound to need
some fixes! The basic programme has hundreds of audio and video
files and there is now the option to also install hundreds of
additional video files for teaching phonics to deaf children (using
Cued Speech). The files are programmed to appear almost immediately
but there are bound to be complications, given that all computers
are not the same and some work much faster than others - so the
timing on some computers may, sometimes, be less than perfect. You
can check for updates by visiting
www.thrass.co.uk/update.htm or by clicking the 'Check for
Update' button on the opening screen. We will be constantly
reviewing the functionality, as people help us by emailing
pm@thrass.co.uk with any
requests for improved navigation or functionality. From time to
time, check to see if there is an update or even a new version.
There are three sections - Calendar,
Word Grid (WG) and Phoneme Grid (PG).
Calendar has children's voices
saying the days, dates, months, numbers, colours and letter names.
Calendar charts for other languages can be added by downloading the
relevant zip file using the ‘More’ button. In WG and PG, a female
voice and moving human lips pronounce the words and phonemes and a
male voice names the letters. The WG section has auto-functions to
blend, read and spell (BRS), read and spell (RS) and read (R) the
500 basewords. The PG section has a location for each of the 44
sounds (phonemes), enabling learners to play 'Locate the Phonemes'
for each of the basewords. The 24 consonant phoneme-boxes (located
in the top half) have a blue border and the 20 vowel phoneme-boxes
have a red border.
Click on the WG, PG and Calendar
buttons to move between the three main sections. If you lose
functionality, please visit one of the other two main sections
(Calendar, PG or WG) and then return to the section. Alternatively,
if there is one, use the Reset button (top right).
The Calendar Chart section has the
English Calendar Chart with children's voices saying the seven days,
the thirty-one dates, the twelve months, the numbers from one to
twenty, ten main colours and the names of the twenty-six lower-case
letters (and their associated capitals).
The days, dates, months, numbers,
colours and letters on the chart can be used to play 'Questions &
Answers' with children, in order to develop essential speaking and
listening skills, reading and spelling skills, social skills,
general knowledge, memory and intellect. The children can locate the
answers on the chart and devise their own questions for others to
answer. The words, letters and numbers can also be used to discuss
forthcoming events, such as birthdays, public holidays and national
celebrations. Some example questions and answers can be found on
www.thrass.co.uk/cart/cc_instructions.htm. These instructions
(as doc and pdf files), can be translated into different languages
using the Google Translation link provided.
Zoom: Click Zoom and choose small,
medium or large scale. Use the orange arrows on the Mover, to move
the screen horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Drag the grey
area to relocate the menu. Click Reset to return to normal view.
Click on ‘Zoom Menu’ to close the menu box. The Zoom menu is
available in the Calendar, WG and PG sections. It is not available
in the SYNTH Area, Auto on or AHOV areas (see below). However, if
using a mouse, you can Right Click and use the Zoom In, Zoom Out and
Show All functions on most screens.
FS on/off (Full Screen): Click ‘FS
off’ to re-size or minimize the screen. To re-size, drag the TOP of
the screen away from the corner and then place the cursor over the
top right hand corner. Then use the arrows that appear to re-size.
The PM screens have been designed to re-size in proportion and to
have no loss of function - even down to a very small size. Click 'FS
on' to return to Full Screen. On interactive whiteboards (IWB), you
can resize and move the screen towards the bottom of the board so
that young or small learners are able to reach all parts of the
screen.
Click WG for the Word Grid or PG for
the Phoneme Grid.
The Word Grid (WG) section is based
on the THRASS 500 Reading Test in the guide TEACHING THRASS (Product
Code T-50). The grid starts with one- and two-letter words, at the
top, and progresses to nine-letter words at the bottom (as shown by
the numbers on the right). The WG section has a female voice
pronouncing the 500 basewords of spoken and written English. A male
voice names the letters.
Text Box on/off: In WG, click the
Text Box to deactivate and activate the box. The default is with the
Text Box on.
Speaker off/on: Click the Speaker to
hear the words without going through to the SYNTHESIZE THE WORD area
(SYNTH Area).
Double Click a Word: Double click a
word to access the SYNTH Area. Click SYNTHESIZE THE WORD to 'blend
the phonemes in order to read it' (do this as many times as you
wish). Click the phoneme-boxes to hear the individual phonemes.
Click the word-box, at the top of the screen, to hear the whole
word. Click on the graphemes (spelling choices) to hear the names of
the letters, that is, the letters used for the graphs (one-letter
spelling choices), digraphs (two-letter spelling choices), trigraphs
(three-letter spelling choices) and quadgraphs (four-letter spelling
choices). Move between the words by selecting the right and left
orange arrows, located at the ends of the blue bar. Underlined
letters indicate split digraphs (e.g. tape) or letters
(or sequences of letters) that are NPS (Non-Phonographic Spellings
or, if you prefer, letters that are Not Playing Sensibly!).
Non-Phonographic Spellings are not graphemes because they represent
more than one phoneme or they are abbreviations e.g. ‘x’ in box
and ‘d’ ‘r’ in Dr (and 'Mr' for Mister).
In the SYNTH Area, click B/R if you
want the consonant graphemes to be blue and vowel graphemes to be
red (like the THRASS Magnetic Graphemes, Product Code T-49) or if
you want to revert to normal bold text. The change will appear in
the NEXT word.
Zoom: In the Zoom Menu choose small,
medium or large scale (as for Calendar, above).
Speaker On with LARGE SCALE Text:
Select large scale (medium or small scale) on the Zoom Menu. Click
'Speaker on' to only hear the words and then double click the words.
If desirable, click 'Text Box off' to deactivate the box. Use the
orange arrows on the Mover to move the screen horizontally,
vertically or diagonally. Drag the grey area to relocate the menu.
Click reset to return to normal view. Click Zoom Menu for normal
view with the speaker off (the default).
Select PG (top left or in the blue
bar), if you wish to play 'Locate the Phonemes' with the word that
is presently on display. Recreate the words displayed at the bottom
by selecting the phonemes in the right order. You can also use
‘Auto’, ‘Hide & Seek then Auto’ and ‘PG icon then Auto’ to reveal
the location of the phonemes. Click the right or left orange arrows
to move through the words in Word Grid order.
To start ‘Locate the Phonemes’ at a
particular word, such as the seven-letter word 'feather' (located
under the words WORD GRID, in the blue bar), double click the word
on the Word Grid (to enter SYNTH Area) and then select PHONEME
GRID.
Select WG to return to the 500-word
grid. The grid can also be reached from the ‘SYNTH Area’ by clicking
WORD GRID, without first visiting the Phoneme Grid.
9. Word Grid Auto-on
Auto on/off: With 'Auto on', select
groups of words, as listed in the Units for the four-year scheme of
work 'THRASS 15 Minutes a Day x 2' (Product Code T-60) OR
double-click any number of words to compile your own word list.
Having clicked the flashing orange arrow, choose what you want to do
with the list of words, that is, Blend, Read and Spell (BRS), Read
and Spell (RS) or Read (R).
By selecting
words in sequential order, such as “I saw a fish in the sea”, simple
sentences can also be created. Then select the flashing orange arrow
and click R (Read) to hear the words spoken in sequence. If
appropriate, click the right white arrow to move through the words
(at a suitable pace) and have your learners read or write the
words.
The number of automatic play-throughs
can be set from 1 to 5 by using the increase and decrease arrows (by
the flashing orange arrow). The increase arrow is located underneath
the number, to make it easier for learners to reach on large
interactive whiteboards. Then click the flashing orange arrow. It is
not possible to change the number of play-throughs when the user is
in the 'Auto on' area. To change the number, return to WORD GRID and
click 'Auto on'. Reselect the words and use the increase and
decrease arrows to set the new number. If you have been using the
units, there is a Unit Reminder located above Unit 4.
Word Grid Reset: Click Reset, top
right, to remove highlighted words from the grid.
Unit List Reset: If the list needs
to be reset at any time, because you cannot see a Unit, click the
top unit, Unit 4, once or twice. If 9.9b, 9.10b, 9.11b, and 9.12b
(the add-on buttons for the colours, numbers from one to ten, days
and the months) fail to appear, click Unit 9 once or twice.
Sometimes it may be necessary to click 'Auto on' again, via 'Auto
off'.
The right and left orange arrows,
located at the ends of the blue bar, used in the SYNTH Area, do not
function in the ‘Auto on’ area so they have been masked.
If ‘B/R on’ has been selected,
click Pause to view the Blue and Red graphemes in the word on
display.
AHOV ("Ay-Hov"): Automatically read
and spell the selected words, using the letters from the four piles
of tiles; which correspond to the four sequences in the 'Letter Name
Rap', on the THRASS Raps and Sequences CD (Product Code T-51). The
total number of tiles on screen correspond to the total number of
tiles in the THRASS Spelling Tiles box (Product Code T-57). This is
so that all of the 500 basewords can be spelled. For example, there
are four letters 'e's,- so that users can spell the word
‘seventeen’.
Click the flashing orange arrow to
activate the AHOV Auto function. At any time, you can click any
button to activate the functions BRS, RS, R, AHOV, SYNTHESIZE THE
WORD and PHONEME GRID. If you chose PHONEME GRID or WORD GRID (and,
in so doing, leave the 'Auto on' area), you will need to re-select
the original list. As a reminder, the last selected unit is recorded
above Unit 4. You can also use the Pause button (which re-starts at
the beginning of the word on display) or leave the 'Auto on' area by
using the 'Quit to SYNTH Area' button (the large circle between
Pause and the white left arrow). Once in the SYNTH Area, click
SYNTHESIZE THE WORD to start the blending sequence.
‘Check’, ‘Answer’, '10' and
‘Speaker’ are only functional in the 'Inter' (Interactive) mode (see
below). These buttons are masked during 'Auto'. Reset (a word) and
Rescue (the list) are masked but still function. Rescue is the
ambulance icon.
Want to move the letter tiles?:
Users are not able to move the letter tiles to spell the words when
in the 'Auto' function. It is, however, possible to toggle between
the lower case and capitals but they are not able to be moved. If
you want to move the letter tiles, click on the 'Inter'
(Interactive) button, located bottom left.
AHOV Inter (moving the letter
tiles): To spell the words yourself, click the ‘Inter’ (Interactive)
button and then move the tiles. Click the Speaker button, bottom
right, to hear the word. Click the '10' button to activate the
naming of the word, the ‘Ten-Second Countdown’ and ‘Letter Fade’
functions. Click the Check, Answer (including, if a reminder is
needed, before a Countdown) and Reset buttons, when required. The
Check button produces a good sound (clapping) or bad sound ("boing")
depending on whether the answer is correct or not! There is a Mute
facility (by clicking the Speaker icon) to temporarily remove this
feedback in AHOV. The volume level elsewhere is unaffected and
remains the same.
Note that letters can be ‘thrown’
into the boxes by using the ‘Snap to’ factor (the sensitive area
directly beneath the boxes). Once a letter-box has been occupied, it
MAY reject other letters. “Double Tap” a box to resubmit a letter or
return the incorrect letter to the home pile, before putting the
correct letter in the letter-box and it should be accepted. If
necessary, click the Reset button (or, to start from the first word
in the list, the Rescue button, bottom right).
AHOV Reset: If the letter tiles lose
their functionality, click Reset (to reset a word) or Rescue (to
reset the list). The left and right white arrows also reset the
letters (for the next word). Select the Capital Letter Option and
then return to the Lower-case Option to reset the letter handles. It
is also possible to reset by clicking the AHOV button.
AHOV Auto: Click the Auto button,
bottom left, to leave the AHOV Inter (Interactive) function.
The Phoneme Grid (PG) has moving
human lips to demonstrate the pronunciation of the 44 phonemes of
English. Click the phonemes to recreate English words and to
recreate alternative pronunciations (to cater for accent). Try to
remember where the phonemes "live". That is, find the location for
the three phonemes in "c-a-t". Repeat this a few times and then try
to recreate "t-a-c" (reverse order) and then "a-c-t" (starting with
the first phoneme-box in the Vowel Section). Click the phoneme-boxes
to recreate other familiar words or even to create some new words!
IPA off/on: Click ‘IPA on’ to hide
or reveal the International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciation
symbols.
Zoom: In the Zoom Menu choose small,
medium or large scale (as for Calendar and Word Grid sections,
above). The Zoom also works in the ‘Locate the Phonemes’ area.
Locate the Phonemes: Recreate the
word that is displayed (having first clicked PHONEME GRID in the
Synth Area) by selecting the phonemes in the right order. You can
also use ‘Auto’, ‘Hide & Seek then Auto’ and ‘PG icon then Auto’ to
reveal the location of the phonemes. Play Locate the Phonemes to
recreate familiar and unfamiliar words. If desirable, cater for
accent by selecting different boxes (even if they are masked). This
relates to "Right grapheme, DIFFERENT phoneme!" (same
spelling-choice but a different sound). Click the right or left
orange arrows to move through the words in Word Grid order. Should a
word have some boxes missing (as may happen from time to time), use
the arrows to visit the next word and then return to the word.
Remember,
words containing spellings that are NPS (Not Playing Sensibly), see
above, (e.g. the 'x' in box and 'd' 'r' in Dr), will have more
phonemes than the available graphemes (more sounds than spelling
choices).
44 – click the ‘44’ button and all
the forty-four phonemes are voiced and highlighted in sequence. Use
the Pause and Continue button to move through the phonemes. Orange
arrows, at the start of each row (namely, C1, C2, C3, C4, V1, V2,
V3, V4) are revealed. If a row arrow is clicked, the phonemes in the
selected row are voiced and highlighted in sequence. Clicking the
arrow stops and restarts the sequence. To exit ‘44’ click the ‘PG
icon’.
FS on/off: Click the FS (Full
Screen) button to minimize or alter the size of the screen.
Reset: Use the Reset button, top
right, if you need to remove information from the screen.
Cued Speech: The Cued Speech option,
FOR ALL SECTIONS, is activated by this button. The shape, position
and movement of the hands are displayed alongside the lips. To
install the CS video clips, download the zip file using the
hyperlink ‘Download Cued Speech Video Clips’ located at the botton
of the screen (for installation, see above). For further details
about the option, see ‘Cued Speech Option’, below.
CS Info: This gives information
about Cued Speech.
11. Interactive
Whiteboard (IWB)
If you have a large interactive
whiteboard, use fingers and/or pens to trace over and form the
letters/graphemes on the various screens, especially the three main
screens (Calendar, Word Grid and Phoneme Grid). Ideally, use black
or blue ‘ink’ for normal writing and, on special occasions, blue
‘ink’ for consonant graphemes and red ‘ink’ for vowel graphemes. Use
fingers or pens to identify and connect words and graphemes on the
Calendar Chart, phonemes on the Phoneme Grid (including by numbering
the boxes) and words and graphemes on the Word Grid.
12. Interactive
Teaching
Encourage your learners to answer
and ask questions and to show the answers by clicking the screens
(or pressing the screens, if fingers can be used). Have individuals
perform the actions and say the words, phonemes, names and numbers
for others to then copy.
For those familiar with the THRASS
(Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills) phonics programme
(see TEACHING THRASS www.thrass.co.uk/teaching.htm), encourage
individuals, groups or classes to consolidate and then revise their
answers by pointing at the phoneme-boxes on the yellow picturecharts
(THRASS Picturechart Class Size, Product Code T-02 and/or THRASS
Picturechart Desk Size, Product Code T-03). Ideally (especially with
older learners), you should also encourage individuals to overwrite
(trace over) the graphemes and letters on the class-size THRASS
Graphemechart (Product Code T-04), for others to then do the same,
but using their tumble-turn THRASS Overwrite Charts (Product Code
T-06).
If a school has the THRASS Resource
File (Product Code T-01), individuals can, instead of using the
commercially-produced Overwrite Chart, use a tumble-turn photocopy
of two sheets from the file. The sheets are p52 from the Reading
Section (for the graphemes) and p5 from the Handwriting Section (for
the letters and the ‘Grapheme Catch-Alls’ - the spelling-choices not
chosen for the THRASS charts and represented by an asterisk in each
of the phoneme-boxes). Whenever possible, encourage a learner to
play the role of teacher by having them ask the questions and obtain
the correct answers from the group or class!
13. “Synth and Seg”(ment)
is a good interactive game for analysing the sounds and spelling
choices in whole words. Click 'Auto on'. Double Click any word on
the Word Grid. Click the orange arrow. Click R for Read. Click WORD
GRID. Double Click any word to enter SYNTH Area (starting with whole
words). Encourage learners to guess the word (before clicking the
Word Box) and guess the number of phonemes and graphemes (before
clicking SYNTHESIZE THE WORD). Click the arrows to move through the
words before one team call "Synth and Seg". Teams can take turns to
earn points. One point for the word and one point for the number of
graphemes. Or one point for each correctly articulated phoneme (or
an alternative phoneme - to cater for accent!) and/or one point for
each grapheme e.g. for 'see' the answer would be "graph ‘s’, digraph
double ‘e’. If desirable, with 'B/R on', extra points can be scored
for predicting the colour of the graphemes, depending on whether
they represent consonant or vowel phonemes. For the word ‘see’, the
‘s’ would be blue and the double ‘e’ would be red. This game can be
played at any time by moving from Read to the WORD GRID. Visit PG
and return to WG to reset for normal SYNTH Area functionality. The
underlining of split digraphs (tape) and NPS spellings
(e.g. box) is not available via any of the 'Auto on'
(automatic practices) routes.
The downloadable Calendar Charts
(see above) can also be used for interactive teaching. Children can
point at the words, letters and/or numbers on a hard copy of the
chart before a classmate presses or clicks the screen to hear the
words, letters and/or numbers. The THRASS Spelling Tiles (Product
Code T-57), and the associated Spelling Grid and Grapheme Grid
(downloadable from the DOWNLOADS section on
www.thrass.co.uk) can be used
for interactive teaching with the AHOV, BRS and RS auto-functions,
as well as the SYNTHESIZE THE WORD function (including for ‘Synth
and Seg’ activities and games). If laminated, the grids can be
written on with dry wipe pens and then used again and again. The
Grapheme Grid can also be used with the Phoneme Grid and ‘Locate the
Phonemes’ screens.
14. Mute or Reduce the
Volume
Another good way to improve
interactivity is to Mute or Reduce the volume (using the controls on
your computer or IWB) so that your learners have to produce the
words, names and phonemes to provide the answers. This is also an
excellent way to assess progress - in terms of the accuracy and
clarity of the answers and the speed in which the actions are
performed (testing knowledge, sequential skills and spatial
awareness). From both an educational and social perspective, this
option also helps learners, especially young learners, to have a
better understanding of partial hearing and/or deafness (including
some of the factors involved in what it is like to lip-read).
15. Help and Quit
Help: There is a Help button on
every screen in the Word Grid (WG) and Phoneme Grid (PG) sections.
This takes you to the most recent set of these instructions on
www.thrass.co.uk
Quit: There is a Quit button on
every screen. This leads to the 'Do you really want to Quit? screen,
with the options 'Yes' or 'Return' (to return to the last screen).
Alternatively, on a keyboard, simply press Esc (ESCAPE), usually top
left.
16. Cued Speech Option
This option is turned on and off by
clicking the ‘Cued Speech’ button in the Phoneme Grid. The shape,
position and movement of the hands are displayed alongside the lips
– in the sections where the lips are shown. If the video clips have
been installed, the cueing clips are viewable in a video box in
Calendar, Word Grid (using ‘Speaker on’ and also in the ‘Synth
Area’, ‘Auto on’ and ‘AHOV’ sections) and the Phoneme Grid. In the
‘Synth Area’, the video box must be clicked to view the cueing clip.
If the letters are clicked, the letter names are cued in the video
box.
In the Phoneme Grid, clicking the
‘Cue Word’ button (at the bottom of the screen) results in the
selected word being cued in a large video box. Click on the arrows
to move forward and backwards through the words. Clicking the ‘Cue
Plus’ button results in the words being cued automatically in a
large video box, in Word Grid order.
In ‘Auto on’ the words and letter
names are cued automatically in a video box after the word has been
synthesized and voiced for the BRS (blend, read and spell ) and RS
(read and spell) options. In the R (reading) option the word is read
and then cued. In AHOV, the words are cued in a large video box and
the letter names are also cued but in a video box located inside the
relevant letter tile.
Acknowledgements
The THRASS Phoneme Machine 6.0
software, and all other previous versions of the programme, has been
designed by Alan Davies, Chartered Educational Psychologist and
Associate Fellow British Psychological Society (also Executive
Director, THRASS UK) and programmed by Mike Meade, Media Director,
THRASS UK.
We train
teachers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Central
America and the United States to use the THRASS (Teaching
Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills) resources published by
THRASS (UK) LTD.
TPM6.1
INSTRUCTIONS © 2009 ALARY LTD
Main Websites: www.thrass.co.uk
and www.phonememachine.com
Right Click
on the hyperlink.
Select Save Target As.
Specify where you would like to
store the file on your hard drive.
INSTRUCTIONS - PDF Format (54KB)
INSTRUCTIONS - Doc Format (75KB)
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