SOLO

• Product Names: SOLO
• Manufacturer/Publisher: Don Johnston Special Needs Ltd

Solo combines Write:Outloud, Co:Writer, Draft:Builder and Read:Outloud for a complete literacy support package

Solo brings together Write:Outloud, Co:Writer, Draft:Builder and Read:Outloud into one integrated system complete with a range of teachers' tools to support reading and writing.

The Teacher's Central feature collects quantitative and qualitative data from individual pupil's work and presents the information in graphs, charts and previews. Teacher's Central also sets individual user preferences for use through all the applications.

• Write:Outloud uses natural-sounding voices to provide speech feedback for proof reading and editing. The unparalleled Franklin dictionary, phonetic spell checker and homophone checker help overcome literacy difficulties. The Bibliography Wizard guides users through the correct format for their references, while the "Mark For Deletion" tool allows users to re-organise sentences or paragraphs without losing their original work. Analysis of the user's progress and development is provided through the Teacher's Central.
• Co:Writer provides exceptionally powerful and accurate word prediction. The prediction window follows the cursor and can predict one word at a time or be used to predict a sentence or paragraph at a time. Topic dictionaries can be quickly and easily created, while the Word Wall feature displays word grids from the topic dictionary to aid recall of topic vocabulary and generate ideas. Co:Writer can be used seamlessly with all the Solo applications or any other application for entering text. As with the other Solo applications Co:Writer pulls on the same user settings which are set in the Teacher's Central. User settings are also available when it is used as a stand-alone tool.
• Draft:Builder takes users through the three steps involved in producing written work: gathering, organising and then synthesising information. Information is gathered in the Outline screen where pupils can brainstorm ideas and then review those ideas in a linear text view or a graphical layout - either as a tree or web concept map. Users with Read:Outloud can import outlines at the click of a button. The second step, the notes section, expands and re-orders ideas while the final drafting section develops notes into full sections. Users with Write:Outloud can take their draft directly into the word processor for further writing, formatting and proofing.
• Read:Outloud reads text aloud with colour highlighting from a variety of file formats including live web pages, rich-text files and Start-to-Finish books. The Reading Guide enables teachers to provide a framework to their students' reading and construct comprehension activities. The highlighting tool facilitates the extraction of important information by transferring the highlighted text directly into the outline while electronic notes capture additional thoughts and ideas, helping students to develop independent reading strategies.

You will need:

• Windows 2000 or later
• Mac OS 10.2 or later
• 512MB RAM
• 90MB hard disk space
• Sound card

Multi-user licences are priced per user (PPU)

N.B. Multi-user licences are special order items and therefore non-refundable, unless faulty.