Typing Tutor® 7

1. Product Description
2. Product Highlights
3. System Requirements
4. Installation Instructions
5. Getting Started
6. Lessons and Tests
7. Tests
8. Progress
9. Bookshelf
10. Dictation and Note-Taking
11. Business Letters
12. Disk File
13. Library List
14. Show Time
15. Games
16. Preferences
17. Instructor Mode
18. Typing Tutor 7 Team
19. Copyright Notice

Product Description:

Welcome to Typing Tutor® 7

Powerful features allow Typing Tutor 7 to customize lessons and tests specifically for you. Using Time Response Monitoring™, or TRM, the program notes the time it takes you to type each letter and then uses this information to create each lesson for you. The program simulates real-life typing experiences with its Natural Language Generator™, or NLG, helping you to become familiar with key sequences that are commonly used in everyday language. All lessons and tests use actual words, phrases, and sentences that contain the keys you need to practice.

At the touch of a button, speed and accuracy graphs can be created to keep you up to fate on your progress. You can choose from more than 100 interesting excerpts from popular and classic books for use in your lessons. The Show Time feature offers 100 video clips as rewards for typing exercises. And with three exciting games to further you skills, you'll look forward to practicing and polishing your proficiency.

You'll be amazed at how quickly your keyboarding skills improve. Let Typing Tutor 7 become your personal typing coach today!

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Product Highlights:

Typing Tutor 7 is a powerful new version of one of the world's best-selling typing programs. It's now easier to use, more comprehensive and more entertaining than ever!

Typing Tutor 7 evaluates your strengths and weaknesses, then creates customized lessons based on your individual needs. And with three exciting interactive games, practice samples from over 100 well known books, and entertaining lessons with 100 video clips, it makes learning fun. No matter what your age or skill level, Typing Tutor 7 will help you improve your speed, accuracy, and confidence at the keyboard.

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System Requirements:

Windows® Minimum Requirements:

Macintosh® Minimum Requirements:

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Installation Instructions:

Installing and Running with Windows® 3.1x

Installing and Running with Windows® 95

Installing and Running on a Macintosh®

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Getting Started:

You may register as a New Student, Continuing Student, or Visitor.

To register as a New Student:

You may be asked to take a short diagnostic test to precisely determine you current speed and accuracy. You may take a practice test first or go directly to the initial diagnostic test. (You can take the diagnostic test later by selecting it from the Progress menu.)

To register as a Continuing Student:

To register as a Visitor:

main screen

This is the Typing Tutor 7 main screen. From here, you can go anywhere in the program. You will always find comments here from your personal, on-line typing coach. Based on your current ability level and the results of your last activity, Typing Tutor 7 will recommend which exercises you should do next. To take one of the tutor's suggestions, just click the arrow beside an assignment. To plan your own program, click one of the five activity icons on the screen.

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Lessons and Tests:

Access a lesson by clicking the stopwatch icon (or clicking one of the lesson assignments the tutor has suggested for you).

Notice the keyboard at the top of the lesson screen. The keys and fingers are color-coded to show the keys typed by each finger. The shadow hands are resting on the keyboard in the home row position, ready to show you the keys to press for the first keystroke of the lesson. As you continue the lesson, the shadow hands animate and will demonstrate proper finger positioning for each new character before you type it. You can turn off the keyboard or hands, or choose another screen layout for your lesson by selecting Preferences from the File menu.

Your lesson appears in black text in the box below the keyboard diagram. As you type, your text will appear in blue. The text smoothly scrolls in time with your personal typing speed. Your errors will be shown in red; you may backspace to correct these errors unless you have turned off the backspace option. To hear pacing music as you type, choose one of the five songs from the Sound menu You can adjust the tempo of the music by choosing Faster or Slower from the Sound menu. When you finish the lesson, you will be returned to the main screen where the tutor will offer new, personalized suggestions based on the results of your lesson. Custom lessons offer further choices for specific focus. Select Custom from the Lessons menu or click the stopwatch icon, and then choose Custom Lesson options.

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Tests

The Typing Tutor 7 tests look and function exactly like the lessons, except for two things:

1. You cannot design a custom test by row, hand, or finger.
2. New letters and characters are never introduced during a test.

Choose Regular from the Tests menu, or click the stopwatch icon and select Test from the options dialog box. You can also select a custom test from the menu or dialog box.

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Progress

Click the graph icon to check on your typing progress. From this one screen, you may view various speed and accuracy graphs, and a progress report.

Compare your most recent test with your entire test history.

Print your graphs and reports by clicking . To return to the main screen, click .

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Bookshelf

Typing Tutor 7 offers over 100 interesting book excerpts from a wide variety of categories to use for your typing practice. Not only will you be getting in some good keyboard practice, but you'll get to read about whatever interests you at the same time!

The Bookshelf feature also offers dictation, note-taking practice, and an alphabetized library listing of all the books used. Click the Bookshelf icon (or open the Bookshelf menu) and select a category that interests you.

Next you will see the browser screen, which allows you to choose a specific book from the category you have selected. Click a title in the scroll box, and you will see the book cover and an excerpt from that book. Scroll through to read the excerpt if you wish, then click the Begin Test button at the bottom of the screen to begin typing the text of the book excerpt.

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Dictation and Note-Taking

In case you'd like to practice your dictation and note-taking typing skills, Typing Tutor 7 offers 18 book excerpts which are read aloud to you for these purposes. You can access these excerpts from the Dictation Typing category of the Bookshelf.

Remember, you won't be seeing any preprinted text in the dictation mode! Once you click Begin Test button, the excerpt will be read aloud to you. You may begin typing at any time. You also have the option of pausing the dictation activity by pressing ESC or TAB in order to control the pace. When you click ESC or TAB a second time, the dictation will back up three seconds and then resume. You may type the complete text or just take notes on the important points.

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Business Letters

Choose this Bookshelf category for a selection of useful business letters. These letters are also available as text files for you to adapt and use with any standard word-processing program. They are in a separate Typing Tutor 7 folder called Business Letters.

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Disk File

You can import any text file to use for your typing practice.

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Library List

The final option in the Bookshelf feature is the Library List. As you use the book excerpts for typing practice, you may want to find out more about the books themselves. The Library Lists offers an alphabetical listing of each Simon & Schuster book titles included in Typing Tutor 7. The ISBN numbers and book summaries are provided for your reference. Click the Library List button (or choose Library List from the Bookshelf menu) to view the library listing.

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Show Time

Typing Tutor 7 offers over 100 video selections with related typing practice. You can view video clips from many different categories such as sports, entertainment, and history.

Select a video clip from the Show Time browser screen. Click a title in the scroll box, and you will see a still shot from the movie accompanied by a related typing passage.

Scroll through to read the passage if you wish, then click the Begin Test button at the bottom of the screen. When you have finished typing the passage, the movie will play. To enjoy it again, just click Play Video Again.

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Games

Typing Tutor 7 offers three different games to challenge your typing skills in an exciting and entertaining way.

1. Letter Invaders
This fast-moving game challenges you to type the "invading" letters and words before they touch the ground. Each scene will show words falling from the sky. You must type each word accurately before it touches the ground in order to launch one of your missiles and destroy the letter invader. If you don't type fast enough, the invader will explode and destroy part of your city. It's easy to keep up at first, but the letters will come faster and faster.

How long can you protect your city and keep the game going?

2. Word Search
Typing Tutor 7 turns the traditional word search into an exciting, fast-paced game! Your challenge is to locate and type the hidden words within the grids as fast as you can. Each word search is based on an interesting theme, and the word searches are randomly generated, so you'll see a new puzzle each time. Click at the bottom left of the screen to sample a few of the word search themes. When you see one you like, start typing in the words you find and press ENTER or RETURN after each one. When time expires, any words you haven't located will pop up in red. You can choose from three levels of difficulty and set your own time limit. Just choose Preferences from the File menu.

3. Whack 'Em 
Are you familiar with that age-old game found at arcades and carnivals, where little plastic objects rise out of grid holes, and the player tries to hit them in the head before they duck back into their holes? Whack 'Em is played the same way, except your job is to type the word faster than the critter can creep back into its hole! When you see the first critter and word appear, begin typing the word to start the game. If you type quickly and accurately, you'll "whack" the critters and enjoy their surprised reactions!

Your goal in this game is to reach the "ultimate" opponent. Don't worry, you'll know him when you see him!

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Preferences

Typing Tutor 7 can be customized to fit your needs. Select Preferences from the File menu and make your selections.

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Instructor Mode

The Instructor Mode allows a teacher to monitor both individual and group student progress. Progress reports, speed graphs, and composite reports can be displayed and printed. Additionally, a personal high game score list will be maintained for each student and can be accessed from the Game menu.

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Typing Tutor 7 Team

Producer: Faye Schwartz
Associate Producer: Tammy Post
Development: Callisto Corporation
Producer: Michael Barta
Lead Programmer: Robert Harris
Programmers: Dan Steigerwald, Seth Lipkin
Lead Artist: Darrell Meyers
Stock Video Providers: CASCOM International, Inc., Film & Video Stock Shots
Video Processing: Van Duyne Engineering
Voices: Cathy Johnson, Mark Schwarz Mike Inouye, Shawn Crosby, Sue Kisla, Deborah Cherlin
Music: Tom Zehnder
Sound: Robert Koenigsberg, Rich Seitz, Christian Johnson, Scott Lynch
Writers: Julie Baumgartner, Rich Shaw
Quality Assurance: Lead Tester, Louis Mutter; Testers: Barbara Woodcock, Bob Applegate, Craig    Forrest, Johnnie Tam, Thomas Higgins, Ken Hagler, Donna Pierstorff
On-line Help: Joe Skelley, Gerald Lokstadt
Manual Writer: Deborah Shepherd Hayes
Manual Design and Layout: Cathy Johnson
Animated Logo: Wag the Dog Productions
Executive Producer: Mike Albanese

Special Thanks (Joint Venture): Paul Sams; (S&S): Tracey Turner, Mark Safire, Jeff Siegel; (Davidson): Marc Struhl, Brain Poole, Andre Zietsman, Kristine Sato, Burkeley Hanes, Kathy Carter, Jessica Monson

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Copyright Notice

The software and manual are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. They may not, in whole or part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without prior consent, in writing, from Davidson & Associates, Inc. or Simon and Schuster, Inc. The user of this product shall be entitled to use the product for his or her own use, but shall not be entitled to sell or transfer reproductions of the software or manual to other parties in any way, nor to rent or lease the product to others without written permission of Davidson & Associates, Inc. or Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Published jointly by Davidson & Associates, Inc. and Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom, Inc.

© 1996 Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom, Inc. and Davidson & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Typing Tutor and Letter Invaders are registered trademarks and Time Response Monitoring and Natural Language Generator are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, Macintosh is a registered trademark and Power Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. 

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