What the
Program Does | Phonics Lesson | Adding Your Own Words and Sentences
Typing Tutor | Sound
Resolution | Graphics and Interface | Importance
of Phonics
Minimum Requirements | Download
Trial Version | Pricing and Availability | Screen Shots
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Currently, Anchek TipTap is receiving the highest ratings with reviewers using such words as "excellent" and "awesome" to describe it. Since its inception in 1994, we have been refining the program as new technology has become available. During that time TipTap has found its place in many classrooms and learning centers around the world and has been featured in such books as the IDG Books 2nd Edition of PCs for Teachers which is part of their popular Computers for Dummies Series. And of course, many parents and guardians use it with their children at home. |
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“[Anchek] TipTap is an excellent program
for anyone! . . .  So goes the “awesome” review of our latest version of Anchek TipTap receiving 5 out of 5 from TUCOW's TUKIDS. |
Below we outline a few of the improvements in this version such as:
- improved graphics and interface
- addition of the TipTap Data Editor
- program addition of the TipTap Preferences program
- increased sound resolution
One thing we did not increase, due primarily to what we call our Dedication to Education, is the price. We feel that education is important, so we have set the price of the full retail version of TipTap at only $34.95. This way the program and its technology remain affordable to most everyone.
The main purpose of TipTap is to teach words. It does this through spelling, phonics, typing and handwriting. The student recieves a combination of auditory, visual and tactile reinforcement. This is known as a multi-sensory approach to learning and is beneficial for all students regardless of individual learning style. Through beautiful and colorful animations, illustrations, creative sound-effects, systematic repetition, and reinforcement of correct responses — students happily engage in an exciting learning experience. Lessons can be printed allowing students to create their own illustrated spelling books for practice and serving as a visible record of their accomplishments. Exercises are designed to be brief; repetition is encouraged.
Teachers and parents may also add their own words and sentences very easily using the included TipTap Data Editor program. Therefore the program is useful well beyond its prepackaged lesson base. The TipTap Preferences program allows control over the interface and printing options.
There are 20 phonics lessons that come with TipTap.
Each lesson has a phonics sound it focuses on such as the long
O sound created using the letters OA
as in boat. The focus word is linked to an object such as a boat or duck.
The computer identifies the object saying for instance, "This is
a boat." A short animation involving the object is presented. The
computer then phonetically sounds out the word using a prerecorded human
voice while the letters used to makeup the sounds fly off the onscreen
keyboard and collect at the bottom of the image to create the word. The
student is then requested to spell and type in the word. Once done, the
top of the screen clears and the word is recited and then phonetically
sounded out by the computer as the letters that form the sounds are placed
in large letters across the screen. Again the student is requested to
type in the word. Once completed, the picture of the object is shown again
with blank keys underneath as the computer recites the word. The student
is then requested to type in the word from memory.
This is just the beginning of the lesson. There are also 8 additional words using the same phonics type. These 9 words are presented in Word Discovery. Here the words and their spelling are presented giving the student the opportunity to type each one in. Next comes a Matching Game where the computer recites the word and the student matches it a word on the screen. These 3 sections are brief and may be gone over numerous times. They can also print out the words and practice them in handwritten form. Once the student feels he or she has absorbed the new words, they can then take a Spelling Bee. Here the computer recites the words and the student types them in.
Then there is yet another step. Using the words in the Sentence Section. This present a sentence which using the main focus word and other words using the same phonics type in a complete sentence. This can also be typed in and printed out for further analysis and practice.
Adding Your Own Words and Sentences
We have now also included the new TipTap Data Editor program. Although previous versions of TipTap allowed a single word list to be altered and added to the program, the new dedicated program makes it easy to create multiple words and now sentence lists, too. Also it is easier to share these list with others who own the TipTap program via the internet or using diskettes or other means. For instance, a teacher could post the weeks new words on the school's website for students to download and practice on TipTap at home. There is a separate section within the TipTap program called the Teacher’s Words Section. Here your words and sentences can be worked through in the Word Discovery, Matching Game, Spelling Bee, Sentence Section and printed just as described in the Phonics Lesson section above. Your words and sentence are recited by the computer using the built-in Text-to-Speech technology. See the Sound Resolution section below for more details.
The printing features within the TipTap Data Editor offer an even greater advantage to quickly create worksheets for assignments way from the computer. There are several large, small and blank formats for printing making the TipTap Data Editor a very valuable tool in and of itself.
As the ability to input data through the computer keyboard becomes more important, so does knowing how to type properly. Included with TipTap is the Typing Tutor section which presents the basics of typing and practice sessions taught by Mr. Poly. There are 20 lessons all together.
Built into the TipTap program is a technology commonly referred to as Text-to-Speech. This is it's own high quality text-to-speech engine that we feel is much sharper and clearer than say the engine which comes with some versions of the Microsoft Windows system.
What this does is process a word in text format and creates an audible version of that word. For instance, if the word “rabbit” is visually presented as text, the text-to-speech module will translate it and through your computer speakers you will hear the computer recite the word “rabbit.” Previous versions of TipTap did this using 8-bit sound and a very small dictionary to help the computer decide how to recite text. Our newest version of TipTap uses the clearer, higher resolution 16-bit sound and has a large, more accurate dictionary to interpret how to recite text. The result is very authentic recitation of words. This is important for the words and sentences you add and for the voice of Mr. Poly, the onscreen robot character.
Most all other similar programs offer only a sound-recording method for adding the vocalization of the words. This is not only requires a bit of technical expertise, but it is also time consuming and requires other external equipment such as microphones. The included built-in 16-bit audio text-to-speech module automatically vocalizes words and sentences. Of course, you can still use sound-recording files (Windows *.wav files) or any combination of the two, but the TipTap Data Editor requires you only to type in the words and sentences and it takes care of the rest.
Though state of the art at that time, the original TipTap
was designed when computers had a fixed number of colors and animation
speed was limited. Being that TipTap is
installed in schools and other institutions that usually have low-end
equipment, this remained a factor until now. Today even what are considered
"low-end" machines effortlessly handle many more colors and
animations. We have now revised the interface to the current state of
the art to include a more colorful and animated interface. The onscreen
character, Mr. Poly, is now placed throughout
program. Using the clearer Text-to-Speech
for his voice, he brings continuity and instructs on how to proceeded
when needed. This also makes the program more intuitive and easier to
comprehend.
Intel 486-based (or higher) PC
8Mb of extended memory
12Mb hard drive disk space
Windows 3.1/95/98/Me/NT/2000 or later, 100% compatible version
SVGA 640x480 display that can support at least a 1,024 color palette
16-bit sound system for both midi and wave data
Dot matrix, inkjet, or laser printer
(Included) Microsoft WinG software graphics
library 1.0
(Included) 16-bit Text-to-Speech synthesis
module
The National Reading
Panel setup by the United States Congress has released a
new report based on 2 years of sifting though 100,000 studies on the effectiveness
of various approaches to teaching children to read. At the very top of
the list for teaching children to be good readers are teaching them phonemic
awareness skills ( the ability to manipulate the sounds that make
up the spoken language ) and phonics skills
( the understanding that there are relationships between letters and sounds
).
Click here to read the Report Release.
Download the Demo or Trial Version
The demo and trial versions are fully functional and include TipTap, TipTap Data Editor, and TipTap Preferences programs. However, the trial zip file uses a lower resolution 8-bit text-to-speech module as compared to the retail and demo version's high resolution 16-bit text-to-speech. Both the demo and trial verion have substantially fewer lessons and are limited to a number of trial uses.
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tt3demo.exe Download the trial version of TipTap v3.0. This single file is all you need to install the program. The online Program Guide is included. The download is 5.48 Mb. |
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tt3trial.zip if you require a zip file that includes a separate readme, file_diz and licence text files, download this instead. It includes the tt3trial.exe file also. The download is 3.67 Mb. |
Please note the downloaded file's name to find it on your system.
Click here if you are new computers
and are unsure how to proceed.
Also see the Frequently Asked Questions page. See below for Demo Version with 16-bit text-to-speech module.
Download the Program Guide
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The full
retail version of TipTap v3.0 is just $34.95.
You can download the program directly from our website. If you require the CD disk version, there is an additional charge of $9.50 for the CD, shipping and handling. Click here to order online and information on other payment options. The CD contains exactly the same registered version you can download once purchased without the shipping and handling charges. The registered version download is approximately 7 megabytes.
Ordering Information
Click here for ordering information and a link to order directly from our secured website.
Site License
Organizations may save per copy costs with a site license. See the Site License information.
Dedication to Education
Anchek Multimedia strongly believes in the importance of education. Therefore we are offering this program at a substantially lower price than the market place would usually dictate, thus making it affordable to everyone.
TipTap has been approved
by the Palm Beach
County Schoolboard
since May 26, 1996.
© 2008 Anchek Multimedia -- All rights reserved.