Don't leave home without...

... AlphaSmart 3000

It looks like a laptop but it's easier to use. Perfect for inputing text when travelling (Cath Urqhart writes). You can store about 100 A$ pages of text. The screen is small, so it's hard to compose complex documents. Back at the office, you install AlphaSmart software into a PC or Mac, then plug in the AlphaSmart, or use the infrared option, to transfer your text in to a word-processing programme.

AlphaSmart 3000

Is your only desire on a long flight to type, type, type? No spreadsheets, no fancy graphics, no Excel, just the simple act of committing your grand pensées to screen, typing for hour upon hour in blessed exile from the phone. If that's you, you'll already be in a state of permanent irritation with the battery life of laptops. The best I've found, in the Cassiopeia Fiva range I reviewed here last December, was nine hours - not enough to keep you going all the way to Los Angeles, say.
    Until this electronic notepad just in from the US, there were only two ways to write around the clock on an aeroplane. One was to to use a Psion Series 5 palmtop, the one with the proper QWERTY keyboard that's so excellent they've stopped making them. The other was to rig up your PalmPilot to an unfolding keyboard contraption and look like a Heath Robinson drawing. But now there's this basic notebook with a 500-hour battery life on a mere three Duracells. The AlphaSmart 3000 is designed primarily for students as it's cheap, very tough and less likely to be pinched on campus than something flashier.

Beat the crooks

People wanting a relatively cheap typing solution on the move will be pleased to hear that Alphasmart has released the Computer Companion, essentially an electric typewriter that stores 100 or so pages of text and hooks up to a computer through a USB slot. It will spell-check, although it lacks a word count, and will hold 10 documents at any one time, as long as they fit into the overall 100-page limit. A PDA with an external keyboard or a laptop will certainly offer better functions but they won't cost £234 including VAT and delivery.

AlphaSmart

Need to write documents on the move - but can't be bothered to carry a laptop? Well try this lightweight, rugged keyboard that can store up to 100 pages of text. It weighs just 0.91 kg and runs for over 700 hours on just three AA batteries. Files can be transferred to any PC or Mac, or printer via the built-in USB. Ready to use as soon as you switch it on, it includes a spellchecker, password protection, foreign language support and keyword search as standard.

One AlphaSmart 3000

The AlphaSmart 3000 (ww.alphasmart.co.uk) is a new leightweight portable computer companion that has been designed for the busy professional on the move. With its easy-to-use keyboard it can store 100 pages of text and comes with its own built-in spell checker. Once you've finished that all-important report or e-mail you can simply upload your stunning prose to any PC or Mac (via a USB cable) or direct to the nearest printer.
    The AlphaSmart weighs just 900g so you can take it with you wherever you go - and as it runs for over 500 hours on just three AA batteries you can say goodbye to your laptop dying on you halfway through that important proposal or e-mail.

Byte-size
By Kerry Jackson, classteacher, Nottingham

The AlphaSmart 3000 is a light, robust, portable computer on which pupils can type, edit and store their own text. There is no need to wait for a computer to boot up, the machine is simply switched on, text is written in a choice of eight files and saved. Words are printed neatly on a four-line LCD display and text can be organised, adapted and spell-checked as easily as o a PC. Once the software has been installed on a PC or Mac, the text can be sent to any wordprocessing document via a cable to the USB port of the computer or directly to a printer. This is an affordable device that can be used throughout the curriculum and could be a motivating solution for pupils who struggle.

Inclusion: Already well used
AlphaSmart 3000 with Co:Writer SmartApplet unit and software
By Kathleen Cavin

"Kathleen I wrote my story on your little computer and I got to the end!"
    Perhaps the best recommendation for this compact and easy to use computer companion was nine-year-old David's reaction. It allowed him to sit with his peers at a table in his mainstream class. He could concentrate on the content and organisation of his piece of work, rather than the painful process of spelling and letter formation. His classmates were envious of him.
    With the word prediction and topic dictionaries in Co:Writer, this device can also aid sentence construction and vocabulary. It is not a traditional therapy tool, but could be recommended to schools as part of a package of resources to aid the inclusion of older children with language and/or motor difficulties. It may seem expensive but, as it supports eight separate files, it lends itself to multiple users. (Using the built-in calculator, I worked out that is under £30 per child.) It's practical, portable, gives the child a sense of achievement, and it looks good. Mine is already well used.

Kathleen Cavin is a specialist speech and language therapist at Robert Blair Language and Communication Resource in Islington.

Wordpower
By Sally McKeown

AlphaSmart 3000 with Co:Writer Smart Applet

Talk to any group of teachers about ICT and they'll tell you they need more computers.
    Dig a little deeper and you'll find that what they really need is some way of processing text. The AlphaSmart 3000 with the Co:Writer Smart Applet from Don Johnston software could be the answer.
    Four years ago, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) announced a two-phase scheme called the Key Stage 1 Literacy Evaluation Project. The researchers found that "low-cost word processors had a positive effect on writing skills". Infants improved their keyboard skills and, because the work was neater and easier to read, they could share their writing in groups.
    For children with special needs, this new version with Co:Writer may have dramatic effects. Physically disabled children find the weight of a conventional laptop makes it awkward. If you are in a wheelchair with a heavy weight on your lap, you are likely to be too uncomfortable to concentrate. However, until now it has been a problem to combine a lightweight PC with a predictive word processor.
    For children whose typing speeds are measured in letters rather than words per minute, prediction is a powerful tool. Type the first letter of a word and the program suggests the vocabulary you need.
    I tried out a sentence to see how many key presses I could save. As I was in holiday mood, I typed:" Next week I want to chill out, go to the cinema and catch up with my friends." This sentence took 77 keystrokes with spaces between words. When I used Co:Writer, it took just 40, nearly 50 per cent less - a real saving in both time and effort.
    The prediction is intelligent, so the more often you use a word, the higher up the prediction list it goes. It took several presses to get "chill" and "cinema" to appear on the list, but if I was writing about film studies, both words might appear sooner as they became high-frequency words.
    You can also assign abbreviations to long words, phrases or even sentences to reduce keystrokes.
    Why type your address in full each time you write a letter when you can set up the program to do the hard work for you?
    The collected words facility allows you to type in an abbreviation and then write it in full. Once you have done this and saved it, the program will expand your abbreviation each time.
    Take the sentence:" Last night I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream." This has 51 characters with spaces, but once I had switched on Co:Writer and put in "mnd" for the short form of the play's title, it only took 14 key strokes to produce the same sentence.
    You can create your own topic dictionaries. For example, you might need vocabulary for chemistry, but you don't necessarily want it to suggest sulphate each time you type "su-". So just set up a chemistry topic dictionary and switch it off when you go to other lessons. You can have up to five topic dictionaries.
    There are some pre-loaded dictionaries: Vikings, football, dinosaurs and Treasure Island - all valid topics, but perhaps a little biased. Come on Don, girls can type too.

Incorporating ICT into the National Literacy Hour
by Emma Cansdale, Key Literacy Teacher at Down Lane Junior School

I used the keyboards everyday as part of the independent session of my Literacy Hour. Each Monday I developed exercises using my PC and then downloaded the tasks to each of the keyboards. This was a very simple and quick procedure taking about 5 minutes altogether. Many of the tasks I put on the AlphaSmarts were similar to those given to the rest of the class, though some were specifically designed to address the additional learning targets of the AlphaSmart pupils.

The exercises were designed to cut out endless copying, especially as some of my pupils had previously not completed work in the 20 minute session. The tasks required adding or extracting information to improve the text/sentences using the keyboard. The children would then, when they had finished their work, upload it onto the classroom computer and print it out.

Overall I would say that the use of the AlphaSmart has made a very positive contribution to Literacy teaching at Down Lane and produced some very encouraging results among the children who took part in the trial. Specifically, pupils are now finishing their work on time due to less copying out of exercises having to be done. Editing tasks on the keyboard takes substantially less time than writing them out in their books, thus taking the pressure off slow writers.

The children have been able to write more fluently as they have been able to go back and correct errors later. Because the screen is small, they have to check their work more carefully. They have also had the opportunity to undertake free writing on them at home, something that we seem to have little time for in the Literacy Hour. The presentation of work has also improved, as completed exercises can now be printed out and put in their books, helping pupils feel more positive about their work.

Overall, the self-esteem of the pupils has greatly improved as they feel their work is of a similar standard to the rest of the class. I can now comment more on how the pupils can improve their writing rather than commenting on neatness and the amount of work completed.

The pupils are also taking the keyboards home to complete any tasks that they haven't finished, without me having to request this. They also feel a bit special because they have the keyboards to use, but we have not had any incidents of jealousy from the other children, which I had anticipated. The pupil's motivation is probably the biggest change I have observed. They are proud of their work. They are more interested in what they are doing and are far more focused on the task in hand than they were previously.

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ICT in literacy

A smart way with words
by Brian Asbury

What is this device? It's called AlphaSmart, and it's designed to be a 'computer-companion'. Rather than trying to be an all-singing, all-dancing PC, the AlphaSmart enables students to type, edit and electronically store text (for example, for assignments, emails or notes), while at the same time developing keyboard skills, without having to be at a computer. Text and information from the AlphaSmart can then be easily transferred to a PC or Mac or straight to a printer.

The latest version, the AlphaSmart 3000, was showcased at this year's BETT show, and Dirk Foch, general manager and director of AlphaSmart Europe, had this to say:"Teachers in the UK are faced with a dilemma of needing to provide pupils of all ages with access to ICT, to allow them to develop and enhance key computing skills while dealing with finite financial resources. The AlphaSmart 3000 has been developed to provide schools with an affordable device which gives pupils access to both core IT functions and specialist software to aid teaching and development."

The AlphaSmart is a light and compact machine, weighing less than two pounds, and it boasts an attractive design.(Translucent plastic, naturally - everyone has to get in on the iMac act nowadays, don't they?) It's certainly designed to be rugged enough for a classroom use, as Dirk was happy to demonstrate to me by dropping one hard on the floor at Olympia! Unlike PC's, it's switched on and off by a simple switch in seconds (and wouldn't you just love for that to be true of computers?) and the child can start typing straight away.

The unit can hold eight separate files, a total of 100 pages, and cutting and pasting between them is sinple, as is transferring the files to a PC or Mac or, indeed, downloading files from a computer. Connect up using the USB or serial port and it's done by the touch of a key. Unlike laptop computers, the AlphaSmart 3000 will run for up to 700 hours on just three AA batteries (and there's an auto power off function to conserve battery life). Its ports will connect to most printers to make hard copies.

Other features include spellchecking, foreign language support, keyword searching and features for special needs such as sticky keys.

Trial
The proof of the pudding with any piece of technology marketed to schools, however, is what do the schools and their teachers themselves think of it? Haringey LEA in London recently began a pilot scheme using three volunteer primary schools. Each school has been loaned six AlpphaSmart 3000s to be used in Year 6, with a group of targeted pupils to help improve their literacy skills. The trial lasts from January until May when they take their KS2 SATs.

The aim is to determine whether AlphaSmarts are an effective tool in helping raise attainment in writing, particularly with boys, through regular use. The children use the AlphaSmarts in Literacy Hour every day and are able to take them home for homework tasks. The overall target is that these children, currently working at Level 3, should reach Level 4 in their SATs.

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power up
games, gear and goodies
by Lucy Hickman

AlphaSmart 3000

HMM, INTERESTING little widget this one - and one that grows on you.
    Basically it's a piece of plastic that, with the help of some hi-tech wizardry, enables you type anything, anywhere without having to lug around laptop.
    Capable of holding around 100 pages of single-spaced text, the AlphaSmart 3000 is designed to ensure there's no waiting around for it to boot up - just switch it on and start typing.
    Once your masterpiece is completed and you want to print it out, transfer it to your computer or to format it in some way, not a problem - it's compatible with most PCs and Macs.
    It's not a one-way affair, either. By using the Get Utility software, you can download any text (such as homework assignments or e-mails) from your Mac or PC to the AlphaSmart.
    It boasts a four line by 40-character LCD display and has a full size keyboard with 80 keys. Other features include spellchecker, password protection, foreign language support and keyword search.
    Amazingly, it will run for 200-500 hours on three AA batteries and to preserve battery life it features an auto power-off.
    It's a tough little cookie is the AlphaSmart 3000, so you don't have to worry too much about it getting the odd knock. As it weighs just two pounds, it's also really easy to carry around and small enough to fit in a bag. And with its green see-through case, it looks pretty darn cool as well.
    Although arguably on the expensive side, it's a smart gadget which lots of folk will find very handy indeed.
    HOLD ON to your hi-tech hats, groovy gadget freaks, it's compo time again and this week we have two AlphaSmart 3000s to give away, courtesy of Seventh Sense Solutions.
    Just send your name, address and postcode on a postcard to Alphasmart Giveaway at the Stuff! address below. The first two names out of the bag after the closing date of April 5 will be the lucky winners.

Gadgets with Charlotte Ricca

AlphaSmart 3000

Looking like "My First Laptop" the AlphaSmart is in fact a simple, portable word processor - simple being the key thing.
    Turn it on and it springs to life, and automatically saves your work into one of eight files. When you get back to your office just connect it your computer via its USB cable, open up Word and hit send, and watch the words download before your eyes. Simple. Even its power source is basic, but very effective - just three AA batteries will keep it running for a stonking 700 hours. But taking simplicity to extremes, it does very little else. At this price you could buy a PDA and get a lot more features.

Good Gear Guide
Travelling in style, edited by Jonathan Fultrell

Portable Typewriter

Because all but the most expensive laptops are heavy, and few of us never use more than a fraction of their capabilities, former Apple computer engineers have come up with the AlphaSmart: a cheap, lightweight digital typewriter that can store more than 100 pages of text. It weighs just 910g and runs for a staggering 500 hours on three AA batteries. It has a fullsize keyboard and a spellcheck, and pages can be printed off or downloaded to a PC or Mac.

The word is creativity

Cost-savers
For some schools, low-cost access to ICT in the ordinary classrooms will move a little closer with the AlphaSmart (Z70) 3000 keyboard, which now includes predictive word processing - where the computer suggests the word you might mean after just a few letters are typed. The unit is small and robust and is the size of a keyboard with the functionality of a fully-fledged word processor - all for under £200.

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