Wordbuilder on a CD-ROM

Next to Wordbuilder on a CD, we could say that modern e-learning has knocked on the front door of the education system. Children who are at the beginning of literacy are enabled to learn with modern technology.

Some may not have even knocked on the door of a school, but they already know how to press computer buttons. They will soon be able to learn letters and connect them with voices, learn the elements of word analysis and learn to read, with the help of computer games. Wordbuilder is also attractive to adults. It forces you to play with it, solve tasks and at the same time look forward to the sounds that reward you for the right solutions.

Wordbuilder on a CD is the first electronic audiovisual didactic tool, which is linked to the systematic initial literacy program and complements the didactic set of the picture wordbuilder and teaching-workbook, which have been in use for the second school year. The author of the whole set is a former elementary school teacher, Viljenka Jalovec. The illustrator of Wordbuilder on a CD is the same as in the picture book and the study-workbook, his name is Igor Ribič. Thus, children encounter the familiar faces of children and other familiar illustrations on the computer screen. You need to listen to the voice coming from the speaker and follow the verbal instructions.

While listening to the instructions at the same time, we can follow the written instructions that appear on the screen each time. The voice is friendly and inviting, the instructions are told slowly and intelligibly enough. A child who is already used to handling a computer mouse will walk quickly and deftly around the screen from the very beginning and make the right moves. Beginners will be encouraged by the sound every time they find the right solution. By the help of this method they will quickly become more confident and determined. For fast, impulsive kids who like to make moves without much thought, this voice can be a motivation for them to make more thoughtful decisions. There are five different tasks in the program: Wordbuilder on a CD is the first electronic audiovisual didactic tool, which is linked to the systematic initial literacy program and complements the didactic set of the picture book and learning-workbook, which are in use for the second school year. The author of the whole set is a former elementary school teacher, Viljenka Jalovec. The illustrator of the Wordbuilder on the CD is the same as in the picture book and the study-workbook, his name is Igor Ribič. Thus, children encounter the familiar faces of children and other familiar illustrations on the computer screen. You need to listen to the voice coming from the speaker and follow the verbal instructions. While listening to the instructions, at the same time, we can follow the written instructions that appear on the screen. The voice is friendly and inviting and the instructions are told slowly and intelligibly. A child who is already used to handling a computer mouse will walk quickly and deftly around the screen from the very beginning and make the right moves. Beginners will be encouraged by the voice every time they will find the right solution. With the help of this method they will quickly become more confident and determined. For fast, impulsive kids who like to make moves without much thought, this voice can be a motivation for them to make more thoughtful decisions.

There are five different tasks in the program:

• The tasks hidden under the title WORDBUILDER introduce the child to the world of sounds and letters and their mutual connections.
• Tasks under the title VOICES are suitable for consolidating auditory and visual perception, differentiation of letters and voices, and for expanding vocabulary.
• In the tasks entitled CONNECTIONS, the child must break the word into sounds, paying special attention to the final sound of one word and the initial sound of another word, and connect the two corresponding pictures.
• In the game WORDS, the child learns to write words correctly by moving the letters from the wordbuilder, which is located at the edge of the screen, to the appropriate place with the mouse. Before that, he must recognize the object in the picture and name it.
• Tasks entitled STORIES already require some reading skills from children, otherwise they arouse their desire to master them as soon as possible. The child reads an incomplete sentence and completes it with one of the offered pictures.

The correct solutions to the tasks, which are noted by the screen or the sound signal, are also made with the game SESTAVLJENKA. The CD-ROM comes with an instruction booklet, which also helps those who are not yet very familiar with the computer. Wordbuilder on a CD is a computer game that encourages children to learn reading and also teaches them other skills while they are playing it. Learning through play, is currently the most we want to offer children. If they make friends with the computer, even better. Otherwise, the children were already familiar with it, if only they had the opportunity to meet with it before. I recommend WORDBUILDER on the CD-ROM because it’s something new, because it’s fun, because it motivates you to learn, read and write, and because it teaches through play. It introduces the child to some of the elements of reading and writing, expands his vocabulary and teaches him how to use a computer. It is suitable for home and school use. More mature children will work with it independently, and less mature ones will need individual guidance and help.