Frequently Asked Questions

My child does not have trouble with writing or spelling. Would this software be ok for my child to use?

YES, of course, anything that can make writing FUN would be beneficial. Kids that do not have trouble with writing, can benefit from our Zany Lab camps and parent night out classes this fall. Besides, many of our kids will be doing the Zany Lab camps to work on HANDWRITING. Parents can pick if their child is a “handwriter” or a “keyboarder”.

Will using the phonetic spell checking software be a “crutch” for my child?

NO! It will allow your child to begin to compose with success. In fact, when kids have to correct their spelling, after a few times they often remember to start to spell the word correctly. Paragraph formatting skills practiced with the software will only generalize to more success with handwritten work. Also, as students get into more advanced grades they spend more and more time working on typing written work. Jr. High and high school students turn in most written essays and reports typed.

My child is a very poor speller. Will he always be a poor speller?

Many kids have difficulty with spelling. The English language is not very fair - a large amount of words are NOT spelled phonetically. Even kids with dyslexia learn to master most words. But many, many adults need to always use a spell checking program to edit and correct written work. We find that young children do best with a simple program such as Write OutLoud, and then by the time they are in middle school, have success with Microsoft Word.

Will Microsoft Word work just as well?

The ultimate goal is for a child to use the more advanced word processing programs. But Microsoft Word does not correct phonetic or dyslexic spelling errors as well as a phonetic spell checking program. Besides, “hearing” their paragraph read to them word by word, in Write OutLoud, is much more fun!

What are some other advantages of having text to speech?

Say a child writes “I want to lunch my rocket”. “Lunch” is a real word, so no spell checking program will correct the sentence. However, when a student HEARS the sentence, the student will immediately recognize the error and can do a different word attack approach for the word “lunch”. Even if the child wrote “lonch”, the phonetic spell checking program will bring up the spell checking menu with the word “launch”.

My child uses an alphasmart at school. How do I integrate this software?

Your child can continue to use the alphasmart at school, and then import the text into Write OutLoud on the computer. But the most exciting thing is that Don Johnston, Inc has recently come out with a Dana (improved version of the alphasmart) that finally and wonderfully, has Write OutLoud as an option WITHIN the portable keyboard device. This new integration of the software and portable device, will not allow students with learning differences to finally keep up with their peers in writing literacy.

My child does not have access to this at school

If your child is in regular education, the program offered through Zany Labs is just a great, creative writing outlet. If your child has some learning disabilities and qualifies for special education, you have a right to request an assistive technology evaluation from your districts assistive technology team if you feel like your child may benefit from assistive technology. Most assistive technology teams are very familiar with this software. They provide training at the district level for how to use portable keyboards, special software for writing literacy, etc. But, after initial short term training, the student is expected to use the technology within the classroom. Zany Labs writing literacy program is a bridge that will allow more training, in FUN ways, for students who need more work in practicing these skills. The Zany Labs summer camp writing camps and the parent night out classes during the school year, are marketed for ALL students who are beginning learners or who need a little extra help with writing literacy. They are considered “enrichment” classes.