Dr. Peet's TalkWriter

Reviewers: Head Start Students and Louise Dannehl
Assistive Technology Funding Coordinator/Consultant
Cozad, NE
ldannehl@esu10.org

Dr. Peet's TalkWriter for Windows by Interest-Driven Learning, Inc.
http://www.drpeet.com
TalkWriter CD for Windows
Mini-Manual included
Evaluated on Compaq Armada 7300 laptop
Technical Support: Call: (904) 427-4473 or E-mail: wpeet@drpeet.com
Date Reviewed: March, 2000
Date Published: 1999
List Price: School version $59.95, Consumer version $39.95
Rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, WayCool!

Dr. Peet's TalkWriter for Windows is a talking/singing word processor for three to six-year-old children which gives both auditory and visual feedback every time the child keys a letter. There are four main menu choices which are announced simply by dragging the cursor over the choice and hearing the title of the activity and instructions for clicking. The user can do the activities in any order, but the suggestion is made to initially work from left to right and top to bottom. The four menu choices include:

ABC SONG: The ABC song is sung through from beginning to end with real-life, colorful photographs illustrating each letter. The child listens and can sing along if desired.

BIG LETTERS: Click right here and you can type, any letter that you like. As the child types a letter, it appears on the screen with the photograph beginning with that sound and sings the letter name.

FIND LETTERS: Click right here and you can find any letter in your mind. The prompts tell the child to find a specific letter. When that letter is keyed, the photograph appears and a short song about the photograph is heard.

WRITE WORDS: Children hear the letter name as it is typed; pressing the spacebar turns a group of letters into a spoken word; or typing a period speaks a sentence. Also within the WRITE WORDS choice, the child has access to a Picture Dictionary to which words may be added, a print option, a journal option, and email option. All writing is able to be filed and saved.

The Headstart students and I thought Dr. Peet's TalkWriter was a great program! Where else can you hear the Alphabet Song sung in harmony! Other things we liked best about Dr. Peet are the ease with which a child can explore the program; the universal access features for students with disabilities, especially the scanning/switch capabilities; the Write Words choice which enables a child to learn about the English language through the discovery mode; and the recognition of inventive spelling. Not important to the children, but certainly to me, the adult, are the Guide Menu which includes a user friendly guide to allow for individualization of the program and the Help Menu which describes the Program Operations.

We give Dr. Peet's TalkWriter for Windows a rating of 10. It is Way Cool!

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