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And if your child is young like mine and is not the best reader yet (3rd grade level) it will actually pronounce the word so he can be sure the right word has been located. We also bought him an inexpensive pair of headphones so that if he wanted to use it at the after school program (they do some homework there) it wouldn't disturb the other kids. Most kids limit their writing to what they can easily spell and his work looked like it was being produced by a 4 year old. Finally, we started to play scrabble and my husband and I let him use the dictionary to see if he can make words with his tiles. First, if you can't spell this will probably be able to locate the correct word. You can also play games with just your spelling words so it reinforces the spelling without the traditional sit down and write it 4 or 5 times (or sometimes 15 if you really can't get it, ugh). Third, he doesn't want me reading with him any more and I don't want to make an issue out of that if I don't have to.
Especially if it was a derivative of a word like friendly instead of friend. I bought this for my 7 year old (2nd grade) who unfortunately has my personal affliction of not being able to spell that well. As I am doing things around the house I will hear the computer voice and know that he is using it. I also wish it had the capacity to handle more words. With just one lesson he as able to negotiate around the dictionary with little or no help. Now every time he asks how to spell something we say look it up and we no longer get that horror stricken look.Now on to the part that's not so great. This is the answer to that age old question of how am I supposed to look it up if I don't know how to spell it. So at night he can take this to bed with him and study without a book or paper.
If you spell it wrong it searches and comes up with a number of different possibilities and usually your word is on that list. The longer it took the more frustrated he became and his homework was starting to suffer. It arrived within that time frame and it fit. The battery cover would not slide on and I tried for 2 hours. We opened this up and it had multiple problems from the get go.
Secondly, it can hold his spelling words that he gets every week. If he gets stumped by a word all he has to do is plug it in and it pronounces it for him and he can move on (he usually knows it from there) but even if he is not familiar with the definition he can get it right then and there. And if the definition contains words he doesn't know it can speak it to him or he can choose to look up those words. We tried the traditional route of book dictionaries but they were heavy and cumbersome and took lots of time to find the words. I called the company and they said it would be two weeks but I hemmed and hawed and they said they could get a new battery cover out to me in 5 days.
It was also missing 2 of its rubber feet that keep it from slipping. The bad news is that because the battery cover didn't fit initially we had to fiddle with it so the batteries wouldn't fall out and we broke the cover that hides the keyboard when not in use. I was ready to send it back because I didn't want it coming on in his back pack and wasting the batteries. So far it has had mostly everything we have looked up but I know that as he gets on in grades it will have to be upgraded.
I figured this product could fill four shoes at once. I guess I could call the company and see if they have the feet and a new cover but it seems to work fine sans cover and feet. But how could I be sure that he was reading the correct words. Using the product is very intuitive and easy.
But the truth is, it shuts itself off in about 90 seconds so I couldn't see it draining the battery power. Over all I give it an A++ for concept and a C for durability.
I thnik technology didn't match to the existing phonetic practice. It works great for kids. I agree with dictionary part. I will prefer Franklin HW 216 Homework Wiz Plus instead of this one for the given price. The speaking part is generated as from synthesis of computer speaking. Which is not same as standard phonetic practice. Also the cover design did not take consideration of kids, they are fragile. My kid broke the cover in the second day.
The speaking feature is a Godsend for students with reading disabilities. Excellent phonetic spell checking feature with homonym support (students can easily figure out when to use to, too or two, or their, there, they're, etc with built in features). Best for elementary,some middle school age students.I do wish there was a way to upgrade to their larger dictionary.
Any child with a written language disorder can benefit from this mini electronic equipment. It can end editing battles and final product disasters when used appropriately. I recommend it to all parents I meet who have a Learning Disabled child.
My mom's been playing Hangman at the doctor's office, on the plane, on the bus, and whenever she wants to ignore my dad, and she's still on her first set of batteries. You need to hold all 4 batteries in one hand and try to put the lid on really fast before the batteries pop out.
She loves its colorful design, its big font (so she can see even without glasses), and its low battery consumption. The pronunciation sounds very robotic compares to what I get from the Encarta Encyclopedia on my PC, but it gives her enough hint.
I bought the KID-240 for my 55 years old mother who's learning English as a second language. They just keep popping out of the slots.
She's been using it for about 4 months and it's still loud and clear on its first set of batteries. My complaint, though, is that it's so hard to put the batteries in.
The good thing is, you don't need to change batteries that often. Also, there are words that you're sure a six years old should know that're not found in this dictionary.
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