Spellword 2.0
Spellword is a simple, easy to use program which can be played on any PC. It is intended to be used by parents, teachers, or tutors as a spelling evaluation tool for children, students, or adults. As far as age group, any child old enough to type can play it, since word lists can be selected to match the child's vocabulary and for adults wishing to improve their spelling, this program can help them significantly. Players can select from Easy, Medium, Intermediate, and Hard word lists. Administrators can create custom lists or edit existing ones using the built-in editor and save the changes.
The game is ready to play right out of the box. It can be played as-is using the default word lists, or can be edited to change the word lists. It opens with a default document (Untitled.spw) which has up to 10 word lists with up to 30 words in each list. The editor makes it easy to edit the lists. Words can be ordered in the list just by dragging and dropping to the desired location. Word lists can also be imported and exported as text files.
Once changes are made, a game can be saved and given a name. It defaults to the player's name. The saved game will have an .spw extension. The player opens this document (for instance, "Kelly.spw") and proceeds to play the spelling game you created. Edit mode can be password-protected so the player can't make any changes.
The results of each game are written to a log file. They open with Notepad and are formatted like this example:
User: Kelly 07/11/2010 (Friday) 08:21:12 PM
On list #1 misspelled 2: beatiful repitition
User: Kelly 07/11/2010 (Friday) 08:26:22 PM
On list #2 misspelled 1: dispach
User: Kelly 07/11/2010 (Friday) 08:30:43 PM
On list #3 misspelled 1: coperation
Notice that the time is also recorded, telling you how long it took to complete the lists. The log information is helpful for pinpointing weaknesses in the student's spelling ability because it shows which words were misspelled and how they were misspelled. Unless told in advance, the player doesn't know these log files are being created. The log folder can be opened by selecting "View Logs" from the main menu while in Edit mode which, as mentioned, can be password-protected or by going to the Spellword folder in Program Files.
The game is started by pressing the "Begin" button and a box pops up and asks for the user's name. So, if you want all students to take the same spelling test, you can just create and save one file ( Class.spw for instance ). The first player opens it, enters their name and completes the game. Close it and let the next player open it and enter their name. New log files are created for each player.
For parents, this is great way to administer spelling homework. Just type in their homework list, set Max Lists to 1, and let them play. You can go back later and read the results in the log file to see how they did and what they need work on.
