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School Pilot Information

 

Information for Schools, Colleges and Universities on how to set up a free Three Week Pilot of the Touch-type Read and Spell Computer Course.


Teacher training and pilot at Long Bay School Auckland New Zealand

Teacher training at Elliot Bank Primary School South London

Teacher training in Singapore

School/College/Institution Licences
We will be pleased to set up a free three week pilot which includes two hours intensive initial teacher training at schools and colleges and other institutions who wished to promote literacy for their students.

For the Home Based version please check here...

Three Week Pilot - background information
Fees for the Academic year 2008
Quotations from various articles

Version 7 suitable for PC's using Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT and XP

To set up the Touch-type Read and Spell computer course pilot please print off and complete the questionnaire (which is a Word document) and Fax it to TTRS on +44 (0) 20 8313 9454.

On receipt of your FAX we will call you to arrange a mutually convenient time for the training of up to four teachers. We will then despatch the software to you so that it can be installed and tested before we come to your site for the two-hour training session.  This must be undertaken before the teachers are licensed to run the course.

Return the questionnaire by fax and please do not hesitate to telephone if you have any questions. Also would you please provide us with three alternative dates of when the pilot would be convenient, allowing us at least 10 days notice.

 

Three Week Pilot - background information

Evaluation - Free Pilot Scheme
The purpose of the Touch-type Read and Spell Computer Course is to help develop the literacy skills of students who have difficulties with reading, writing and spelling and at the same time increase their level of self-esteem and motivation as learners.

First Step
Touch-type Read and Spell offers a free three-week pilot course to schools, colleges, and other organisations considering the course as part of the curriculum. We will come to your site and train up to four teachers. The training takes two hours, thirty minutes of which involves the teachers working one to one with students.

Which students benefit?
Because of its multi-sensory and carefully structured approach the course, when correctly delivered, is highly effective for students whose literacy difficulties include special educational needs including specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), visual and hearing impairments, Down's syndrome, EBD etc, and disrupted educational history. It has also been found to be effective for people who speak English as an additional language.

How many benefit?
During the pilot period, we encourage you to try the course out with an unlimited number of students. The free three-week pilot gives you, your colleagues and students the opportunity to thoroughly apply the course without cost or obligation other than reimbursing the travel expenses of our trainer. It provides your trained staff the opportunity to build their confidence and expertise in delivery, and gauge success before entering into a licence to establish TTRS at your centre.

Excellent software; excellence in teaching
The Touch-type Read and Spell Computer Course is not simply an excellent piece of software, it is a partnership between the software and the way in which the course is delivered. The training is not difficult, but it does enable us to introduce the features of the software, and pass on to you a methodology for successful delivery which has been refined over the past eleven years and which consistently demonstrates success and cost-effective good practice. When TTRS is delivered correctly, not only will you observe improvement in literacy skills; you should also expect to see improved self-esteem, confidence, motivation as learners, and positive behaviour shifts in your students. The course is designed to make learners feel empowered and successful from the very first lesson, and older students in particular are likely to observe that they feel in charge of their own learning often for the first time in their lives. In addition, students frequently feel proud to be taking a computer course, particularly one which leads them to greater facility with computers through the acquisition of keyboard skills.

Delivery
Ideally, the course is delivered in a dedicated computer suite by a trained teacher working with up to ten students at a time, as part of the curriculum, and with students attending for a minimum of an hour a week. In the "real world", however, it is delivered in a range of ways, including by peripatetic teachers working one-to-one on laptops. Whatever your situation, for the purposes of the three-week pilot, TTRS is best delivered in a dedicated computer suite which is free from distractions with a ratio of not more than one teacher to ten students attending for a minimum of 30 minutes per session. The teacher should be able to see all the computer screens from one central position.

Who may offer TTRS?
Once trained, your staff are named in the site licence. Only those who have completed the full two hours training are entitled to deliver the course during the pilot and beyond. This means that staff should be free to participate in the whole scheduled two-hour training session and not be required for other duties during this time.

Continuity
It is our experience that once the pilot is up and running, staff and students are usually so enthusiastic that the decision to establish TTRS on an ongoing basis is made well before the three-week pilot has concluded. To order a licence you need to complete and return an order form, which will be given to you at the time of training. Regardless of how early during the pilot you fax in your order for the year, the invoice starts at the end of the free three-week pilot period. Whether or not you proceed with the course, there is no charge for the pilot.

Adding students throughout the year
TTRS is a roll-on roll-off course with students working at their own pace. You are licencing places on the course, so more than one student might occupy a place during the year. Additional places can be added at any time during the year.

Proceeding with the Pilot - next steps
Once you have decided to proceed, please complete the questionnaire and fax it back to us. On receipt, we will telephone to arrange the training which can take place as soon as you have received and installed the software (usually a minimum of 10 working days after you have sent the fax requesting the pilot).

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Academic year 2008

Part Site Licence - based on one hour per week per student
  First year costs Second year costs
No of students Student costs per annum First year licence Total first year costs Student costs per annum Second year licence renewal Total second year costs
  £ £ £ £ £ £
Up to 10 220 275 495 220 155 375
Up to 20 440 275 715 440 155 595
Up to 30 660 275 935 660 155 815
Up to 40 880 275 1,155 880 155 1,035
Up to 50 1,100 275 1,375 1,100 155 1,255
Up to 60 1,320 275 1,595 1,320 155 1,475
Up to 70 1,540 275 1,815 1,540 155 1,695
Up to 80 1,760 275 2,035 1,760 155 1,915
Full Site Licence – up to 100 students per week per annum, unlimited time per student
Up to 100 2,200 Included 2,200 2,200 Included 2,200

All fees quoted are in UK Sterling and exclusive of VAT
Discounts apply for student numbers greater than 100. Please ask for details.

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Quotations from various articles

"Observing the fidgety somewhat clumsy, often impulsive learners who tumble into the programme crashing about on the keyboard and jumping up to take breaks (the kinaesthetic learners) is interesting. They are the fiddlers in the classroom whose legs tap at the chair or who doodle on books. Once they understand the programme and 'feel' their way through the first three weeks, calm descends. These tactile learners show impressive touch typing skills and increased concentration. Of all the students, these reap the most rewards both parental admiration and self-esteem. Perhaps sitting still, paying attention, concentrating and achieving are new experiences. Hopefully, achieving in this positive learning environment whilst having control of the situation will be a transferable skill for other learning environments."

Vanessa Charter Update Report for Nottingham Dyslexia Association

"This course gives young offenders a sense of achievement and you can observe improvements in their self-esteem and a shift in their attitude. This is the key to getting them back into education. It will only happen if they feel better about themselves....Another young offender who is extremely resistant to any further education and won't turn up for anything anyone offers him or arranges for him - including interviews for court - does turn up, entirely voluntarily, twice a week for this course. It's the only thing he'll do. It's not part of his order."

James Lewis, Wiltshire Youth Offending Team

"It's been a great success. The children have progressed a lot and it surprises me how much they consistently look forward to their weekly sessions. Everyone says how good the course is! The students and their parents are absolutely delighted with the progress that's been made in just one hour a week."

Ken Conie, - Down's Syndrome Association Journal

"The scheme uses a variety of strategies to break the cycle of failure. By the end of the course, students have improved their spelling, reading, short-term Memory, co-ordination and concentration....They see that they are mastering the computer but what really encourages them is the improvement in their spelling."

Sally McKeown, Times Educational Supplement Oct. 18 1996

"....the results they get after a few sessions using the typing program helps them to lose this 'can't do' attitude."..."to measure the effect of learning keyboard skills...pupils (were) assessed by an educational psychologist the term before the project began and again two terms later. They discovered that not only were the children able to touch type but their reading and spelling had improved. The self-confidence that had manifested itself in the typing class was carried through to other lessons. These results showed us that the benefits were long term...."

Maureen McTaggart Times Educational Supplement September 6 1996

"It seems to me that Touch-type Read and Spell is an excellent teaching/learning tool for use in prisons for students who are non-readers, need to improve their basic skills and/or diagnosed as Dyslexic. The course itself is flexible enough to be integrated with other programmes leading to national qualifications such as Wordpower, Key skills or Social and Life skills Units. The delivery of the course recognises that students learn in a variety of ways and continuous assessment and positive (reinforcement) are integral to their progress."

P Robson - HM Prison Service

If you would like a copy of any of the articles from which these quotations were taken, please let us know.


Utterby Primary School

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