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1992-01-31
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FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
FlashCard Arithmetic Ver 3.5
Copyright (c) January 1992
by Ed Oliver
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Table of Contents
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Installation and Use . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Using FLASHCRD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Using FLASHCFG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Student List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Edit Student Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Teaching Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Problems and Questions . . . . . . . . . . 8
New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What is ShareWare? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Registration Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Site License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . 11
Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
-0-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
OVERVIEW:
The FLASHCARD software family helps a student practice her
arithmetic facts. Originally developed simply to improve speed,
we found it useful as an initial teaching tool as well.
The student signs on by typing her name and may choose from a
menu of activities.
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Addition / Subtraction Mixed
Multiplication / Division Mixed
All Four Mixed
Change Colors
Sign on Again
Choosing ADDITION, for example, she sees a screen with up to
100 problems arrayed at the left. Beginning with the first
problem, each one is highlighted and reproduced in a large window
at the right. As the student types the correct answer, the next
problem pops up. If an error is made, a CLUE window appears to
help the student visualize the problem.
FLASHCARD offers full flexibility to the teacher or parent in
tailoring program presentation, performance and feedback to each
student's individual needs. Parent/teacher sets the following
control parameters for each student by name:
- Colors: Any item in FLASHCARD can be set to any available
color.
- Difficulty: You set the range of values for top and bottom
numbers. You can let the student concentrate
on her fours in multiplication, for example.
- Size of task: You set the number of problems to be done at
one sitting (up to 100)
- Problem Order: You decide if the student sees problems in
order (1+1, 1+2, 1+3, 1+4, etc) or mixed up.
- Timer: You may specify a maximum time limit per problem.
- Sound: You set the extent and type of audio feedback.
The function which lets you configure FLASHCARD for each
individual student is menu driven for ease of use, with simple
displays and context sensitive help information.
FLASHCARD also records a history of every student's progress
in a text file called PROGRESS. You may review, print or delete
the PROGRESS file at any time.
-1-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
FLASHCARD requires MS-DOS 2.0 version 3.3 or greater; IBM PC/AT
or compatible; at least 256K of available RAM; EGA or better
video adapter and monitor. A hard drive makes it faster, but is
not essential. FLASHCARD is written in Turbo Pascal and uses
standard Turbo I/O drivers.
INSTALLATION AND USE:
You should have received seven files in the FLASHCARD bundle.
FLASHCRD.EXE program file for student interaction
FLASHCFG.EXE program file for teacher/parent use
FLASH.CFG data file used by programs
FLASH.HLP data file used by programs
FLASH.DOC this document
FLASH.REG registration form from page 10
FLASH.SIT site license agreement from page 11
If FLASH.HLP is missing, you will not have help information
available when you are using the programs. If FLASH.CFG is
missing, you will have to start from scratch in setting up
student profile information.
When you run FLASHCRD.EXE the first time it produces another
file called PROGRESS. FLASHCFG.EXE produces a file called
FLASH.CFG.
To install FLASHCARD on a diskette or hard disk simply copy
all four files to the disk. When you execute the command
FLASHCRD
the student arithmetic practice program will start. The command
FLASHCFG
starts the program you use to set up student profiles.
-2-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
USING FLASHCRD:
Once you enter the command FLASHCRD, you will see a screen
which asks you to type your name. A student named JACOB would
then type Jacob (capitalization does not matter) and press Enter.
FLASHCRD takes the signon name and searches the FLASH.CFG file
to see if the student is defined. If so, it loads his profile
information. If not, it uses a default profile. The default
profile is suitable if a student already knows the facts and just
needs practice.
All this happens in the blink of an eye and the student next
sees a menu which offers nine choices.
1 Addition
2 Subtraction
3 Multiplication
4 Division
5 Add / Subtract Mixed
6 Multiply / Divide Mixed
7 All Mixed Up
8 Change Colors
9 Sign On Again
The student may now:
- press Esc to exit the program. No more action taken.
- press 1, 2, 3, or 4. She will attack up to 100 problems of
the variety chosen, according to the rules set within FLASHCFG.
- press 6, 7, 8. She faces up to 100 problems of mixed
persuasion as requested, still following the rules.
- press 8. The color selection menu appears to let the
student experiment with different color combinations. Colors
selected here are not saved permanently. When the student finds
the perfect combination, the teacher/parent makes that selection
permanent with the FLASHCFG program.
- press 9. The signon screen appears again and the student
can type in a name.
-3-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
USING FLASHCFG:
STUDENT LIST:
When you enter the command
FLASHCFG
you are going to see a list of students already defined in the
FLASH.CFG file. The original file includes several sample
student definitions, although the names aren't very imaginative.
You use the arrow keys, Home, End, and PgUp and PgDown to move
the highlighter to different names on the list. As you look at
the list, you have several choices noted on the function bar at
the bottom of the screen. When you have the right student name
highlighted, you may
- Press F1: it will always provide help information.
- Press D: it will delete the highlighted student from the
list. Don't worry, it gives you one chance to change your mind.
- Press A: you will be asked for a new student name to add.
The profile information of the highlighted student will be used
as a starting point for the new student. You will then be shown
the screen where you can edit this profile information.
- Press E: you will see the screen where you edit the profile
information for the highlighted student. There you can change
profile values or pop up the color selection menu to change the
colors the student will see in FLASHCRD.
- Press S: the program will write the changed list of
students back to the FLASH.CFG file. The old FLASH.CFG file is
renamed to FLASH.CFX. If you decided to undo your changes you
could delete FLASH.CFG and rename FLASH.CFX back to FLASH.CFG.
If you do not use S to save your changes, they will be lost
when you exit the FLASHCFG program.
- Press Esc. The program ends. If you did not save your
changes to the FLASH.CFG file by pressing S the changes will be
forgotten.
-4-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
EDIT STUDENT PROFILE:
The student profile screen in FLASHCFG shows the student's name
at the top. There are 32 fields which can be modified--eight
each for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
You can also press C to pop up the color editor to change
the colors for that student.
Press F1 to see general help info.
Use the arrow keys to move the highlighter around the profile
screen. When you want to change the highlighted value, press
Enter. A window will pop up with all the legal choices for that
value. Use the arrows again to select a new value. If you press
F1 while this window of choices is up, you will get specific help
information about what that value means.
The function bar at the bottom of the screen shows your
available choices of action. Press Esc to back out one level and
discard any changes you have made. Press Enter to pop up the
choices or to select a choice.
Press F10 to back out to the student list and keep the changes
you made. Remember, if you do not use the S option to save
your changes to the FLASH.CFG file, they will be lost when you
exit the program.
-5-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
TEACHING HINTS:
I have learned some things from using FLASHCRD with my
children.
1. They like to be in control of their practice sessions.
Knowing that they have to do it each day is enough guidance.
They pick when and how fast (within limits). All I add is
praise.
2. Once the facts are known, and FLASHCRD is used for practice
drills, they like competition and challenge. Beating their last
time and error count are events we hear about. My fifth grader
learned to touch type on the numeric keypad just so he could beat
me. His best time so far on 100 multiplication problems (0-9 by
0-9, random order) is 1:41. He looks at the matrix of small
problems and types ahead.
3. They like to play around with color combinations to
personalize the program. Humor them in this and make their
favorite color scheme permanent, no matter how it looks to you.
My second grader's color choices are really obnoxious, but
they're all his.
4. They need monitoring. Check the progress file frequently and
give them feed back. For my second grader, one session per day
of 100 problems (add, subtract, or mixed) kept him on top of his
addition and subtraction, and cost him less than five minutes.
5. FLASHCRD can be used to introduce new things. My second
grader is learning his multiplication tables without any other
input. I will discuss my different approaches to this later.
6. They like to be watched (and praised) while they speed
through their work. This is time well spent. Like a new video
game, they will invest extra time to get better if they think you
will come back later and be impressed.
7. Watch out for low expectations. Your child will surprise you
in what he wants to attempt and in what he can actually do.
"That's too hard for you." is a handicap we put on our kids
unfairly. I think I have very high expectations of my kids, but
they constantly amaze me. Yours will too. If your second grader
wants to try division, what's the harm? Just be understanding if
it bewilders her, and encourage her to do other things first.
8. Don't give her so much time per problem that she can count on
her fingers. That is not what we are learning here. Cut the
time short enough so she has to remember the memorized fact. It
is better to guess wrong and then see the reinforcing clue than
to get in the habit of counting to the answer.
-6-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
I used FLASHCRD as an introductory tool to teach
multiplication to my second grader. I tried a couple of
approaches to arrive at the following, which I recommend.
1. Set up two student profiles for the student. You can use a
nickname (mine were JAKE and JACOB) or a number (JAKE 1 and JAKE
2). The student will do 100 problems with each profile each day,
all at one sitting. This seems like a bunch, but usually takes
less than 15 minutes per day. The student always does the same
profile first.
2. For starters, the profiles are as follows:
Name Range 1 Range 2 Total Order Time
JAKE: 0 - 9 0 - 2 100 sorted 10
JACOB: 0 - 9 0 - 2 100 random 10
This lets him practice "in order" to cement the rules and give
confidence, then try his wings in random order. Do this until
his time for 100 random problems is under 6 minutes with 5 or
fewer errors. It may only take a few days, if that.
3. When times are down, change ranges as follows.
JAKE: 0 - 9 3 - 3 100 sorted 10
JACOB: 0 - 9 3 - 3 100 random 10
Look for times to drop below 6 minutes with less than 5 errors.
4. Then switch the ranges again:
JAKE: 0 - 9 3 - 3 100 random 10
JACOB: 0 - 9 0 - 3 100 random 10
Look for times to drop below 6 minutes with less than 5 errors.
5. When times are down, change ranges as follows.
JAKE: 0 - 9 4 - 4 100 sorted 10
JACOB: 0 - 9 4 - 4 100 random 10
Stick to this until times are down under 6 minutes.
6. Then switch the ranges again:
JAKE: 0 - 9 4 - 4 100 random 10
JACOB: 0 - 9 0 - 4 100 random 10
Stick to this until times are down under 6 minutes.
Notice that steps 5 and 6 are just repeats of steps 3 and 4. You
simply repeat them again for each new number. The hardest
numbers are 3 ,4 and 5. After that, it gets easy. When you
introduce the 6's, for example, there are really just four new
problems--he has seen the sixes up through 5x already.
Let the student know your timing and error goals and set up some
kind of recognition for achieving the goal. For example, when
Jake achieves his time and error goal for step 6, I give him a
couple of days of only having to do the JACOB profile. "Reward
is sometimes the absence of punishment..."
-7-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS:
Please refer any problems, questions or suggestions to the author
Ed Oliver
1203 Kingston Green Dr
Prattville, AL 36067
(205) 361-8707
This address and phone number should be good until late June,
1992, when I expect to move. All registered users will be
apprised of any change in address when it occurs. I will also
periodically inform registered users of new and improved
versions of FLASHCARD as well as other educational software as
it becomes available.
NEW PRODUCTS:
Other products in the works right now include:
MULTI-PLACE: walks student through multiple digit
arithmetic--up to 6 digit numbers.
SPELLING: shows, teaches and quizzes student on spelling and
vocabulary words. Teacher/parent maintains files of words,
definitions and sample sentences. Student sees definition
and sample sentence--must type word. Good practice.
WORD-PROBLEMS: arithmetic word problems with randomly generated
names, objects and circumstances test the student's ability
to pick out key words which indicate arithmetic required.
MELVIN-SAYS: specific directions in randomly generated
combinations test student's ability to follow simple
directions. Also directly tests and reinforces reading
comprehension.
SING-ALONG: the computer plays the melody of popular kids' songs
while the words appear on the screen with a bouncing ball in
"Sing Along with Mitch" fashion. Should be a musical and
fun way to help early reading skills. Subsequent versions
may include music on-screen to help in sight reading.
CLOCK-WATCHER: Display clock faces graphically and require
matching or typing correct time.
Some of these are on firmer ground than others. For example,
SPELLING is alive and well at our house, while we are not sure
SING-ALONG is even worth doing. Your feedback is welcome.
-8-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
WHAT IS SHAREWARE?
The user supported software concept (also referred to as
shareware) is an attempt to provide software at low cost. The
cost of offering a new product by conventional means is
staggering, and hence dissuades many independent authors and
small companies from developing and promoting their ideas. User
supported software is an attempt to develop a new marketing
channel, where products can be introduced at low cost.
If user supported software works, then everyone will benefit.
The user will benefit by receiving quality products at low cost,
and by being able to "test drive" software thoroughly before
purchasing it. The author benefits by being able to enter the
commercial software arena without first needing large sources of
venture capital.
But it can only work with your support. We're not just
talking about FLASHCARD here, but about all user supported
software. If you find that you are still using a program after a
month, then pretty obviously it is worth something to you, and
you should register the program.
REGISTRATION RULES:
* Registration Fee for the FLASHCARD programs is $10.
* No one but the author may sell the FLASHCARD programs.
* You may copy and distribute the FLASHCARD programs only if:
- All program files remain unaltered and are kept together.
- No attempt is made to sell FLASHCARD, or to profit from it.
- The program is not bundled with any other transactions.
* Anyone interested in distributing the FLASHCARD programs
under other arrangements should contact the author.
* If you use the FLASHCARD programs for more than one month,
you must register with the author.
* Schools and child care facilities may register multiple
copies at volume discounts:
2 to 9 copies $8 each
10 to 19 copies $6 each
20 to 49 copies $4 each
50 to 99 copies $3 each
over 99 copies $300 one time fee
* When you send in the registration form, you may specify a
personalized note to be included in the software. Where the
evaluation copy says "ShareWare....Evaluation Only....Pay for
it" your registered version will say instead "Registered with
love by ______ for ________" or whatever message you request at
the bottom of your registration form.
-9-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
REGISTRATION FORM
I wish to purchase:
(_) Single license for private use of FLASHCARD
( $10 -- includes 1 360K diskette)
(_) Site License for use of FLASHCARD on ___ computers
2 to 9 - $8 each
10 to 19 - $6 each
20 to 49 - $4 each
50 to 99 - $3 each
over 99 - $300 one time fee
(_) ___ Additional program diskettes of latest FLASHCARD
( $1 per 360K diskette)
(_) Payment $ ______ enclosed (check or money order).
_______________________________________________
Name
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Address
______________________ ________ ____________
City State Zip
Personal Note:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Send this completed form to:
Ed Oliver
1203 Kingston Green Dr
Prattville, AL 36067
For program disk orders outside the U.S., please add an
additional $5, and enclose an international money order payable
in U.S. currency.
For commercial site license orders, please enclose a signed
copy of the site license agreement.
-10-
FLASHCARD ARITHMETIC USERS' GUIDE
SITE LICENSE AGREEMENT
The use of FLASHCARD in a school or child care environment is
encouraged within the following limits:
- License fee is paid to Ed Oliver. The fee is computed
based on the number of computers which will run the FLASHCARD
software.
- You may use FLASHCARD on the number of computers paid for
by the license fee. If you paid $300, you may use FLASHCARD on
as many computers as you have within a single school district,
or governed by a single school board.
- You can copy and distribute the program to anyone as long
as you observe the guidelines listed under REGISTRATION.
- You may copy the documentation as you like.
- You may upgrade your entire site to the latest version of
FLASHCARD at any time for $5.
- Your site registration will get you one 360K 5 1/4"
diskette for each ten licenses up to 100. You may make any
additional copies you wish or you may buy extra diskettes at $1
each.
I agree to abide by the terms and conditions of this license.
_____________________________ __________________________
Signature Date
_____________________________
Name (please print or type)
_____________________________
Title
_____________________________
Company
DISCLAIMER:
The author disclaims all warranties expressed or implied as to
the quality or performance of this program. The author will not
be held liable for any lost profits, lost savings or any other
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting
from the use of this program. Your use of this program
constitutes your agreement to this disclaimer and your release of
the author from any form of liability or litigation.
-11-
