Readme

Copyright 2002 - 2004 Help Me 2 Learn Company Copyright 2002 Twin Sisters Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Help Me 2 Learn Company

12033 4th Street, Suite 3 Yucaipa, California 92399 Toll free: 1-800-460-7001 Phone (909) 797-2203 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PST FAX (909) 797-4541 24hrs email: sales@helpme2learn.com web site: http//www.helpme2learn.com Technical Support:
If you have a problem running or loading this CD-ROM program please read through this document and try out the suggested solutions before calling Technical Support. Technical Support is provided by the Help Me 2 Learn Company. Phone 1-800-460-7001 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. PST. Fax: (909) 797-4541 email: techsupport@helpme2learn.com

Installation Instructions

Refer to the CD-ROM label for installation instructions, or; If you are running Windows 95/98/ME/XP/NT or 2000 Insert the CD into your CD-ROM Drive This program runs automatically from the CD-ROM and does not require an installation. If not, from the Start menu choose Run. In the Open box type D:\AUTORUN.EXE (Where D: is the drive ID of your CD-ROM drive, if D is not your CD-ROM drive letter, use the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive) then click on OK. Or to install the entire program to run from the hard drive - type D:\SETUP.EXE (requires 55 MBs of hard drive space) then click on OK. Follow the instructions displayed on your screen. You will be given an option to install the program to run from the CD-ROM of from the hard drive. A hard drive installation will give better performance on slower computers and does not require the CD-ROM after installation.

Windows Installation Options

1) Autorun - in most cases the CD-ROM will start automatically when inserted into the CD-ROM drive. Click on "Yes" to run the program, click on "No" to exit. 2) Setup - the program runs from the CD-ROM and does not require an installation. - Running "Setup" creates a "Help Me 2 Learn" program group with an icon to launch the program, an uninstall icon and a Readme icon and you have the option of creating a desktop icon. You will also have an option to install the entire program to run from the hard drive or from the CD-ROM.

- To run "Setup"; click on Start, then Run, in the Open box type D:\SETUP.EXE, then click on OK (Where D: is the drive ID of your CD-ROM drive, if your CD-ROM drive is another drive ID, then substitute that drive ID letter for D). Follow the prompts. - Notes on hard drive installation: A hard drive installation may be used for a network installation, (a lab-pack or site license is required for a network installation). A hard drive installation may significantly improve performance on slower computers. A hard drive installation requires about 55 MBs of hard disk space. Icons in the Help Me 2 Learn program group will be created as well as an optional desk top icon. An uninstall and readme icon will also be created.

System Requirements Windows

The Windows version is compatible with any PC with 32 MB of RAM, CD-ROM drive, 256 Color or better VGA Card and Monitor, sound card and CD-ROM drive running Windows 98/95/NT/2000. For best performance a Pentium 166 MHz with a 16bit color setting or higher is recommended.

Display Requirements (Windows 95 and higher)

This program is designed for a 65,535, (16 bit High Color) color display. While the program can be run in the 256 color mode, most of the graphics will display poorly. To change the display color setting: Double click on My Computer. Double click on Control Panel Double click on Display Chose a higher color setting and click on Apply. Follow the instructions displayed in the prompts. In some cases you must restart your computer.

Troubleshooting
Check each of the following items before you contact technical support. The following is a list of the most frequently reported problems:

The most common problems:

Colors do not display properly - this product was designed to run at a 16 bit color depth or higher. Colors will not display properly at 256 colors or lower. Please increase your color depth setting. Printing problems on laser printers - printing graphics on a laser printer at 600 dpi will generally cause a memory over-run. Please lower the graphics dpi to 300. Program runs slow or timing is off on highlight of songs - this product was designed to run on most slower and older computers, however all computers with the same processor are not created equally. If your computer meets the recommended hardware specifications but the program still runs slow, you may have either optimization problems or design problems. Begin by running the Windows ScanDisk program and then the Disk Defragmenter, both found in the Accessories/System Tool program group. Next, try installing the program to run from the hard drive (see above installation options and instructions). If this does not solve your problem, it may be that your computer has design flaws that cause it to run slower than most other computers.

Help Me 2 Learn Company Products:

Super Star Series: Letters and Numbers Phonics 1a Vowel Sounds Phonics 1b - Consonant Sounds Phonics 2 Intermediate Level Spanish 1a with Phonics / Ingls 1a con Fontica Phonics Super Star Reading System (contains: Letters and Numbers, Phonics 1a, Phonics 1b and Phonics 2) Gold Medal Series: Phonics 3a Advanced Level

Educational Concepts
The fundamental concept of this product line is that children will learn more, learn faster and be more interested in learning when the teaching is presented with music. The Twins Sisters songs are followed by interactive activities, games or puzzles that reinforce and test the learning.

Super Star System (progress tracking system) - The Super Star System is one
of the most outstanding and unique features of this program. The Super Star system is simple: The Super Star System was designed as motivational, reward, feedback and progress tracking system. The Super Star system was designed to motivate the child to complete all of the activities and songs, to reward the child for completing each activity or song, to keep track of right and wrong answers, as a tracking system for the child, parent and teacher to show how many activities and songs have been completed and whether a gold star has been achieved. It was designed to be simple enough that a child could understand it, yet powerful enough that a parent or teacher could judge the childs progress. The child types (or clicks on) his/her name on the login page. This program can accept as many student names as you desire. Each student name is tracked separately. As the child does one of the Super Star activities (there are some just for fun or practice activities), the number of correct answers is recorded in the right answer box; the number of wrong answers is recorded in the wrong answer box. Every time the child completes a Super Star activity, he/she earns a star. If the activity is done without any wrong answers he/she earns a Gold Star. If there was a wrong answer he/she earns a Silver Star. The child who receives a Silver Star may click on the Reset Button and try the activity again to try to earn a Gold Star. The child can click on the Super Star Button to display how many Stars have been earned. The Super Star Page will display a Gold Star, Silver Star or no star earned for each activity. The child can click on the star display area for each activity, to go back to that page to try to earn a Gold Star. Once the child has earned a star on every Super Star activity page, a Silver Star certificate will appear on the screen with the childs name on it. With your permission, this certificate can be printed on your printer. Once the child has earned a Gold Star on every Super Star activity page, a Gold Star certificate will appear on the screen with the childs name on it. With your permission, this certificate can be printed on your printer.

Deleting student's names - This program provides for individual tracking of the childs progress. Teachers may find that they need to clean up the students names and delete the names of previous students. To delete students names, go to the Parents and Teachers section within the program. Click on the Student Management button. Enter the password Teacher. Follow the simple instructions. To delete a name click on the name and then click on the OK box.

Songs and Games/Activities

Songs - all of the great Twin Sisters Productions songs used in this program are educational songs that make learning fun and easy. The concept is that teaching with music can be a highly effective supplement to other teaching methods. All of the words to the songs are highlighted in a karaoke sing-a-long style. While there is an animation to make the songs more visually appealing, the animations have been kept simple so that the child will watch the highlighted words. We have found that as the children learn the songs and watch the highlighted words, their reading skills increase dramatically as they begin associating the words with the songs. The words, the educational content of the songs, the music, the animations and the highlighting, all combine to make a fun and effective learning experience. The child will receive a Silver Star for listening to most of the song. The child will receive a Gold Star when the song is completed. The song can be restarted by clicking on the Reset button or by clicking on Play. Note - this CD-ROM is also a music CD and all of the songs can be played on most music CD players. Games and Activities - The games and activities that follow the songs are designed to reinforce the educational concepts that were taught in the songs. In many cases, the words that were used in the songs will be found in the game/activity that follows that song. If the child is having trouble with a game/activity, encourage the child to review the preceding song. The games/activities are designed to be visually appealing and lots of fun. Often there will be a fun animation that will trigger by completing the activity. While the games/activities were designed to be completed by the child without assistance, we believe the learning experience is much better when a parent or teacher is involved, particularly in the beginning. We have designed the earlier activities so that a helpful hint will appear when a wrong answer is selected, so that the child can complete the activity with a silver star. The child can then click on the reset button and keep trying the activity until a gold star is achieved.

The Button Bar

The Button Bar at the bottom of page along with the Contents Page allows the child to easily navigate through the program to any activity or song. This program is laid out like a book. The program is designed to be intuitive and user friendly, however learning more about design of the program will help you utilize all of its features. The function of the Button Bar (right to left) - note: the button bar changes slightly between activities, songs and other pages. Back - goes to the previous page.

Contents - goes the first page of the Table of Contents. From the first page of the Table of Contents, the child can click on the buttons for each activity or song. Or the parent or teacher can click on the Parents and Teachers Section button to learn more about the program Super Star - on all of the Super Star activity pages, to left of the Super Star button is the Right answer box that adds up all of the right answers. To the right of the Super Star button is the Wrong answer box that adds up all of the wrong answers. Click on the Super Star button to go the Super Star page to see how many Silver Stars and Gold Stars have been earned. Pages that dont have a Right and Wrong answer box are just-for-fun or practice pages. Stop - on song pages will pause the song. Start - on song pages will play the song that is paused. Reset - click on the Reset button to start the activity again. Use the Reset button if you earned a Silver Star on an activity and want to try for a Gold Star. Movie - a few pages have a Movie button that will show the activity automatically. Print - found on the Super Star page. Use this button to print a progress report of how many silver and gold stars the child has earned. If the child has earned a Silver Star or Gold Star Award, clicking on the Star next to the print button can print the award. Exit - exit the program from any page by clicking on the Exit button. You will be prompted to make sure you want to exit. Help - on activity pages, verbal instructions for the activity begin when entering the page. Click on the Help button to stop the instructions. Click on the Help button to hear the instructions again. Next - goes to the next page.

Teachers and Parents Section

This program includes an extensive Parents and Teachers section to help you further enjoy all of the activities and songs. The main feature of the Parents and Teachers section are the print pages. All of the songs and all of the activities are printable on your printer.

Help Me 2 Learn

Phonics Super Star Reading System

User Guide for Teachers and Parents
The Help Me 2 Learn Phonics Super Star System is a series of 4 computer programs that are designed to teach reading using a system of Phonics. Those programs are: Letters & Numbers Phonics 1a - Vowel Sounds Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds Phonics 2 - Intermediate Level Reading proficiency is a process. The basic steps of learning to read through phonics involve: Recognizing the letters of the alphabet. (Letters & Numbers) Recognizing the letters in words. (Letters & Numbers) Recognizing the sounds of the vowels. (Phonics 1a - Vowel Sounds) Recognizing the sounds of the consonants. (Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds) Forming words by sounding out the letters in the word. (Phonics 1a - Vowel Sounds, Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds and Phonics 2 - Intermediate Level) Blending individual sounds to form words. (Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds and Phonics 2 - Intermediate Level) Recognizing words (sight words) that dont follow the phonics rules. Recognizing sound patterns. (Phonics 2 - Intermediate Level) Building a vocabulary of words. (Phonics 1a - Vowel Sounds, Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds and Phonics 2 - Intermediate Level) Building sentences from words. (Phonics 1b - Consonants Sounds and Phonics 2 Intermediate Level) The purpose of this User Guide for Parents and Teachers is to explain how we designed our system, and to suggest ways to take advantage of all the design features- making the program even more effective for your child. Easy to Use While it is true that the English language is a difficult and confusing language, we have broken the process of learning down to easy to learn steps. We developed the program so that almost any child can use the program successfully without any supervision. However, we also strongly feel that the program will be much more effective with some supervision.

Supervision We suggest that a parent or teacher assist the student with the following: Help with the interface. This is so easy! This program uses a unique modified book style interface. All of the songs and activities can be accessed through the table of contents page. The student can also use the Next and Back buttons or the Super Star Page to navigate through the program. The interface is very intuitive. You can learn more about it in the Parents and Teachers section of the programs. Explain and encourage use of the Super Star System. We use a unique data tracking and motivational system we call the Super Star System. It is very easy to use and understand. Every time the student completes an activity or a song they earn a star. We keep track of the answers in the right and wrong answer boxes. If the student completes the activity with some mistakes, they earn a silver star. If they complete the activity without any mistakes, they earn a gold star. At any time, the student can click on the Super Star button to go the Super Star page and see how many silver and gold stars they have earned. The student can repeat an activity as many times as needed to earn a gold star. When the student has a star on every page, the Super Star on the Super Star page will turn silver and the student can click on the Super Star button to print a Silver Star award. When a student gets a gold star on every activity and song, the Super Star button will turn gold and the student can print out a Gold Star award. This system serves as a tracking system for the student, parent, or teacher. It also serves as a motivational system for the student. You can help the student earn a gold star on every activity and song by using the Super Star page to see what activities they are having trouble with. Use the print pages. Every activity and song has a print page in the Parents and Teachers section that you can print out for the student. These print pages are beautiful! We encourage you to print these pages and let the student do the activities on paper to reinforce what they have learned in the program. Help the child use the Learn the Words section. Our Learn the Words section is one of the quickest ways that students can learn new words and sound patterns. This is a selfpaced study area and there are no stars to be earned here. Spend time going over this area with the student. Mastery of the Learn the Words section will greatly enhance the students vocabulary and give them the skills they need to earn Gold Stars in the activities. Praise Accomplishment. As the student learns new words, learns to spell and begins reading, you will likely be as excited as the student! Reinforce this accomplishment with your praise. Read with the student. While we are extremely proud of this program, and it has proven itself to be effective in helping students to read, the ultimate goal of the Phonics Super Star Reading System is to give the student the skills needed to read books. We encourage you to find books that are appropriate for your student, and then let them read to you. Let the student have fun. We have worked very hard to build a system that is effective and educationally sound. There are a lot of systems that are effective and educationally sound, but boring. We believe that a program can be even more effective when the student loves the program and is self-motivated to complete the activities. We use a wide variety of educational songs, presentations, activities, games, printable activities, sounds, pictures and visuals to make an award winning educational program. We know that learning is faster and more effective when the student enjoys learning!

Help Me 2 Learn Company

12033 4th Street, Suite 3

Yucaipa, California 92399 Toll free: 1-800-460-7001 Phone (909) 797-2203 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PST FAX (909) 797-4541 24hrs email: sales@helpme2learn.com web site: http//www.helpme2learn.com