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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. 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). 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. 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.
I also wish it had the capacity to handle more words. Using the product is very intuitive and easy. Over all I give it an A++ for concept and a C for durability. First, if you can't spell this will probably be able to locate the correct word. So at night he can take this to bed with him and study without a book or paper.
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. The longer it took the more frustrated he became and his homework was starting to suffer. Secondly, it can hold his spelling words that he gets every week. Especially if it was a derivative of a word like friendly instead of friend. 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.
I bought this for my 7 year old (2nd grade) who unfortunately has my personal affliction of not being able to spell that well. With just one lesson he as able to negotiate around the dictionary with little or no help. It was also missing 2 of its rubber feet that keep it from slipping. I figured this product could fill four shoes at once. As I am doing things around the house I will hear the computer voice and know that he is using it. I was ready to send it back because I didn't want it coming on in his back pack and wasting the batteries.
We tried the traditional route of book dictionaries but they were heavy and cumbersome and took lots of time to find the words. 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. It arrived within that time frame and it fit. We opened this up and it had multiple problems from the get go. 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. 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.
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 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.
But the truth is, it shuts itself off in about 90 seconds so I couldn't see it draining the battery power.
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.
The battery cover would not slide on and I tried for 2 hours.
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.
If you spell it wrong it searches and comes up with a number of different possibilities and usually your word is on that list.
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.
Also the cover design did not take consideration of kids, they are fragile. I thnik technology didn't match to the existing phonetic practice. I will prefer Franklin HW 216 Homework Wiz Plus instead of this one for the given price. I agree with dictionary part. My kid broke the cover in the second day. The speaking part is generated as from synthesis of computer speaking. It works great for kids. Which is not same as standard phonetic practice.
Best for elementary,some middle school age students.I do wish there was a way to upgrade to their larger dictionary. 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).
I recommend it to all parents I meet who have a Learning Disabled child. 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.
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. The good thing is, you don't need to change batteries that often. 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. My complaint, though, is that it's so hard to put the batteries in. 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. Also, there are words that you're sure a six years old should know that're not found in this dictionary. The pronunciation sounds very robotic compares to what I get from the Encarta Encyclopedia on my PC, but it gives her enough hint.
She's been using it for about 4 months and it's still loud and clear on its first set of batteries.
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