The AlphaSmart 2000 at Threashold
Monday, November 8th, 1999
© 1999 Will Small
wwsjr777@theworld.com
“Thanks heavens!” is what I said when I learned of the existence of lightweight, inexpensive, and uncomplicated word processing technology. The AlphaSmart 2000 is essentially a full size keyboard. You simply turn it on by touching a key, you do your writing, then you turn it off when done. Text is saved automatically in any of 8 files each accessed by the touch of a key. The screen allows you to easily view four lines of text at a time. You use the arrow keys to scroll up and down. At the touch of a key you can run a spellcheck on your writing. The AlphaSmart runs for upwards of three hundred hours on three AA batteries and there is a total of 64 pages of text storage available. Sweet and simple.
The AlphaSmart is a lightweight, sturdy and low cost alternative to a laptop computer. You can print directly to a printer via a cable which yields a document in your printer’s default font, or you can download text from the AlphaSmart to either a PC or a Macintosh computer with a cable and a touch of a key. In turn, you can download text from your PC or Macintosh to a file in your AlphaSmart. This is great if you want to continue a writing project at home or on the road. I take home writing projects “in process” such lesson plans and reports. At work the next day I sit down at my Macintosh computer, plug the cable into my AlphaSmart, press the “send” key and the text is sent to a Word document where I can continue my writing and formatting.
The AlphaSmart is an ideal writing tool for the student with a learning disability. It is very easy to use; its operating system couldn’t be simpler with functions available at the touch of a key. Because it’s just a writing tool it doesn’t have a laptop’s bells, whistles, extensive menus, and games that some students find distracting. Other features that are helpful to students with special needs are sticky keys, key repeat control, and four keyboard layouts: QWERTY, left handed, right handed, and Dvorak. It fits nicely in a backpack and weighs only two pounds. An Internet search turns up a lot of commentary on the usefulness of the AlphaSmart in a special needs setting, simply type “AlphaSmart” in your search engine window.
The THRESHOLD Program at Leslie College has a couple of AlphaSmarts and both students and faculty have had the opportunity to use them. One student is currently using an AlphaSmart to keep his vocational journal. THRESHOLD faculty member Leslie Macone has been using an AlphaSmart for a couple of years.