Name

Definition

Unlock all levels for all students

When a student first begins TTRS, they are directed to begin with Module 1, Level 1. They must complete each module in order to access the next one. By turning this setting off, you can allow them to move around in the course and access different modules in a level or different levels in order to practice specific content.

Weekly goal

You can set a weekly goal for your students of how many modules you'd like them to complete. An average module takes about 5 minutes to complete. However, modules can take longer in the beginning when students are still getting used to the hand positions.

Enable free writing*

When a student first opens the program, they are greeted by a welcome screen. From this screen they may choose to begin a typing lesson or start a free writing composition where they can use their typing skills to produce original text. Admins can then view a student's written work and leave feedback. Toggling this switch will disable free writing so students are restricted to typing exercises only.

Show trophy achievements on statistics page

When a student has completed a level, a trophy appears under their “My Stats” page. This can be turned off here.

Passmark required

This is the minimum accuracy score a student must achieve in order to move on to the next module. We recommend leaving this at 80% but you may wish to lower it depending on the individual needs of your learner.

Show score in the module completion window

If this option is enabled, students will see their accuracy score in the module completion window after each module. For students who become anxious about achieving a certain score, you may wish to turn this off.

Show graph in module completion window

If this option is enabled, students will see a graph with statistics for all completed modules in a level. If it’s turned off, they will see a compact version of the window without the graph. Some students may prefer not to see a graph or score.

Name

Definition

System theme

Choose between a Light and Dark system theme.

Table texture

Choose between four different table colors.

Screen color / Hand color / Fingertip color / Word color / Copy text color

Choose between a variety of colors for each setting.

Font

Choose between Arial, Comic Sans, Open Sans and Open Dyslexic fonts.

Keyboard color

Choose between Light and Dark keyboard colors.

Hands

Choose between two and one handed versions of the course.

Name

Definition

Language

Choose between UK and US voice and spelling for the program.

Hand guides

When a student first starts learning how to type, it's important that they master the home row position and understand which fingers are used to type which keys. The hand guides are a set of visual guides which appear at the bottom of a student's screen when they are inside a TTRS module. They show the student how to type the lines that appear on the screen above. When a student has completed Level 3 of the TTRS Main Course, we recommend turning the hand guides off so the student can fully apply what they have learned. There are several options you can select. If you student isn't quite ready to type on their own, you can select moving hands but remove the letter key names from the screen. You can also choose to enlarge the text area and remove the keyboard altogether.

Remember and Repeat

Remember and Repeat is a feature based on a popular classroom spelling strategy that has students read a word, cover it, write it down, then check to see how they did. It works by getting them to enhance their short term memory processing so they can hold an image of the word for longer amounts of time. When this is switched on, students see a word and type it, then it disappears and they must type it again from memory. It’s useful if you want learners to pay particular attention to spelling for a certain module.

Copy Typing

Copy Typing is when there’s a line of text above and they copy it on a line below. When it’s off, they’ll be overtyping a word on one line. When it’s on, they have one line of text above and they are typing on the line below.

Show WPM score

If this option is enabled, students will see their WPM (words per minute) score when they complete a module. This is turned off by default so the student can focus on their accuracy instead of speed in the beginning. To bring their attention back to typing skills, toggle this switch on.

Name

Definition

Audio type

Choose between the "Speak 1 Word," at a time "Speak 3 Words" and "Speak Full Sentence" options.

Voice

There are four UK voices, three US voices and two AU voices to choose from. If you see * next to a name, it means it's a computer-generated voice. Be aware that selecting a USA voice will trigger word lists which use US spelling and, similarly, selecting a UK voice will trigger word lists using UK spelling. Also note, only certain voices are available for some TTRS Subjects.

Play word audio

When this setting is turned on, students hear the words read aloud as they are typed. We recommend leaving this setting on.

Announce module praise

Applause will be played for a score over 90%.

Training

When this is turned on, students will hear a voice explaining typing hand position and basic instructions in the first eight modules of Level 1. We recommend leaving this setting on.

Name

Definition

Announce backspace key

When this is turned on, the backspace key will be announced every time a student makes a mistake. This can be demotivating and frustrating for some users, especially those who struggle with fine motor skills and/or auditory processing difficulties.

As the backspace key is also indicated by the on-screen hand guides, you can try turning this setting off to see if it is less distracting for your student.

One mistake option

When the one mistake option is enabled, a user must correct any mistakes before moving on. To ensure accuracy in spelling and typing, we recommend leaving this setting on.
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When the one mistake option is disabled, users can make mistakes while typing and still complete a module. However, keys that were typed incorrectly will not be shown on screen.