Syntex
Syntex has had a makeover! Or in the language of advertising: "Syntex has just got better." Significantly better, and a lot whizzier
When we launched the first version of Syntex we were delighted with its instant success. And we were flooded with suggestions for improvements.
Well, we've been listening! See what you think about these new features! We've made many of the features in the original version optional. When you type or paste your input into Syntex:
· you can choose whether to scramble the word-order of your text automatically (in point of fact the text is simply re-organised in alphabetical order – 'Alpha Sort'
· you can choose whether you want a scratch pad or not
· you can decide whether you want to be offered the punctuation marks ready-made on screen.
· you can choose the size of font that suits you
Choice, choice, choice!
Now click on "Explore Syntax".
The presentation screen is full of fresh ideas:
· You can colour tiles (ideal for marking Word Classes, rhyme words, signpost words, connectives)
· You can colour blocks of tiles (ideal for marking Main and Sub-clauses, metaphors, images, similes, emotive language)
· You can change the first letter of a word from lower case to upper case and vice versa (an essential thing if you want to illustrate speech punctuation)
· You can add extra punctuation to the text and even extra words
· You can add a carriage return or line break to a text, allowing you to explore poetry in Syntex!
What does all this new functionality add to Syntex as a teaching tool? The answer is summed up in two words: Range and Drama.
Range because you can do such more with the tool – even work on punctuating speech. Drama because the colour coding makes bright, visual enactments of grammatical structures possible.
ChopTalk
Look at me - Word Chef and grinning from ear to ear! This is my new baby – ChopTalk.
If Cruncher is like a pestle and mortar, ChopTalk is an expert Oriental chef, slicing a text into perfectly sized morsels. The result is a new and addictive form of Jigsaw puzzle. Superb!
It gives the brain a thorough word-workout. To begin with it's all Word Level work – hard de-coding, spelling, punctuation, wrestling with fragments, searching for connections.
Next, as the pieces come together and meaning begins to emerge from the fragments, we engage Sentence Level. Stretch those muscles – feel the pull!
And lastly, we have to think at Text level, working on textual coherence and general sense until we know we've got it right. Brilliant!
Choptalk is a member of the Syntex family and shares many of it features – the ability to glue one piece onto the next, and split them up again, even the ability to colour pieces if you want to (select a tile and press the Ctrl key).
WordMagnets
No kitchen would be complete without a Fridge. And no Fridge would be complete without a set of word magnets to compose with.
These Magnets, being digital, can be edited, coloured, stacked and spread. Try enclosing a phrase in angle brackets (greater-than and less-than signs):
<text composed of more than one word>. Now you can write a whole phrase onto a magnet!
Electronic they may be, but in all other respects WordMagnets are designed to be like their attractive, real counterparts. Drag them and drop them. Assemble strange phrases or masterpieces of poetry. Be creative or analytical. Write your own verse or re-construct a de-sequenced text – it's all possible and enabled.
Try blending two texts. Can they be teased apart, or used creatively to make something unique and fresh? Here the ability to colour-code pieces will come into its own.
It's entirely up to you what you put in as a text – so the potential for fun is endless. Try dropping in a short collapsed text fresh from Cruncher. Or use an off-the-shelf example from the Word Kitchen.
Je vous present un nouveau dans la famille – Voila et bon appetite!