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Doorway Online

Free accessible educational activities that learners will find easy to use independently.

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  • Literacy
    • First Phonics
    • Letter and Number Formation
    • Speller 2
    • Flash Activities >
      • First Blends
      • First Sounds
      • First Words
  • Number
    • Add and Subtract to 10
    • Add and Subtract to 100
    • Count Me In
    • Number Table
    • Odd and Even
    • Up to 10
  • Time and Money
    • About Time
    • Cashing In
    • Supermarket
    • Till We Meet Again
  • Typing
    • Text Type 3
    • TT3 phase 2
  • Memory and Matching
    • Find the Pairs (Pelmanism)
    • Moving Targets
    • Same or Different

News

Doorway Text Type 3 Phase #1 is here!

09/05/2018 by Doorway Online

Doorway Text Type, the massively used Touch Typing Tutor for visually impaired (VI) learners has undergone a very important upgrade.
In Phase One, the program has been re-coded in html5 and JavaScript for a future-proof implementation. A few bugs have been corrected. Most keyboard types are now supported, including Mac; Windows US;  Bluetooth keyboard for iPad or Android device.

Please note:

– Phase 1 is mostly a replacement for Text Type 2 with a few additions.

– All the same features are there except for Practice Talking Keyboard. This feature will be included in Phase 2.

– The menus look rather different, however, we think they are an improvement, as they make the available options clearer.

– The menu page shows the exercises that can be chosen. These are identical to the those in TT2 except for the insistence that leaners repeat a line establishing the home keys, in the early exercises. This was our best response to a request from our consultant Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired, who has been consulted at each stage of the development of Touch Type.

– In that menu, the exercises, as you progress, will be marked with an amber blob or a tick. This reflects the rule built into TT3 that you may progress to the next exercise having scored 90%.  Having gained 94% or more you should definitely progress to the next exercise.
However, this system relies upon users being logged onto the computer or network with their own ID. Having multiple users of the same login ID may cause problems.

– There is now a rough Words Per Minute (WPM)  score. This is only available after exercise 27. Accuracy is more important than speed, however, as our QTVI has reported, occasionally a young learner will continue to type at a very slow speed, once all the letters and common punctuation are established. WPM is a motivator but a very crude score and should only be used for comparing your own speed with previous scores.

– There are fewer display options in Text Type 3 stage 1. I believe the most commonly used options are available including a rather good inverse video. Only one “indicator style” is used. If there is a demand, some enhancements to the on-screen keyboard for VI learners will be re-instated.

– Please use the full-screen option. This is what the design is based around. The screen format is more “letterbox” than in TT2. This has led to a certain amount of pressure on the vertical presentation. This was felt to be the best solution to creating multi-device activities. Please note that full-screen option does not work as you would expect on an iPad. Apple have gone their own way.

We have tested mostly in Chrome on a Windows 10 computers. Please, try other platforms and browsers. If you find a problem in Internet Explorer alone, please report it but it will not be treated as a bug, as IE is not a target browser.

If you find something wrong or unexpected about a feature, do comment. All contact will be acknowledged.  We shall attempt to rectify errors in Phase 1 and certainly by Phase 2. Please use this error reporting form. The details about the system used and browser are important.

Error Form

Text Type 3 Phase #2 will include various features allowing low vision users to access Text Type more independently, including

  • the use of Text to speech to read screen messages and the text in exercises
  • the use of the keyboard rather than the mouse to navigate the program
  • the on-screen representation of all the target keyboards, Windows and Mac, US and UK layouts and Bluetooth.

Filed Under: News

Doorway Activities in a multi-platform environment

15/11/2017 by Doorway Online

Doorway Activities have been developed in Flash. This is a very suitable medium for creating these learning activities. However since the original development work was done, Flash has become less popular. The first blow was that Flash was not allowed on the iPad.

There is a solution to this in the form of Puffin Browser. You can download it at www.puffinbrowser.compuffin_browser

Accessing Doorway Online using Puffin Browser on your iOS device or Android device (tablet or phone) should allow you to use the activities on this site without difficulty. This works in most homes. However, there may be restrictions on school networks that prevent this working. We are looking for solutions.

The best solution would be a new version of each activity on the site. We’ve made a start. Take a look at Doorway Cashing In.

cashing_in_newThis has been totally re-written in HTML5 and JavaScript. We had to save up the funds to cover this development. Our next conversion is Text Type, the touch typing activity that is widely used by visually impaired learners, as well as general learners. Touch Type will be a complete re-write with new features for VI learners. We are seeking funding for this and future conversions, and you can help by donating, or perhaps having a fund-raiser in your school.

Filed Under: News

Doorway Text Type 2 and Microsoft Browsers – Important information – Use Chrome.

18/07/2017 by Doorway Online

Text Type 2 -Typing a sentence

Important. Please share this information

Please can you share this information around. It’s very important.

A recent upgrade to Windows 10 has made Doorway Text Type 2 unusable in either of the Microsoft Browsers. Internet Explorer or Edge.

Text Type 2 is our widely used touch typing tutor with features aimed at learners with visual impairment, large clear text, choice of colour schemes and speech feedback.
It’s available here: www.doorwayonline.org.uk

It is widely used in homes and schools in the UK and beyond.
The current solution is to download and install Chrome Browser from Google. Just search for Download Chrome, download and follow the instructions.

We have been planning a replacement for Text Type 2, to be developed in Html5 and Javascript. This will solve all the problems as the Microsoft browsers are blocking the use of the keyboard in a Flash activity.

We are working hard on a new version, but we cannot rush just because of the changes made by Microsoft. So please bear with us and use Chrome browser in the meantime. Please donate via the link on the Doorway Online site to help us with the large costs of development.
For more information please contact – [email protected]

Filed Under: News

Doorway Online – A Teacher’s Toolbox for Assessment and Learning

13/06/2017 by Doorway Online

This is a summary of the presentation to be given at CALL Scotland ASL & Technology Conference 14th June 2017.

Our Principles – Accessibility, Availability, Inclusiveness

Our Range – The Doorway Online Suite offers a range of activities covering aspects of:

  • Early Literacy and Spelling
  • Number up to 100 from counting up to pre-tables work and addition with carrying and subtraction with decomposition
  • Practical approaches to time and money
  • Typing Skills for visually impaired and single handed users
  • Early Skills, Memory, Matching and Targeting

Assessment and Learning – Most of our activities have two modes, or different sub activities, that are for either learning or assessment

The Talking Computer Materials – These materials were developed by Philip Whittaker during his career as ICT support teacher for AN. They take advantage of the talking computer facility that is now implemented widely (Clicker, Textease, Wordtalk). He’ll be using Clicker to demonstrate use of these materials to develop literacy by using overlearning of phonic patterns in an enjoyable way. There is some humour!

Note – Doorway Activities work with most browsers on most desktop computers. However because of restriction on Flash there may be difficulties on school networks that need to be fixed by consulting with the network admin. The activities work with Puffin Browser on iPads and Android devices.
An installation CD for Windows can be licensed, which avoids the use of an internet connection, and any restrictions on Flash.

Filed Under: News

The Doorway Talking Computer Materials (aka Bordertalk) and Talking Tasks

10/06/2017 by Doorway Online

CALL Scotland ASL & Technology Conference – Edinburgh – 14 June 2017

Doorway Online will be represented at this conference again this year. The presentation will include these materials which have been added to the site:

The Doorway Talking Computer Materials (formerly Bordertalk)
Talking Tasks

These materials were developed while Philip Whittaker worked as an Support Teacher for pupils with Additional Support Needs. They require the use of a talking Word Processor; Textease, Clicker, MS Word with Wordtalk installed.

Filed Under: News

Doorway Letter Formation

19/01/2017 by Doorway Online

Pupil at the IWB using Letter Formation

Doorway Letter Formation models, tirelessly, correct letter formation.
Handwriting is a fine motor skill, and like gross motor skills once learnt it is not forgotten. That’s the good news, but also incorrect letter formation is very hard to unlearn. It really is best to get it right from the start.

Doorway Letter Formation can be a help, whether tracing on a tablet (requires Puffin Browser), or on an interactive whiteboard, or just tracing in the air. It’s the correct formation and direction of the slopes that matter.

Thanks to St Andrews Nursery for the photo.

Filed Under: News

Internet Explorer Issues Resolved

16/03/2016 by Doorway Dev

We are aware that some users with Internet Explorer version 10 have been experiencing difficulty accessing the Doorway activities over the last couple of weeks. This issue should be fixed now. If you are still having problems you may need to clear your temporary internet file cache and reload the page. Thanks to all our users who helped solve this problem. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Filed Under: News

Many thanks to these bodies for grants of funding

31/01/2016 by Doorway Online

charitable bodies supporting Doorway

The Logos of Donors supporting Doorway Online
The costs of development of the activities have been shared by; Scottish Borders Council, The RS Macdonald Trust, the Agnes Hunter Trust, Charity Begins at Home (Kelso), The Robertson Trust, The Scottish Sensory Centre.

The web-hosting is funded by a grant from CALL Scotland, Edinburgh University.

Filed Under: News

New Doorway Online Website

13/11/2015 by Doorway Online

It’s finally happened! Our new website has gone live. After six years with the excellent Sojomedia of Yetholm donating our webhosting, our new web sponsors are CALL Scotland. Thanks to everyone at CALL, the Scottish centre of excellence for everything to do with ICT Support for Learners with a wide variety of needs.

Our website address has not changed and all your favourite activities are there in the same categories. Enjoy the new look of our site which will be easier to update and maintain. Spread the word. Thanks. We need funding to keep the site going and to develop new activities as well as tablet compatible versions of existing ones.

You can help by donating here:

https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/doorwayonline

Filed Under: News

Welcome

02/10/2015 by Doorway Online

Doorway OnlineDoorway Online is a collection of free and highly accessible educational games that learners will find easy to use independently. Each activity has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Originally developed with funding from Scottish Borders Council, it is now managed by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a Scottish charity.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: accessible, activities, educational, free, games, interactive, interactive whiteboard, iwb, learning, literacy, maths, numeracy, school, spelling, typing

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News

  • Doorway Text Type 3 is complete! 14/03/2021
  • Doorway Activity Pack is Now Available For Free Download! 18/10/2020
  • Doorway Activities – Will they work on your equipment? 14/06/2020

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This site is provided by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a charity registered in Scotland, no. SC042166. Website by Thomas Lee.
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