What is this? In contrast to workplace basic-skills software that transfers workbooks to the computer or reuses content designed for younger audiences, LexIcon Systems has developed material based on what we know about fluent readers. Our approach, called Responsive Text, conveys information relevant to the workplace in both content and style. Instead of "dumbing down" content, the computer's graphics, sound, and interactivity makes that text smarter and more responsive to the user's needs.
Responsive Text has only been available in the workplaces that participated in the Workplace Demonstration Project programs that pioneered this approach. This site is a first attempt to bring these materials to a wider audience. Using a new generation of multimedia tools we have transformed a portion of one of our most popular lessons to the web. We invite you to go through the lesson and send us your thoughts.
Technical Stuff This material represents the next generation of interactivity on the Web and it requires a few preliminaries. First, you should have a robust computer. For Macintosh users, we recommend a PowerPC or G3. On Windows, you should have a Pentium/ MMX and a sound board. External speakers greatly enhance the sound quality. Because we use streaming and compression, you will find a 28.8 bps modem provides acceptable performance.
To view this lesson you also need Shockwave. Shockwave is a free "plug-in" that enables you to view this interactive lesson through your browser. You may already have Shockwave in your plug-in folder. If not, you can download a copy using this button. Shockwave requires about 10 minutes to download (28.8 bps), and you may need to restart your browser before you can continue. Fortunately, you need only download Shockwave once. Once you have Shockwave, start the lesson using the Start SPC button. It will take 3-5 minutes for the material to load, although it will start before all of the content has arrived. While the program is running, it downloads speech files as needed so you may notice a slight delay before words and sentences are spoken.
Talk to us... You are the experts, tell us how to make this better. If you would like more information about earlier versions of Responsive Text or the rationale behind its design me, Michael Hillinger. You can also learn more about this work at the LexIcon Systems web site.