March's Featured Project
Herbi Writer 2.0
.jpg "Screenshot of Herbi Writer 2.0 user interface")
Herbi Writer 2.0 is an interactive program for students learning handwriting. The student watches a sample letter being written and then uses a stylus (or other input device) to write the letter. A friendly dragon character provides immediate feedback on whether the student's strokes correctly mimiced the sample letter. The intention is for the students to feel like they are playing a game, seeking positive feedback as their handwriting improves.
On a Tablet PC, the student benefits from repeatedly watching the sample letter being written in Ink and the natural feel of writing with a stylus. For schools with Smart Boards, the Windows XP version of Herbi Writer is compatible with Smart Boards.
The program's creator, Guy Barker, is a Microsoft developer who wanted to demonstrate the potential of handwriting technology. He received valuable input from Susan Thompson, an Occupational Therapist. Susan has found the program to be useful for children with Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy. Susan describes tips for integrating it into therapy in her article, Teaching Handwriting.
Currently, the program provides a small set of limited, but useful features. We welcome feedback on your experimentation with the program and features that would improve its effectiveness. You can see screen shots of Herbi Writer and download for free at the Herbi Writer Web site. If you are a developer interested in contributing your coding expertise to help Herbi Writer evolve, visit the Microsoft open source project hosting site, CodePlex, which hosts the Herbi Writer coding project.