Posted 19 December 2008

The downloadable Phoneme Machine software is used in many thousands of schools (in the UK and elsewhere, especially Africa) to teach the basics of English and to introduce children to European languages, such as French, German, Spanish and Polish, and/or African languages, such as Zulu, Afrikaans, Sestwana and Xhosa (Nelson Mandela’s home language). It is also widely used in the training of student teachers in colleges and universities.

Version 6.0, available from January, has many new features, including a Cued Speech option for teaching deaf children. Once again, there is no charge and the software is available courtesy of THRASS UK’s Corporate Social Responsibility Programme (CSRP) ( www.thrass.co.uk )

Version 6.0 will be launched by the Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP, Chair of the International Development Committee and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness, at the BETT Show (the world’s largest educational technology show), Olympia, London, England on Thursday, 15 January 2009, at 10.30am. The launch will take place on the SMART TECHNOLOGIES main presentation stage, in the presence of national and international representatives from the world of educational technology and deaf education.

The software is to be distributed to 800,000 teachers in the UK on a memory stick, as part of the Memory 4 Teachers initiative, and it can also be downloaded from the THRASS UK website – by teachers and parents in the UK and, of course, overseas.

SOUTH AFRICA SHOWCASE
The software will be showcased at the THRASS Absa TalkTogether Conference, 29-30 January, 2009, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Gauteng, South Africa. The keynote speaker is Professor Sarah Howie, Director of Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria.

If any teachers or parents require further details aobut the softweare, I can be contacted by email or telephone +44 1829 741413.

MEMORY FOR TEACHERS AND 800,000 TEACHERS - PRESS RELEASE 16 DEC www.thrass.co.uk/memory4teachersproject.htm
......and THRASS UK is now delighted to be part of the exciting new Memory 4 Teachers ICT project that is being promoted by the RGS Media Group.

I CAN UK CHARITY AND ADOPT-A-WORD FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

THRASS UK is a supporter of the UK children's charity, I CAN. Viriginia Beardshaw, CEO, has asked if 'THRASSERS' will, once again, consider helping with their latest appeal for funds. As she says, "Given the outstanding help you’ve been in spreading the word about I CAN in the past, I would be so very grateful if you could put a link to this website out on your networks to catch all those word lovers out there…."

Adopt a Word gives you a unique opportunity to own a piece of the English language or give a bit to someone you know...from just £20. Each word you adopt is exclusively yours for a year. You get a certificate, some fun stuff and you can even ‘get the t-shirt’. Most importantly the donation will help children who struggle with words. So if you have a love of our lingo, know someone with a passion for pronouns, want to get your Christmas shopping done early, or simply want a fun way to make a difference to children’s lives, go to www.adoptaword.com and give a word a happy home.