Little Reader FAQs

What is the Little Reader Program?

Little Reader is a powerful learning application that promotes early childhood education, for kids from four months to five years. The program is modeled after the right brain-based teaching methods of pioneers in the field of early childhood education.

Little Reader enables you to use flash cards with your child in the easiest, most stress-free way possible. For more information on teaching young children with flash cards, please read Introduction to Flash Cards.

How does Little Reader work?

Little Reader's user-friendly interface allows you to create and deliver flash card-based lessons, an activity modeled after right brain teaching methods.

The lessons are delivered in a multi-sensory format, stimulating the baby’s need for auditory as well as visual stimulation for creating mental associations. The young learner will be able to see the word, see the image, hear the pronunciation of the word, and hear a sound effect. This effectively teaches children not just the sounds of written words, but their meanings too.

Make it simple, make it fun - some BrillKids tips on how to make each Little Reader session a success:

	Prepare your presentations ahead of time. Find out what categories you want to show, and prepare them for playback or print them out.
	Practice teaching your child by running through the playback by yourself, and pronounce each word out loud as you would during the actual presentation.
	Prepare your learning environment by clearing away all potential distractions – TV, radio, or phone.
	Make sure that learning area has sufficient lighting.
	Announce each learning session by telling your child which category or word list you will be showing. Do this in a fun way to excite your child. Ask him if he would like to see the flash cards.
	Give the presentation when your child is in a receptive mood.
	Don’t try to force your child to learn! Never attempt to give a presentation when your child is tired, sick, or disinterested.
	Keep in mind that each session should be filled with as much love and fun as possible!
	Be lively in your presentations!
	Give your child a healthy break in between presentations, and take this time to bond further with your child by showering your little one with assurances and affection.
	Make sure the flash cards (physical or virtual) are at least 24 inches (60 centimeters) away from your child and at her eye level.
	Keep track of your child’s learning – make new presentations on a regular basis and retire any categories he shows diminished interest in.

We advise parents and teachers to encourage their baby or young child to participate by saying the words and doing physical actions that help in learning the meanings of the words – touching the body part, waving a hand, clapping, dancing or singing. This interactive and multi-sensory approach greatly adds to the fun of learning!

What are the advantages of using Little Reader over making my own flash cards?

Little Reader offers you a quick, easy, and mess-free way to create your own flash cards. You save time and money by using free digital images, without needing to print them out and waste paper and printer ink.

Your Little Reader flash cards also allow you to teach your child through multi-sensory learning modes – a word can be taught by showing a picture and the text, playing a video, and listening to a recording of a pronunciation or sound effect. This way, you give added dimension to your child’s understanding of that word or idea.

To read more about the advantages of using Little Reader, click here.

How many times should I use the program each day?

We recommend a playback of three times per day for each category lesson. Lessons should be spaced evenly throughout the day, or at least a few hours apart. Your child’s interest may vary from day to day, or during the course of a lesson. It is important for you to monitor your child’s reactions and adjust accordingly. DO NOT BORE YOUR CHILD – it is vital that you make learning a fun and happy experience!

What age group can benefit the most from Little Reader?

Children who are exposed to this learning method at a very early age learn the fastest. We recommend this program for children from four months to five years of age. Children of all ages who are learning a language for the first time can also benefit from the program.

When should I start using Little Reader?

You can start using Little Reader from when your child is four months old. However, do not expect your child do show any knowledge of words until at least 9 to 12 months of age. Some children may take even longer than this to show any knowledge of words. Remember that every child develops at her own pace. The primary goal of teaching should be to stimulate your child’s brain – and have fun while doing it! As long as you are both enjoying yourselves, your Little Reader lessons are already a success.

What if my child shows no interest in his Little Reader lessons?

If your child is not interested in his Little Reader lessons – or indeed, shows a negative reaction to Little Reader – stop using the software for the time being. Your child’s reaction means that this time in his life is not the appropriate one for beginning reading lessons. This may be because your child is not developmentally ready to start learning to read. Alternatively, your child may be attaining another important developmental milestone (learning to crawl, learning to walk, teething), or it may be that he is adjusting to a change in routine (you have moved house, your child has changed schools). Whatever it is that is making your child unreceptive, put Little Reader aside for now, and give it another try in a month or two. Keep doing this until your child does show an interest. We have yet to meet a child who didn’t end up loving Little Reader!

Can I use Little Reader to teach my child Phonics?

Little Reader enables parents to teach listening, the pronunciation of words, and recognition of individual letters and their sounds while increasing a child’s vocabulary. The program allows you to create and organize your own categories and words, enabling you to teach your child phonetic sounds. You can approach this in several ways, one of which is to create phonic categories for a particular letter. For example, you can create a category entitled "Sound of B" and add words with the /b/sound, such as "boy," "tub," and "butterfly." This will encourage your child to start recognizing the rules of phonics at the same she is learning new words.

You can enhance your child’s phonic lessons by changing the playback settings to focus on certain sounds and letter associations. Changing the playback mode to Word Only (Flash) will draw your child’s attention to the words and how they are pronounced, without the distraction of images. You can disable the pronunciations and choose to read the words yourself, to emphasize phonetics even further.

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to teaching reading - the whole-language school (which emphasizes the recognition of whole words), and the phonics school (which emphasizes the development of the skills needed to decode words). To learn more about the methods or reading instruction involved, check out our “Whole Language Vs Phonics” article.

Whole language is often pitted against phonics - but that needn’t be the case. You and your child can enjoy what each have to offer. Since your child will naturally learn her first words by sight, you can take advantage of the time when her memory is at its most powerful to teach her a large numbers of sight words. At age two or even younger, you can introduce your child to phonics.

In time, Little Reader will incorporate features designed to teach babies phonics and syllabication. These functions will isolate each part of the word, in turn drawing the child’s attention to the individual letter sounds and syllables of a word. These features will help to develop your child’s phonological awareness as well as grow her reading skills.

What is the best way to show the Little Reader playback presentations?

Seat your child on your lap or next to you. If you are using the computer, make sure the screen is adjusted to the right angle and distance for your child to view it properly.

You can also convert the flash card presentations to video files and burn them onto CDs or DVDs for playback on the television. Alternatively, you can print the flash cards, if you prefer.

How to present the flash cards:

	The flash cards in each presentation should all be on the same category or subject.
	Pictures/words/numbers should be large, clear, and precise.
	Presentations should be brief.
	Flash cards should be shown quickly, about one card per second.
	To ensure continuing interest, aim to stop before the child's interest starts to dwindle.

What’s the difference between a Playlist and a Category?

A playlist is a powerful and flexible tool which gives you many more options when you want to play back a set of words. Here are the key differences:

1. FLEXIBLE CONTENT

	You can create multiple playlists for the same set of words, each playlist with its own saved playback settings. So, like you see in your favorites, we created an Animals playlist which shows word + picture, with a pointer, and then another Animals playlist which is in flashcard mode, with just words, and no pointer.
	You could also cherry pick words from different categories, like what we did with the "B Words" Playlist, which takes words starting with B from different categories.
	Playlists can be made up of the same word file more than once, and can even be made up of an entire category or playlist, or even multiple categories and playlists combined. So, for example, you could create a Creatures Playlist, which comprises the Domestic Animals, Wild Animals, and Sea Creatures Categories. You can even go on and create a Master Playlist which combines this Creatures Playlist with other Playlists or Categories, and individual words.

2. SAVE PLAYBACK SETTINGS

	You can save playback settings (e.g., word display mode, font, colors, pointer, etc) to each individual Playlist so that you don't have to keep changing it each time if you like to have different playback settings for different sets of words.
	On the other hand, if you playback from a Category, the playback settings that you previously used for your previous Category playback will be what is shown on the playback panel, and you would have to change it again if it does not suit your requirements.

How can I use my own media for the flash cards?

Little Reader is designed to be as powerful and as flexible as you want it to be. It allows you to customize all the flash cards and word sets, enabling you to change, add and delete all the media material as much as you want.

You can tailor-fit your child’s learning and integrate persons, things, and places around your child with the program. Simply go to WORD LIBRARY, and locate the category and word you would like to personalize or add to. Click EDIT, and you will be taken to an interface where you can add images, voice recordings, sound effects and videos of your choosing.

It's that simple!

How can I download new word sets?

Little Reader enables you to download word, category, and play list sets to add to your child’s learning program. Simply sign up for an account for the BrillKids Forums, log in, and go directly to the File Downloads section!

How do I import Categories and Playlists that I’ve downloaded?

Importing the categories and playlists that you have downloaded for Little Reader is literally as easy as a click of a mouse!

Simply just locate the files you have already downloaded in your computer. Double click on them with your mouse, and you will notice that this automatically opens your Little Reader program, as well as an import dialogue to assist you. Confirm whether you want to import the files to Little Reader and sit back while the program grabs all the information about the category and playlist and puts them in your word library!

How do I create a new Category or Playlist?

ADD a Category

	From the Word Library Menu, choose to display CATEGORY.
	Click on NEW, type the name of your new category ("Kitchen"), then press the ENTER on your keyboard.

ADD a word to a Category

	From the Word Library Menu, highlight the category you want to add a word to. On the File column click on NEW.
	This will open the New Word Menu.

First, type in a filename - they must begin with a letter and can contain numbers. You can't include spaces - but you can use the underscore character to separate words. (ex. kitchen_stove)

Next, write down the word as you want it to appear on the playback on the word blank space.

To add pronunciation - In the pronunciation section, click on +NEW. Locate the recording file on your computer. Press open.

To add picture - To add the picture for brother, Click on NEW. Look for your chosen image in your computer, and select OK to add it in.

The same procedures go for adding videos and sound FX. When you’re all done editing your word, remember to click on SAVE.

How do I record my voice pronunciations for Little Reader?

Here's what you need to do to record your own voice for Little Reader:

	You need a working microphone for your computer. If you have a headset with a microphone, this will do just fine.
	You need to open Sound Recorder in your PC. All Windows-based computers come with a Sound Recorder program. • Click on START on your taskbar. • Click on ALL PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES – ENTERTAINMENT • Lastly, click on Sound Recorder. • This will open a very simple sound recorder on your computer. Make sure your microphone is plugged in already.
	Click on the RECORD button to begin recording.

That's it! You can now record all the words, phrases and yes - even stories - that you want!

Actually, if you're going to be the one using Little Reader with your child all the time anyway, and you're happy with your own pronunciation, you may choose not to use any pre-recorded pronunciations and just read the words out by yourself. It's much more stimulating for the child to hear a 'live' voice, and it would encourage more parent-child interaction that way.

To turn off the pre-existing pronunciations, just make sure the "Pronunciation ON" box is unchecked.

What is the pointer in the Little Reader presentations used for?

Little Reader comes with an option to use a pointer – you can use them to direct your baby’s attention to certain places on the screen, a particular part of an image, or just to follow how the word is read during playback.

The pointer settings allow you complete flexibility when it comes to using your pointer – you can choose to have an extra click prior to playing the pronunciation file, change the size of the pointer, or to turn it off completely.

  

Little Reader is not supported by Mac computers at this time and requires a windows-based operating system to install. We do, however, offer free downloads of multimedia PowerPoint slideshows for Mac users, so they can enjoy the convenience of presenting their children with flash cards that include sound effects, audio files, and images.

How do I upload my Playlists and Categories to the File Downloads section?

So you've exported your playlist or category and you want to share it with the whole world! Here's how to do it:

A reminder - when you export the file - make sure you export to include all the media components (a toggle box on the left part of the Little Reader export screen) so you'll be sure to pack all of your multimedia in your exported category!

If you have not specified the path where your exported file should be, it will be in the default Import-Export folder in your computer. You can find it by following this map:

MY DOCUMENTS - BRILLKIDS - LITTLE READER - IMPORT-EXPORT

All of your exported Little Reader Playlists and Categories will be there by default.

Here’s how to upload them to the forums:

1. Go to the Forums.
2. Click on File Downloads.
3. Click on Little Reader Library Files. Choose what kind of file you would like to upload – a multimedia category, a word-only flash card set, or a playlist.
4. At the bottom of the list, click on ADD A DOWNLOAD.

Here's a few tips on "uploading" or adding a download:

	For the title, make sure you specify if it’s a playlist or a category. ex. Category - Body Parts
	For the description, please enumerate the words you included in your set. ex. .CAT file contains images, pronunciation files and sound effects, and video for the following words: - head - legs - arms - For keywords, you may type in all the keywords that you think will help other people who may be looking for the words you made get to your download file.

Click on BROWSE. Look for your exported category or playlist in your computer (refer to the map above) and click OK.

After that, click on ADD DOWNLOAD.

Your download will begin shortly after. Don't worry if it seems like the page isn't changing for a few seconds to a minute - it just means that the uploading is taking a while, so don't stop or refresh your browser. When the uploading is done, the page will automatically change itself and you will see a screen that shows you your upload history (all the files you've ever uploaded).

What is .NET framework?

The .NET framework is Microsoft's managed code programming model for building applications on Windows clients, servers, and mobile or embedded devices. Developers use .NET to build applications of many types: Web applications, server applications, smart client applications, console applications, database applications, and more.

The .NET framework version 2.0 improves scalability and performance of applications with improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services.

Why do I need to download .NET framework before installing Little Reader?

If your computer is already running on Microsoft Windows Vista, you won't need to download and install the update - you will only need to do this if your computer is running on Microsoft XP or another lower operating system.

BrillKids Little Learner Series requires an installation of .NET 2.0 Framework or higher to be able to operate on Windows. Installing this Microsoft upgrade will enable you to proceed with the software installation, and continue using BrillKids Little Learner Series programs.

.NET 2.0 Framework is a one-time-only installation requirement for all of BrillKids’ early learning software. Once you have it installed, you won't need to install it again.

Can the software be used for other languages besides English?

Yes! All of our Little Learner software can support languages that use the standard Roman alphabet. Other alphabets and character-based languages are also supported, as long as the user has installed the language packs on their computer!

What are the minimum system requirements needed to run the software?

We recommend the following minimum system requirements to ensure optimum performance for the Little Learner Software:

	Operating System: Windows XP, Vista
	PIII CPU or above
	At least 256MB RAM
	120MB free HD space
	Internet connection

How do I Get a License Key?

You may get a license key by purchasing one from our BrillKids Software Store. You may get to the store by going through our Little Reader product pages and clicking on the BUY NOW buttons.

After purchasing your license key, you will be shown an online invoice of your transaction, with instructions on how to install your license key.

Your license key may be retrieved at any time by signing in to your forum account and visiting your Account Management Page.

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How do I install my license key?

To install your License Key, first download the License Key file by going to your Account Management Page.

Once you have downloaded the license key, you can import it into Little Reader HOME BASIC in two ways:

1. Auto-Install License Key
   
   Locate the file on your computer, double-click on it and begin importing, or
   
   
2. Manually Install License Key
   
   In Little Reader HOME BASIC, go to the HELP menu, select Enter License Key, and click “Import License from File…” as shown below. Locate the file on your computer, and then click OK to begin importing.
   

Note: Little Reader HOME BASIC must be connected to the Internet in order to activate your License Key.

After you have imported the License Key, the activation process will begin. Do not disconnect from the Internet or change any system settings while Little Reader HOME BASIC is activating. You will see a processing bar while the activation connects to the BrillKids server. If the activation process is successful, your home screen will now have a gold panel like the one displayed below:

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I have purchased a license for my software. Will I be able to use this license for other computers?

Purchasing a license for your software enables you to register the installed program in one of your PC units. Should you choose to uninstall the program and install it on another unit, you will be able to do so.

Your licensed copy of BrillKids Little Learner software may either be installed on up to two computers.

You may access this copy through a network, provided that you have obtained an individual BrillKids Little Reader license for each workstation that will access BrillKids Little Reader through the network. For instance, if 10 different workstations will access BrillKids Little Reader on the network, each workstation must have its own BrillKids Little Reader license, regardless of whether they use BrillKids Little Reader at different times or concurrently.

How Do I Report An Error Or Bug In Little Reader?

If you encounter an error with your Little Reader HOME BASIC, there are two ways you may report the error:

1. Application Crash

If Little Reader HOME BASIC has encountered an unrecoverable crash, you may see an error message pop up as displayed below:

We encourage you to send us the error report, to help us know more about your problem. To report the error, simply click on the “Send Error Report” button. This will open another dialogue box, which will ask you for more details:

After adding your additional information about the error, remember to put in your email address or your forum username so that a representative of the BrillKids Team can get back to you as soon as possible.

2. Report Bug

If you are experiencing less critical software problems or minor bugs, you may wish to use the Report Bug feature to notify us. The Report Bug feature can be found under the Help menu.

The Report Bug feature involves 3 simple steps, outlined in the window that pops up. First, choose whether or not you wish to take a screenshot of your Little Reader HOME BASIC, and then click “Create System Report”.

Note: BrillKids highly recommends taking a screenshot, as it can help us isolate the problem.

A Windows Explorer window will come up containing the System Report File, as shown below.

Leave the window open and proceed back to Little Reader HOME BASIC. Click on Report Bug and you will be taken to the Report Bug form. Follow the instructions therein and attach the System Report file, then click Post.

Note: You must be logged in using your BrillKids forum account to use this feature.

I want to get a refund for purchasing Little Reader. How do I deactivate my copy of the program?

To deactivate your Little Reader HOME BASIC, follow the instructions below:

Warning: Deactivating your Little Reader HOME BASIC will terminate your License Key permanently!

1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet. If you are not connected, you cannot deactivate your software.
2. In Little Reader HOME BASIC, go to the SETTINGS menu, and switch on the “Show deactivation” option.
3. Go to the HELP menu and select “Deactivate License”. A prompt will come up to make sure you wish to continue.
4. Click through the prompts to deactivate your Little Reader HOME BASIC.

Do not disconnect from the Internet or change any system settings while Little Reader HOME BASIC is deactivating. Once Little Reader is deactivated, all functions will be disabled, but you may purchase a Little Reader HOME BASIC License Key and re-activate at a later date.