VTech KNOWLEDGE KEY PC User Manual

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User’s Manual

Knowledge Key

Printed in China

91-01453-006-000

Dear Parent:

At VTech® we know that a child has the ability to do

great things. That’s why all of our electronic learning

products are uniquely designed to develop a child’s mind

and allow them to learn to the best of their ability.

Whether it’s learning about letters, numbers, geography

or algebra, all VTech® learning products incorporate

advanced technologies and extensive curriculum to

encourage children of all ages to reach their potential.

When it comes to providing interactive products that

enlighten, entertain and develop minds, at VTech® we

see the potential in every child.

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1

POWER SOURCE ........................................................................................1

BATTERY INSTALLATION ......................................................................... 2

CURSOR CONTROL .............................................................................. 2-3

CONTRAST SWITCH .................................................................................. 3

VOLUME SWITCH .......................................................................................3

AUTOMATIC SHUT-OFF ...........................................................................3

KEYBOARD DESCRIPTION AND FUNCTIONS ........................... 4-6

TO BEGIN PLAY .......................................................................................... 7

ACTIVITY DIRECTIONS ......................................................................8-11

SCORING ..................................................................................................... 12

HOW TO PLAY WITH THE MATCHBOOKS ........................................ 12

CARE AND MAINTENANCE .................................................................. 13

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing the VTech® Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy! We at VTech® are committed to providing the highest quality products to entertain and educate your child. Should you have any questions or concerns, please call our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-521-2010 in the U.S., 1-800-267-7377 in Canada.

Knowledge Key™ PC features a large, clear LCD screen that displays hundreds of friendly animated pictures and vivid sound that actively encourages children. With 24 different activities to choose from, children can spend countless enjoyable hours learning.

Contrast switch

LCD screen

Speaker

Keyboard

Volume switch

Cursor control

POWER SOURCE

Knowledge Key™ PC operates on 4 “AA” size batteries (UM-3/LR6).

OFF Key

ON Key

BATTERY INSTALLATION

1. Make sure the unit is turned OFF.

2. Locate the battery cover on the back of the unit and open it.

3. Insert 4 “AA” batteries (UM-3/LR6) as illustrated. (The use of new, alkaline batteries is recommended

for maximum performance.)

4. Replace the battery cover.

BATTERY NOTICE

• Install batteries correctly observing the correct polarity (+, –) signs to avoid leakage.

• Do not use rechargeable batteries.

• Do not mix old and new batteries.

• Do not use batteries of different types.

• Remove the batteries from the unit when it will not be used for an extended period of time.

• Do not dispose of batteries in fire.

• Do not short-circuit the supply terminals.

• Do not attempt to recharge ordinary batteries.

NOTE: If for some reason the unit stops working, please follow these steps:

1. Please turn the unit OFF.

2. Interrupt the power supply by removing the batteries.

3. Press and hold the ON button for 3 minutes.

4. Replace the batteries.

5. Turn the unit ON. The unit will now be ready to play again.

If the problem persists, please call our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-5212010 in the U.S., 1-800-267-7377 in Canada.

CURSOR CONTROL

The cursor control is designed especially for the Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy. To remove the cursor control from the keyboard, lift the front end. To attach it to the keyboard, click the mouse securely back into the storage area.

CURSOR CONTROL OVERVIEW

Cursor Buttons: Use the arrow keys on the cursor control to move the cursor left, right, up or down. The cursor buttons are also used as color-coded answer keys in the Matchbook activity (sold separately).

Enter Buttons: Press any of the three buttons on the top to confirm your answer. This is the same as pressing the

ENTER key. Shaking Sensor: Shake the cursor control and see silly

animations on the screen! You can trigger the sensor inside the cursor control by holding it firmly and shaking it.

CONTRAST SWITCH

Adjust the image on the screen by sliding the Contrast Switch upward for higher contrast and downward for lower contrast.

VOLUME SWITCH

Adjust the volume by sliding the Volume Switch upward to raise the volume and downward to lower the volume.

AUTOMATIC SHUT-OFF

If there is no input into the VTech® Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy for about 5 minutes, it will automatically shut itself off to save power. If no button is pressed after turning the unit ON, it will automatically shut off in about 30 seconds. To turn the unit back ON after an automatic shut off, press the ON button. If the VTech Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy is not going to be used for a long period of time, we recommend that you remove the batteries.

KEYBOARD DESCRIPTION AND FUNCTIONS

The Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy has a full alphanumeric keyboard.

ON BUTTON

OFF BUTTON

Press the ON button to turn the unit on and start the 24 fun activities in Knowledge Key™ PC.

OFF

LANGUAGE ARTS BUTTON

MATHEMATICS BUTTON

LOGIC & GAMES BUTTON

MUSIC BUTTON

When you’ve had enough learning for one sitting, press the OFF button.

There are 7 language activities built in Knowledge Key™ PC. To get them started, press the LANGUAGE ARTS button when the unit is ON.

7 math activities teach you to count, add, subtract and solve problems. To

get them started, press the MATHEMATICS button when the unit is ON.

Have fun while training your mind to think logically! Press the LOGIC & GAMES button when the unit is ON and let the games begin.

Here you can create your own tunes as well as listen to your favorite melodies! Press the MUSIC button when the unit is ON.

MATCHBOOK BUTTON

Press the MATCHBOOK button when you want to play with the SMART START® Matchbooks (sold separately). Please read more about the Matchbooks in the section of this manual entitled HOW TO PLAY WITH THE MATCHBOOKS.

LETTER KEYS

Use the Letter keys when inputting answers for word-related activities. The QWERTY layout will familiarize your child with standard computer keyboards.

NUMBER KEYS

Use the Number keys when inputting the answers in number-related activities. The number keys may also be used to select a level when the Level key is pressed or to select a song when Music Box is activated.

MUSIC KEYS

J j

PLAY

PAUSE

RESET

Use the Music keys to create a song in Melody Maker. Three additional function keys are: PLAY (allows you to listen to the song you have created), PAUSE (inserts a pause or rest into the music), and RESET (clears the song that you have created so you can start a new one).

FUNCTION KEYS

DEMO

Press the DEMO key while in the main menu to see a short demonstration of all the activities in every category before returning to the category selection screen. Press the DEMO key during activity selection to see a demonstration of all the activities within the selected category before returning to the activity selection screen. If the DEMO key is pressed when a player is in an activity, it will only demonstrate that particular activity. Once the demonstration is done, it will return to that activity.

DELETE

ENTER

HELP

REPEAT

ANSWER

LEVEL

Press the DELETE key to erase letters or numbers before you press the ENTER key.

Press the ENTER key to confirm your answer after you have typed or selected the answer to a question.

The HELP key is available within certain activities. Press this key to see a hint that will aid you in answering a question.

Press the REPEAT key to repeat the instructions or the question.

Press the ANSWER key, when you are stuck, to learn the correct answer to any question.

Press the LEVEL key to change the difficulty level within an activity. There are three levels of play within some of the activities. The level 1 is the easiest and the level 3 is the most challenging. Levels can be changed at any time during an activity.

Press the MENU key to go back to the main menu screen where you can choose to enter a new category.

ESC

Press the ESC key to quit the present game and go back to the activity selection screen and choose a new activity. Press ESC again will bring you back to the main menu screen.

TO BEGIN PLAY

• Turn on your Knowledge Key™ PC learning toy by pressing the ON key.

• Press the Language Arts, Mathematics, Logic & Games or Music button to select the category you wish to play. Or you can use the cursor buttons to select the category on the screen and press the ENTER key to confirm. Once in your chosen category, you can select an activity within the category and press the ENTER key to get ready to play.

• Set the level of play by pressing the LEVEL key. The default is Level 1.

LEVEL HELP SCORING

LANGUAGE ARTS Learning Letters

Alphabet Order Letter Pairs Odd One Out Letter Hunt Word Search Type in Time

MATHEMATICS Counting

Addition Subtraction Math Quiz More or Less Fish the Number Learn the Shape

LOGIC & GAMES Picture Parts

Carrot Jump Build-a-Burger Direction Match Black & White Pair Up Front & Back

MUSIC Music Box

Melody Maker Music Video

ACTIVITY DIRECTIONS

LANGUAGE ARTS

1. LEARNING LETTERS

Designed to introduce the alphabet, Learning Letters is easy and fun. Type press any letter key and you’ll learn the letter’s name and see it appear in both upper and lower case. You’ll even see a fun animation of a word starting with that letter.

2. ALPHABET ORDER

Do you already know the alphabet? This activity helps you master how one letter follows the other. Four letters will appear on the screen but one of them is missing. Press the letter key to input the missing letter. If you need some help, press the HELP key and a bubble help will pop up with three multiple choices to choose from.

3. LETTER PAIRS

Each letter has two forms - upper and lower case. Your mission in this activity is to help match up the upper and lower case letter pairs. A letter will appear in either upper or lower case and then disappear. Three possible matches will appear on the screen. From the three answer choices given, select the letter that completes the pair.

4. ODD ONE OUT

This activity will help sharpen your skills in detecting upper and lower case letters. A few letters will appear on the screen. Either they will be all lowercase with one upper case letter or they will all be uppercase with one lower case. Use the left and right cursor buttons ( key to confirm your answer.

, ) to choose the odd one out and press the ENTER

5. LETTER HUNT

Test your spelling skills! A picture will appear on the screen followed by it’s spelling. However, a letter will be missing from the word. You can hunt for the correct answer by typing the missing letter. Three choices will be given to you if press the HELP key.

6. WORD SEARCH

First you will see an animation of a word. A word search grid will appear with the word hidden somewhere among the letters. Find the word vertically or horizontally by using the cursor buttons to highlight it and press the ENTER key to confirm.

7. TYPE IN TIME

This activity will help you learn the letters and learn to type faster! Letters will appear on the screen by the dog house and you must find and type that letter on the keyboard. Level 1 only has keys

from the middle row of keys: “ASDFGHJKL”. Level 2 includes the middle row plus the top row - “QWERTYUIOP”. Level 3 has all the letter of the alphabet including the bottom row “ZXCVBNM”. The timer is shown in the plant on the left - which grows automatically. The plant on the right shows your progress. Type faster to make your plant reach the top first!

MATHEMATICS

8. COUNTING

Learn and practice counting! Several objects will appear on the

screen. Count the number of the objects carefully, and type your

answer using the number keys. Press the ENTER key to confirm.

9. ADDITION

Addition is the basic skill in mathematics. In this activity, you will learn

how to add. An addition problem will appear on the screen. In level

1 it will appear in objects and in level 2 and 3 it will appear in numbers.

Y ou must find the sum of the problem and type your answer by pressing

the number keys. Press the ENTER key to confirm.

10. SUBTRACTION

Just like addition, subtraction is another important skill when a child

begins to learn mathematics. In this game, you will learn how to

subtract. A subtraction problem will appear on the screen. In level

1 it will appear in objects. In Level 2 and 3 it will appear in numbers. You must find the difference of the problem by typing the correct answer and then pressing the ENTER key to confirm.

11. MATH QUIZ

This is a comprehensive activity that tests both addition and

subtraction. An addition or subtraction problem will appear on

screen. Three multiple choices will appear. Select the correct one

using the cursor buttons, and press the ENTER key to confirm.

12. MORE OR LESS

This activity is to develop the sense of more or less. Two different

sets of footprints will be marked on each side of the screen. You

will see “Which one has more?”, or “Which one has less?” appear

on the screen. Use the cursor buttons to highlight the correct side,

and press the ENTER key to confirm.

13. FISH THE NUMBER

Have you ever been fishing? Here’s your chance! First you will

see a question “Which is the largest?” or “Which is the smallest?”.

Three fish with numbers on them will appear on screen. Select the

correct answer and move the fishing hook to the correct fish by using

the cursor buttons, and press the ENTER key to confirm.

14. LEARN THE SHAPE

In this activity, you can match grocery items with their shape. First,

an object will appear above the shopping cart. Then, three

geometric shapes will scroll onto the screen. Choose the shape

that matches the object by using the cursor buttons and press the

ENTER key to confirm.

LOGIC & GAMES

15. PICTURE PARTS

Do you think you can help to find the missing piece? Half of an

object will appear on the screen with three choices for the missing

half. Select the one that will complete the picture by using the

cursor buttons. Press the ENTER key to confirm your selection.

16. CARROT JUMP

Help the bunny catch the carrots! In the lower left corner you will

see the number of carrots that you need to catch. All you have

to do is to collect the carrots by pressing the ENTER key or the

up cursor button (

wrong food!

) when a carrot appears. Try not to catch the

17. BUILD-A-BURGER

Here you can build your own burger or sandwich! Choose your

favorite ingredients shown on the right side by using the cursor

buttons and press the ENTER key to confirm.

18. DIRECTION MATCH

See how well you can distinguish directions! Two objects are

displayed on the screen. Turn the one on the right by pressing

the cursor buttons until it matches the one on the left. Press the

ENTER key to confirm your answer.

19. BLACK & WHITE

This visual game challenges you to match a positive image (black lines

on white background) with a negative image (white lines on a black

background). The positive image is shown on the left. Find it’s matching

negative image from the three multiple choices given on the right side

by using the cursor buttons. Press the ENTER key to confirm.

20. PAIR UP

It’s your turn to do the laundry and match up the socks! One sock

is shown, and you must find the other one that matches it. You

can press up and down cursor buttons (

sock and press the ENTER key to confirm your choice.

21. FRONT & BACK

This is a game of perspective where you must recognize an animal

or object from behind. First, the front view of an object/animal is

shown. Find the matching back view from the three choices given.

You can press up and down cursor buttons ( ) to select and

press the ENTER key to confirm your choice.

MUSIC

22. MUSIC BOX

There are 10 songs in the music box. You can select your favorite

song by pressing the number keys or the cursor buttons on the

keyboard. Then you can listen or sing along with the tune!

) to select the matching

23. MELODY MAKER

Become a true musician! You can use the note keys to compose

a song of your own. Press PAUSE to add a pause or rest into

the music. Then, press PLAY to listen to the song that you have

created. Pressing PAUSE during the PLAY mode will stop the song. Press PAUSE again if you want to resume the song where you left off. If you’re ready to create your next masterpiece, press the RESET key to clear the current song and start again from scratch.

24. MUSIC VIDEO

Create your own musical artwork! By using your cursor buttons,

you can click on the arrows on the right side to find an image

you like. (Each image has a different melody) Click on the picture

to use it. You can place it where you want on the page by using

the cursor buttons and pressing ENTER. When you click on the

selected picture, you will hear your artwork come to life!

SCORING

Correct answer on the 1st try : 20 points Correct answer on the 2nd try : 10 points Correct answer on the 3rd try : 5 points No chance left or press the ANSWER key : 0 points Maximum score per round : 100 points

(There are 5 questions per round.)

HOW TO PLAY WITH THE MATCHBOOKS

In addition to the 24 activities in the Knowledge Key™ PC learning aid, you can also use the Smart Start® Matchbooks™ to expand your learning fun (sold separately).

Each Matchbook contains a set of multiple-choice questions that cover material appropriate for children aged 5 and more. There are 150 questions that are divided into five sections of 30 questions each. Each section becomes progressively more difficult. Section 6 is a review section with questions taken at random from the first five sections.

TO PLAY:

1. Press the ON button.

2. Press the MATCHBOOK button on the membrane keyboard.

3. Input the code number of the matchbook and then press the ENTER key.

4. Open the matchbook to the section you have entered.

5. A question number will appear on the screen. Refer to the matchbook to read

the question and the possible answers. Each question has 4 multiple choice answers, which are represented by red, yellow, blue and green.

6. Answer by pressing red, yellow, blue, or green cursor buttons that corresponds

to the correct answer.

7. At the end of each section, your score will be displayed.

8. To continue playing, enter the numbers for the next section.

SCORING SYSTEM IN THE MATCHBOOK ACTIVITY

Scoring appears after 30 consecutive questions. The scoring is as follows: Correct answer on the 1st try : 3 points Correct answer on the 2nd try : 2 points Correct answer on the 3rd try : 1 points Incorrect answer or press the ANSWER key: 0 points Bonus points if all answers are correct : 10 points Maximum score per section : 100 points

NOTE: The HELP key is disabled in this activity.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE

1. Keep your learning computer clean by wiping it with a slightly damp cloth.

2. Keep your learning computer out of direct sunlight and away from direct sources

of heat.

3. Remove the batteries when your learning computer will not be in use for an

extended period of time.

4. Do not drop your learning toy on hard surfaces or try to dismantle it.

5. Do not immerse your learning toy in water or get it wet.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Creating and developing electronic learning computers is accompanied by a responsibility that we at VTech ensure the accuracy of the information that forms the value of our products. However, errors sometimes can occur. It is important for you to know that we stand behind our products and encourage you to call our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-521-2010 in the U.S. or 1-800-267-7377 in Canada. With any problems and/or suggestions that you might have. A service representative will be happy to help you.

FCC NOTICE:

This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, it may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply within the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception (which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on) the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• reorient the receiving antenna

• relocate this product with respect to the receiver

• move this product away from the receiver

take very seriously. We make every effort to