--- Forwarded Message from [log in to unmask] (Gordon Hartig) --- >Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 12:42:41 -0500 >Subject: Re: Character Codes >To: [log in to unmask] >From: [log in to unmask] (Gordon Hartig) I have prepared a handout listing alphabetically the 2-, 3- and 4-digit alternate character set codes for foreign language characters and other symbols that seem useful (e.g., ALT 168 being the upside-down question mark used in Spanish). This has been more reliable than trying to have students access the character map. The codes work on every computer we have, even if the character map is no where to be found. And using the character map takes more time. Why would using the codes result in weaker spelling skills? I have used the codes for years with correspondence German students who want to type the work they submit, and these students have been no more likely to make spelling errors on handwritten exams than students who did all their work by hand. The same codes work in most standard fonts, as well as in most e-mail systems and in many other applications. So it seems convenient as well as reliable. > > >Question. I realize that making students use code for extended ascii >caracters (three-digits) will yield consistant results, but I have found >that students who do this do not learn the spelling of accented words as >well as those who use other means of rendering accents with their >computers. Gordon Hartig Language Lab Coordinator Middlesex Community College 33 Kearney Square Lowell MA 01852 (978) 656-3358