Home

Features

Learning the Alphabet

For introductory-level users, Aktub offers levels which guide the user through the location of each key individually while displaying the name of the letter or character corresponding to that key and playing its pronounciation in the background. The following themes are included for this type of level:

  • The Arabic Alphabet
  • The Hamzeh
  • Vowels and Diacritics
  • Arabic Numerals
  • Names of Arabic letters
  • Names of Arabic numbers

Learning the Keys

For users who are already comfortable with the alphabet and simply want to learn the keyboard, there are arcade-type levels which challenge the user to memorize the location of each key. In these levels, individual letters are "dropped" from the top of the screen. The corresponding key must be tapped by the user before the letter reaches the bottom of the screen.

Improving Typing Speed

Once users are fairly familiar with the location of each key, they are encouraged to try the 'typing levels,' where they will be prompted to type several words/letters in a row in order to proceed to the next step. These levels test typing speed and accuracy, and demand that the user is able to read Arabic script at a reasonable rate. The following writing samples are currently included in Aktub for this type of level:

  • Middle Row (The individual letters and words that can be typed using only this row)
  • Upper Row (same as above)
  • Lower Row (same as above)
  • A collection of Arabic proverbs
  • Poetry by Nizar Qabbani
    • Letter From Beneath the Water, with a full translation
    • The Fortune Teller, with a full translation

Vocabulary Practice

Aktub also has levels that are designed to promote expansion, comprehension, and retention of Arabic vocabulary. These can be introduced by theme or grammatical function, at the user's own discretion. Below are some of the themes into which Aktub's dictionary have been organized:

  • Colors
  • Countries
  • Educational Terms
  • Family
  • Food
  • Human Body
  • Media
  • Months - North Africa
  • Months - The Levant
  • Names
  • Politics
  • Time
  • Weather

 Games!

Aktub contains three arcade-style games to make learning how to type and studying vocabulary more entertaining. As users progress through these levels, the difficulty increases as words begin to fall down more quickly and in larger numbers. A description of these games is listed below.

  • Bridge Builder

    In each stage of this game, a theme of words is chosen at random. As users are successful in typing those words before they reach the bottom of the screen, portions of a bridge will be "constructed." The goal of the game is to complete construction of the bridge--once this is done, the user can progress to the next stage, where construction of the bridge takes a bit more effort.

  • Pyramids

    In this game, like the one above, a random theme is chosen. Users must type words, but this time they are constructing a pyramid in the desert. The functionality of this level is very similar to the Bridge Builder game.
  • Photo Trivia

    Photo Trivia is perhaps the most exciting and useful game in Aktub. In this level, as words are correctly and accurately typed, a photograph in the background is slowly revealed. At any time a user may guess the Arabic name of the object portrayed by the photograph; alternatively, a user may reveal the entire photograph and then identify it at the end of the level.

Stastitics Collection

Users of Aktub receive very useful feedback whenever they complete a level. While users are playing the games or progressing through the vocabulary levels, a statistics gathering mechanism is working in the background, gathering information about which letters or characters are most problematic for the user. Upon completion of a level, two statistics screens will appear: the first, containing information about the level just played; and the second, displaying cumulative statistical information that has been gathered over time.

High Scores System

To make things a bit more competitive, and to make it easier for users to track their progress, Aktub features a high-scores system which records how far a user is able to progress in each level. After finishing a level, users can see how they've placed against their past performance!

Multiple Keyboard Support

For inexplicable reasons, different computers utilize different Arabic keyboard layouts. Luckily, Aktub is compatible with at least one layout from every major operating system (Windows XP, Mac OS X, and Linux). We have chosen the layouts that are closest to the standard Arabic layout that is used throughout the Middle East. Please make sure that the keyboard layout you intend to use is listed below before purchasing Aktub!

  • Windows XP - Arabic 101 Keys Layout
  • Windows XP - Arabic 102 Keys Layout
  • Mac OS X - Default Arabic Layout
  • Mac OS X - Arabic Standard Layout (made to mimic the Windows XP and Linux layouts, available for download from Aktub.com--WE RECOMMEND YOU USE THIS OVER THE DEFAULT LAYOUT)
  • Linux - Basic Arabic Layout

Dynamic Database Updates

Every week, your installation of Aktub will automatically probe the servers to see if there are any updates to the dictionary database (for example, corrections or additions) and will download accordingly if there are. This feature comes at no extra cost to users, and can even be invoked manually by choosing "Download the latest available data" from the "Settings" menu.