If you are using Windows XP or Vista, you can use the IME Pad (hand-writing recognition tool) as follows. (This assumes that you have already enabled the Japanese language input method from Regional and Language Options of the Control Panel or equivalent options on your computer. See Online Language Support Center (http://japanese.gatech.edu/online/step1-localize.htm) for more information.)

When practicing writing your hiragana characters (or katakana or kanji later), you can use this tool. If you cannot get the target character as the number one choice (at the top left corner of the possible list of characters), there is something wrong with your handwriting. (Caution: Even if your handwriting is recognized by your computer, it may not be good enough for this course because our standard is higher than what IME Pad recognizes.)