This is the first year that I've presented an e-safety message to the Kindergarten classes. I searched around and ended up finding this delightful, short video from Child Focus, Belgium. The only message I wanted the students to remember is that if they see something weird, then ask for help. The video was made in 2012, and presents a clear message. It would have been even more powerful if the genders were reversed, ie. a mother helping out her son! See what you think:
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Fungooms is a free online games webdite for Preschoolers, Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten age children. It is great for mouse practice and features some fun activities with an oversize cursor to accommodate young children's skills. It is similar to Poisson Rouge. Highly recommended! The Kindergarten classes have used Purplemash and the Autumn painting activity to create their own Fall trees. This is useful to practice their mouse and manipulative skills, also spatial awareness between screen and mouse. In the run up to Easter we looked at egg decorating and pattern design. The Kindergarten classes used Purplemash to create a patterned Easter egg. There was a handy mask option which ensured that the paint stayed inside the lines. The Grade 1 classes used 2Paint a Picture to create their Easter egg designs - no mask feature for them, hence a progression in skills from Kindergarten! (Top row is Kindergarten, bottom row is Grade 1.)
We used Isle of Tune last year in Kindergarten as it can be a great reinforcement for mouse skills, especially click and drag. It is a musical sequencer where students can design their own layout and corresponding musical loops. It can be quite a mesmerizing experience! What I discovered yesterday was the 'full screen' button - most useful to eliminate inadvertent mouse clicks exiting the program, etc.!
The second time the Kindergarten classes were in the IT Centre was a joy! We set up Purplemash and used the winter art activity. Essentially this is using textured paint to create a winter scene. As anticipated there was quite a wide ability range; however all students were able to achieve a final product which was printed out using the colour laser printer. Here are some samples: We wait until January before our Kindergarten classes start to use the computer room. This enables them to settle into school. Up until now the use of technology is voluntary; now they are all exposed to using the computer and mouse. As I want them to practise using the mouse the first activity is creating some art in 2Paint a Picture, This lends itself well to experimentation and rewards all the students with some screen output. All three classes did very well!
We were interested to see how the Kindergarten students would respond to the invitation to create a piece of art using 2Paint a Picture. Eleven students were able to complete the task, with only a couple experiencing some frustrations using the mouse. Interesting to note how several were determined to 'paint' their name on their work. |
AuthorAfter many years in the Archives
March 2018
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