Crystal Dalessio
Educational
Technology Evaluation Page
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Title |
Kid Pix® Deluxe 4 for Schools |
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Publisher or URL |
Riverdeep |
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Target age and content
area |
K-8; Creativity skills, art, organization, presentation of
ideas, word processing skills, presentation program skills |
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Hardware or software
requirements |
Windows® Requires: Macintosh® Requires: |
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Type of teaching
strategy used |
Problem solving and instructional game. Learners are given an instructional
assignment and must utilize the art tools (color, sound, images, animation,
etc.) to create a product which answers or solves the situation
proposed. Teachers can also use this
software as part of a fun, hands-on game, which tests student’s knowledge of
previously taught concepts. |
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What learning theory does
this product best reflect? |
This product reflects The product also models Bloom’s taxonomy. According to Bloom, cognitive developments should be separated into a hierarchy of six levels. The levels are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Since this theory is organized from the simplest to the most complex behavior, students may start off completing minimal tasks on the program. Once they have mastered fundamental concepts, the teacher may increase the level of difficulty on the requested assignment. Although much of the program is art-based, student creativity has the potential to increase clear, logical, and even abstract thinking patterns. |
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Is it appropriate for
the age specified? |
Yes. The program was
designed for elementary classroom use and includes thirty cross-curricular
lesson plans for teachers. |
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Can they use it easily? |
Yes. This updated version
has a 17% larger workspace than the previous edition. It also includes a visible menu bar, tool
tips, an enhanced text and print menu, and help movies. These features help to minimize time spent
teaching the program. |
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Can they understand the material? |
Yes. The “rollover” tool
description helps early readers distinguish the difference between each tool
icon. “Getting Started” movies also
introduce students to the program and the idea of a slideshow. |
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Is it engaging? Will they want to use it? |
Yes. Kid Pix® provides an easy way to integrate content,
technology and fun into the classroom.
Each activity page is visually appealing and students will have fun
while they create artistic pictures, storybooks, slideshows, comic books, and
movies. |
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Is it appropriate for
all learners? |
Yes. The program offers
teachers an opportunity to present the material to bilingual students. With its Spanish text-to-speech function,
teachers can create additional instructions for projects. This option provides support for ESL and
bilingual learners. |
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Can it be used by learners with special needs? |
Yes. Kid Pix® gives teachers the opportunity to
control which graphic libraries are active for student-based projects. This control option is ideal for special
needs students, theme-based teaching, and individual projects. |
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Is it culturally, socially or gender-biased against any learner? |
No. With the use of
various colors, shapes, situations, and activities, the program is not
biased. However, the language option
is only available in Spanish. Later
editions should include other language options as well. |
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Is the context/goal based on violence or combat-type activities? |
No. Unlike a video game, Kid Pix® gives students the ability to use their
imagination and creativity skills to create enhanced art projects. It does not focus on violence or combat of
any kind. |
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Does it have enough
user flexibility? |
Yes. School versions of
this edition come with a take-home program CD which includes instructions for
training and lesson planning. An
additional teacher resource binder also includes curriculum ideas, sample
lesson plans, a graphical index, tips and help tutorials. |
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Is the learner or teacher able to control the rate and
progression through the material? |
Yes. The program allows
teachers to control all graphic libraries and add instructions to activities
when necessary. This option speeds up
project completion and makes it possible to cater to each student’s
individual needs. Teachers may also
monitor student progress at various points of the lesson. |
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Can the learner or teacher customize any of the settings |
Yes. This edition
includes a new teacher menu, which increases teacher functionality during
projects and lesson plans. The
software allows teachers to publish project templates in the “Idea
Machine.” Teachers can turn off the
sound and instruct students as a class instead of using the software
narration. Teachers can also chose
from a variety of project starters which are arranged according to subject
area. |
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How instructionally
effective is it? |
Kid Pix® provides instructions and easy access help tutorials
for students. Teachers may also add
their own instructions, reminders, and encouragement notes for individual
students. They may also turn off the
sound and instruct the class as a whole. |
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Will it teach what it is supposed to teach? |
Yes. Since teachers have
control over activity designs and project starters, they can integrate Kid Pix® within a lesson plan for almost any subject. |
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Is the information accurate and up-to-date? |
Yes. Although the
software does not provide factual information like a text book, it allows
students to exercise critical thinking and creativity skills, which will
enhance their own understanding of other academic subjects. The program has been modified four times
and this edition includes the latest information and graphic capabilities
available. |
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Is it free of errors? |
Yes. The program uses
accurate spelling and grammar. This
error-free program will help emergent readers hear and see text as they
complete activities. With practice,
this text-speech function will help students gain a better knowledge of
language basics. |
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Does it work well
technically? |
Yes. The software has increased its speed and functionality with
various menu and task options. It also
works well with updated versions of Windows or Macintosh systems. Teachers can also modify login lists, which
speeds student logins. |
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Do you think you would
use it? |
Yes. I would use the
software during Center time or for individual arts and crafts projects. |
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If yes, give an example of how. |
I would use Kid Pix® with a kindergarten
class as part of Center Time. During
this period, students would access an animal activity page and create a one
page story using animals of their choice.
This activity will introduce students to computer technology skills,
help them learn the different types of animals, and exercise their creativity
skills in creating an animal-based story.
The stories will include pictures and words. Students will then print their pictures and
talk about their stories in front of the class. The story presentation will also help
students develop social interaction skills with their peers. Kid Pix® can also be used in a first grade math class. After a short discussion on addition,
students will choose an object to use for the project. They will then make three pictures, which
outline a simple addition problem. For
example, if the problem was 2 + 3 = 5, students can show two apples on one
page, three on another, and five on the last page. Students will then paste these pictures to
poster board for display around the room.
This activity will make math fun and interactive. I would also use Kid Pix® with a second grade class as part of a
literature lesson. During this time,
students will read a short, fiction story and have a class discussion. After the discussion, students will pair up
and decide on an alternate story ending.
They will then create a picture of their new story ending and present
it to the class. The class will then
vote on the best ending and the winning pair will receive a prize. A third grade class will use the slideshow feature of Kid Pix®
to create their own class presentations.
After a social studies discussion on different Indian tribes, students
will pair up in groups of three and choose a tribe to research. Using their textbooks, students will create
five slides with information about their tribe. They will then turn these slides into a
show and present it to the class. This
activity will introduce students to word processing programs such as
Microsoft Word and professional programs such as Power Point. It will also exercise student’s reading and
organizational skills. During this
activity, students will have fun working cooperatively and learn more about
Indian tribes. |
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If no, what would you change to make it useable? |
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Product Awards and
Recognition |
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References |
Kid Pix® Deluxe 4 for Schools http://www.riverdeep.net/products/kid_pix/kpd4.jhtml http://www.riverdeep.net/products/kid_pix/downloads/77140_dm_kidpix_sellsheet.pdf Educational Theory
Handbook http://www.theshop.net/aboatman/edtheory.htm Multiple Intelligences
(H. Gardner) http://tip.psychology.org/gardner.html Designing
and Managing MCQs: Appendix C: MCQs
and Bloom's Taxonomy http://web.uct.ac.za/projects/cbe/mcqman/mcqappc.html
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