What is the TITLE of the piece of software?      

Art for Kids

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  Where can I get it, and what resources ($) will I need to trade for it?
   
    Big Earth Publishing, PO Box 175, Drummoyne 2047,
Aust.  $12 US for floppy disk and$15 US for CD with a $3.50 US postal charge anywhere in the world. The floppy disk can also be purchased via e-mail (but this could be dodgy due to problems with virus transfers) on tonyb@magna.com.au. A demonstration can be found on http://www.magna.com.au/~tonyb/afk.htm

Is it worth it? (will the cost be worth x hours of my time over its foreseeable life?)

This program is a great way to build the skills of the students computer
skills, such as the keyboard, manipulation and the mouse skills, while being a great tool for cross curriculum learning, such as in visual arts and language.  The program is extremely easy to use, with easy to read, simple icons. It has been especially written for children in lower primary and caters for their skill levels. It has great sounds that occur when the icons are clicked that will amuse the children and keep the interested in the drawing file. The
children are able to produce quality art, even if their skill levels are low, with a serious of clip art functions that are able to be added to their own drawings. They themselves are able to draw with a range of pencil thickness, make squares and circles which can be filled in with a paint function. There are a range of 16 colours  that have a light and dark
form of all the main colours, such as blue, red, yellow, etc. The children
are able to easily erase their work if they make a mistake or do not like what they have drawn with an erase function that comes in a range of thicknesses. Text can also be added in easily with a function similar to clip art. The children select the letter from a series of icons and transfer them onto the page. All the pieces of are that are created on the program can be easily saved and loaded again with special icons  that are labeled clearly. In the same icons is a 'print' function that allows the children to easily print what they have produced.
This is a marvelous program for primary school students to develop their drawing skills on a computer. The program does not do all the drawing for the children,
like a clip art program, however is made so that it challenges the children with their computer skills, but still allows them to create quality art work.

Which Grade level(s) is it for?

  This program is able to be used  throughout the primary school grades.
However it is ideal for children in grades Kinder to 2. This is because of the simplicity of the program. The icons are large, bright coloured and extremely easy to understand. For this reason it may not have the capacity to challenge the higher grades of primary school.
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Which Area(s) of the National Curriculum does it relate to?
     
Obviously this is a suitable program for I.T. as it encourages and
develops the manipulation, keyboard and mouse skills of the children. It is also
suitable for Visual Arts. The children are able to produce quality artwork using a different medium. The program could also be useful for language, in that it can be use for creative writing skills (ie. they might draw a post card that involves some text, which when finished could be displayed around the classroom or to illustrate the cover of a book). In the same way the children are touching on spelling skills as they enter the text onto the postcard.

In what KITO mode(s) would you expect it to be used?
 
The program covers the the Modes 0-1, grades kinda to 2. It ideally
covers Publishing as the children are producing some form of work in a way that it can be printed and presented. Operation and Computer Components are also being cover , the children practicing their keyboard, mouse and manipulation skills, while learning about icons and how they are used. The program slightly drifts into Independent Learning, as it can be used in activities for Language, or as a learning center in a rotating classroom activity.




    What are the system requirements?
     
Needs Windows 3.1 or later, including Win95, 4Mb RAM, VGA card,
mouse and 4Mb free space on the hard disk. It is recommended that a 386DX33 or better and a 256 or better colour screen be used. A sound card is also a requirement, however it runs fine without it.
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  What does a typical target student think of it?

I tested this program out on Amanda's boy, Kieran who is four years old. He didn't have the language development or skills for computers, however his I.T skills were well developed. Even at four Kieran was able to easily understand the icons and the functions. He was able to use the draw functions effectively, and seemed to really like the 'clip art' function, the drawings that they made and the noises of when the icons were touched and performed. Over all I think he really enjoyed the program. He didn't need any prompting on how to do ant of the functions and was extremely enthralled in his drawing. 
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How did I get it going? (What was the installation process?)
         
The version that I used for this assignment was the demonstration copy from Tiggers New Software Downloads on Netscape. The link for the downloading process on Netscape is http://www.magna.com.au/`tonyb/afk.htm. Once here the user
will find a downloading address which will open the downloading details. It is now a simple process of waiting while the program downloads, and having to unzip the file in c: drive on an IBM  or on the .................. on a Macintosh. This will open up the setup.exe function which will begin the program. There is no need to open a new page once in the program as this occurs in the setup process. 
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Was there any documentation?

I e-mailed Tony, the writer of the program, to ask him about this. He replied to say that, Yes there was documentation in the form of a small booklet, however he believed that it wasn't needed as the program is very self explainitory. I agree with him, the demonstration of the program was extremely easy to work out and I too do not believe that the booklet is needed.
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    Could I use it easily?
   
This is an extremely user friendly program, especially written for the
use of young children. The icons are large, so they are easier to click on for those
students who's mouse skills are not well developed. They are also easy to read and use easy-to-understand language.                                    .

Did I make a file to go with it? (IE was it a Framework program, or was the content fixed?)
   
To make it easier for the children to open the program it might be advisable to set-up a short cut. The program is not set-up with any activities or games to help the children learn. It is purely a children's draw file. For this reason, the teacher needs to construct learning activities which will  incorporate the program and improve the children's skills in the chosen subject.