Monday, 10 December 2012

"Restaurant" Integrated Unit- Picture Menu- Tux Paint, December 2012


Restaurant Integrated Unit-  Darcie Pike-Wilkie
Lesson 18
Lesson Title/Activity
Picture Menu  (Tux Paint)
Curriculum Strand
Technology (Journey On)
Outcome/Objective
Technology B1.1   login-in, open and close a program, open, save, and close a file with mouse
Technology A5.1   create illustrations or graphics by using the various drawing tools
Rationale
To determine the level of awareness /independence that each child experiences as he/she creates a picture menu for our classroom restaurant using Tux Paint
Question
Are children developing an awareness/independence as they create a picture menu for our classroom menu?  What support needs to be offered ?
Assessment Methods
Anecdotal notes…see attached assessment form
Differentiated Instruction
Accommodations/Modifications
Student log-in information cards, keyboard with large,
stickered, bold-lettered keys available if needed
Resources/Materials
Computers, paper
Sequence of Activities
Procedure,
Instructional Practices, Groupings,
Student Engagement
In small groups (2-3 students), in the computer lab. Have each child log-in using their username and passwords. Have them open the program Tux Paint. Children will select (click and drag) various items to put on their picture menu for our classroom restaurant. They will then put their name on their page either by typing on the keys or freehand, dragging their mouse. Children will then print out their page. Each child’s page will be laminated and put into a class menu that will be placed in the classroom restaurant. This activity could span several days.
Reflection
The children were very excited to create their own picture menu on the computer. Earlier in the day, I had shown them on the LCD projector the steps needed to create the menu. Admittedly, at first, I thought this may be too much for some of the students. As I modelled, they watched the screen attentively, and became very excited as I showed them how to print off the menu page. We all ran up the stairs to collect my page and I could hear the giggles of anticipation. In the afternoon, we all went to the computer lab to create our own pages. I was pleasantly surprised with the level of ease that most of the children had logging on using their username and password. One child had logged on without even receiving his card. (We had opened the classroom computers about a month prior and had visited the lab three times before- some previous experience was a huge asset before doing this activity) One child had an extremely long last name, which was challenging when she had to transfer all that information onto the keys. Almost all the children chose to print their name on their page using the keys. Only one child chose to click and drag the paintbrush and print it freehand, as I had chosen and modelled earlier. The child who drew freehand was extremely neat and had printed it quite small, a difficult fine motor skill. As I attempted to work in small groups, some of the children had enough confidence and determination to work on their page on their own. Several completed theirs with no support at all. The biggest challenge was when one child had difficulty printing his page off- it just would not work. We moved him to three more computers and it still would not print. He had worked so hard and had maintained patience throughout the process. We finally had to ask him to re-create the picture under someone else’s account- and it finally worked. I think he was able to remain focused and calm because of his excitement to print his page off. For some students, it was difficult to only print off one page…some had printed their menu more than once, and one child created a new page of class mates’ names and printed it off. I had not anticipated that the printer could potentially become an issue. I will likely be addressing the issue of being able to print things off many more times. One child had chosen not to make a menu page. At the beginning of the session, I had told her and another student that they could play on the computer until I had a chance to come and watch them create their page. I am not sure that she lost interest in the activity or if she had something else in mind that she wanted to do. She had printed the names of her friends and only wanted to print that page off. I did not allow her to print off her page. I am hoping to re-visit this activity with her in the days to follow to encourage her to complete her page. When she sees the other children’s page mounted on colourful paper, laminated, presented to the class, and placed in the classroom “restaurant”, she may choose to make her page. Something else I had not thought of was the children’s desire to take their page home. One little girl was very keen and asked several times- I could tell she was very proud of her page. After a bit of negotiating, we agreed that each child could take their original piece home after I had a chance to photocopy everyone’s page. Something I would definitely change when doing this activity was the assessment. Having a page for each child was too cumbersome, and in the moment of trying to carry-out the activity and assess, it was difficult. I found I was trying to remember things so that I could fill that information in after school. After discussing the assessment with my faculty advisor, it was agreed that a one-pager would have been better suited for use during the activity- and then transfer the info onto the original assessment form I had created for each child to accompany their menu page as it was placed in their portfolio. *** (Please see below the new form I created) All in all, I was pleased to see the level of engagement, the abilities of the children, and the satisfaction they expressed as they participated in the activity. Although technology can sometimes be challenging, frustrating, and intimidating, it is a reality for the 21st century learner.



 ***New Assessment Form:       
Tux- Paint Menu
G- Guided     I- Independent
Name
Log-in
Open Program
Close Program
Save Program
Create Graphics/ Illustrations
Comments




















































                                                    Child’s Name_____________________________
                                                    Date___________________________________
Activity- Tux Paint Menu
Log-In

Open Program

Close program

Save program

Create Illustrations/Graphics


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