This week I was asked to choose one software program for my classroom. The best part: price was not the concern. After looking through the three software catalogues my choice was from www.journeyed.com. I chose a program called kidspiration because of the number of writing graphic organizers that were available on this program. Wanting to steer away from the traditional chart paper organizers I found this program to bring out a more innovative way for students to participate during writing. Kidspiration now supports higher-resolution monitors with a larger visual workspace and is compatible with SMART Technologies.
Specifications | Asus Intel Pentium Inside | Kidspiration 3.0 |
Operating System | Windows 7 | Windows XP, Vista, 7 |
Processor Speed | 2.20 GHZ | 266 MHZ |
Memory (RAM) | 4.00 RAM | 128 MB Minimum |
Screen Resolution | 1280x768 | 800x600 |
Video Card | Mobile IntelR 4 Series Express |
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Removable Media Options | DVD RW Drive Z2400 Series |
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Software installation at my school must first be approved by administration, once approved, the software is loaded by the tech facilitator at my school. The Kidspiration software that I chose included a statement that said, “no academic proof required.” Not wanting to make an assumption I’m interested in knowing what this means as my only thought could be that it might have to do with the licensing? After reading chapter 4, I learned a lot about my computer hardware than I ever knew. I was particularly interested in memory and how it is stored in my computer. The human brain retains a lot due to our memories, but it is limited. I guess I really was interested in the capacity of memory that a computer has. The chapter talked about how program instructions and data are transferred into memory. This is where I learned about bytes and that these are where memory is stored. Figure 4-9 gave me a good visual of how memory works. The stadium seating analogy is much like the filing cabinet or schemata that you hear about in psychology.
I also learned a lot about input and output devices on our computers. I know that output devices are those that give us or show the information that we need (printers, monitors, etc.) and input is what we essentially use to tell the computer what we want. With so much information, my brain is crammed with information that I will eventually file in my memory in hopes that one day I can use it. Knowing the basics about your computer is important because you will need it to know if a program that you want to buy will be compatible. The constant creation of new software programs that keep getting better and better demand that we know the basics of our computers.
After finding the program, I was asked to compare my computer's specification to the system requirements for Kidspiration. When trying to figure out just what type of computer I had, this became the hard part. I’ve often looked at the little stickers that are attached to the computer and thought that was pretty much all I needed to know about the hardware. With a little more research I went to the start button, then to my computer and right clicked on properties when I got to there. As I did this a screen popped up with all the information that I needed. These were my findings for both my computer and software.
Well for this week assignment I had to do a little research on my computer to locate certain requirements. At first, I had no idea how I was going to locate the information. Even though I use technology frequently, I did not have the faintest idea about, speed, memory. I ended up using Google to so I can find the necessary answers to the assignment. It was not a hard assignment, it’s just that I was confused but I was able to complete the assignment. Anyway, I decided to purchase on the software Kidspiration just like you. I wanted my students to be familiar with all of the graphic organizers that are available for writing. This software would allow my students to be more engaged and participate more during our writing instruction.
ReplyDeleteI feel your frustration about specification. I think this has been the case for most of the class. It is very difficult to locate and research information about what your operating system and the type of memory, and GB it has on your computer. It is also important to know what intel processor your computer has because this will allow you to know the speed of your computer.
ReplyDeleteI used kidspiration a few years ago in my classroom and my students loved it. The graphic organizers are a great tool for writing. I teach 4th grade. Writing is one of the major benchmarks for my students. They learn to use graphic organizers in order to organize their writing.
I find it very frustrating that we have to get administrative approval when using these programs for our classrooms. I would think that as long as it is for educational purposes, it would not even be a question. However, I understand that there are only certain licenses that can be on each computer. I hope that in the future it can be more easier for us to access what we need in order for our students to be successful.