Title: Thinkin Things 1

Publisher: Edmark

Age Range: 4-7 years old

Curriculum Area: Music, Maths, Art, and English

Summary:
There are six different areas to explore in this piece of software. The first area explores the various
percussion instrument sounds, children have to repeat the sounds in sequence by watching what
Oranga does and after by only listening to what he plays. The second area explores pattern. The
child needs to add a jacket, boots and hat to a bird to match that of the bird in view. The children
also have to make the missing bird in a sequence. The third section explores reitical, horizontal and
diagonal movement of circles. They can also explore colour - they then make their picture. The fourth
section deals with shape. All different shapes including hexagon, triangle, square; rectangle, diamond etc.
are visible. Again these shapes can be arranged in a morning picture horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
These shapes can be enlarged of reduced, or rotated. The fifth section again is musical.
The xylophone comes into play. You can show the pelican what to play for you have to play
what he plays. Glasses (empty), wood, strings and hem are also played.

Overview of teaching with this title:

Curriculum Areas:
Music: Instruments, listing skills, composing and simple tunes.
Maths: Shape, sequence, and pattern, diagonal, vertical and horizontal movement
Art: Exploring colour and shape, experimenting with picture.
English: Oral Language.
Special Needs Students can visibly see what musical notes are being played.
They can easily reproduce these notes, trying as many times as is necessary to get it right. It is great
for these children to be able to experiment with shapes. Also the different areas can be altered to
whatever level is appropriate for the child. I primarily used this software for the
percussion instruments in music and listening skills. Also, I found it useful for shape in maths, using
it with individuals or with pairs. The strength of this software is the fact that it can be set to different levels. It is
extremely good for listening skills.

Content:
1. Content is accurate and language is suitable and up to date.
2. It is not culturally, gender or racially biased.
3. The long use and product style is both appropriate for the target age group.
4. The program can be set to the appropriate level of difficulty for an individual child.
5. The user has control over the level of difficulty.
6. Visual, aural and linguistic learning modes are used.

Design and Navigation:
On screen help is useful. Little or no reading of documentation is needed. An individual user's place
can be saved and reopened when necessary.

Installation and Use:
I had to manually install the programme - about two minutes.

Supporting Documentation:
The documentation is clearly separated into sections. Loading and operating instructions are very clear.
The documentation is clearly detailed and very easy to understand.
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