Teacher Picks: Our Reviewers Test Kidspiration 3
Every issue of Instructor magazine includes a section called “Teacher Picks.” Our teacher-reviewers test these products in their classrooms and share their feedback. Here, our reviewer Diana Lawsky of Lincoln School in North Bergen, NJ, gives us her review of Kidspiration 3.
Description: A cross-curricular software program that allows students to understand subjects (reading, writing, math, social studies) visually.
Pros: The interface is beautiful and colorful. As you mouse over something, such as the tool bar, a woman’s voice reads what it is. A student can highlight anything he/she wants read and click an icon that looks like an ear to have it read. This way it could be used by kids who do not read yet or who are poor readers. The toolbar also has a dictionary, undo and redo buttons, and buttons that let kids see their work in a picture view or writing view. They can save their work, export it or even send it to a hand-held device. It is very intuitive. I tried the reading and writing activities first. When a student is finished with a lesson he can type his name into a box and print out his work. There’s a great clipart selection. They can choose fonts, background colors, and more.
Cons: Visually it is stunning but the voice is a little tinny and stiff-sounding. Also, it didn’t seem to correct student work. This is not necessarily negative.
How would you use this in the classroom? Much better than boring old worksheets or workbooks! If students could connect to it at home or work with it in a school lab, it could be used to create some really attractive reports. ANY kind of practice work in ANY subject could be done in this program.
