USING CD-ROMSThere are many adventure programs, and CD-ROM talking story books written for young children which enable them to participate in decision making to determine the outcome of the story. By responding to a series of situations presented in the form of text and pictures, the children have puzzles to solve and decisions to make at various key points in the story.
When using an interactive story it is important that the teacher determines what he wished the outcome for the child to be. Children will naturally choose to “play” with the screen, which has value - but sometimes it is necessary to structure the activity to allow the child to maximise the learning. Multimedia presentations combine text, pictures, sound, music, and even moving images. Most CD ROM packages make extensive use of multimedia. Children by this stage should have had plenty of experience of using interactive stories on CD ROM. Programs which allow the childrenĀ to interact with the story, usually by clicking on parts of the screen to make something happen. These events develop the story, adding a different dimension, and they are usually great fun. When using an interactive story it is important that the teacher determines what he wished the outcome for the child to be. Children will naturally choose to “play” with the screen, which has value - but sometimes it is necessary to structure the activity to allow the child to maximise the learning. Cause and effect. Prepare a simple worksheet for the children to use on a specific page from the interactive CD-ROM story. Draw some of the characters or objects on the page. Extend this by asking the children to choose and draw a scene from a favourite story. Tell them to include as much detail in the picture as possible. When they have completed their picture, ask them to imagine that it is a screen from a CD-ROM. Talk to the child about what could happen if you clicked on certain details in their pictures. The children write down their ideas and these are displayed around the picture. Use the interactive stories as a stimulus for creative writing. |