SUGGESTIONS FOR USING PROGRAMS ***************************************************************** In this high-tech world, human energy is being focused more and more on information access and transfer. Thus, the computer is now indispensable to our way of life. The earlier a child can become comfortable with the computer, the easier it will be for him to cope with today's challenges, and the happier he will be. The purpose of these programs is to help the child to become comfortable with the computer at an early age and, at the same time, to let him explore some fundamental concepts. The programs are intended for children as young as 18 months. Your computer must have VGA graphics and a mouse. After you start a program, the child works it just by moving the mouse. He does not use the keyboard or mouse buttons. You can return to the menu at any time by pressing the [Esc] key. Following are descriptions of the programs and suggestions for their use. First, some opinions. The task of the parent or teacher is to understand exactly what each individual child needs at any given time and then to provide it. This requires careful, continuous, observation of the child. It's a big, full-time job. It is also an honor, a privilege, and a pleasure for those who appreciate the child as our most important responsibility. When working with children, remember that a child sometimes wants help and other times resents it. Always respect a child's need for independence and privacy. When a child wants your help, you can rest assured he'll let you know. However, discovery is one of life's greatest joys. Continually solving a child's problems for him by telling him what to do robs him of this joy of discovery. It also turns off his mind and conditions him to be dependent on others. Every day, the world needs more independent thinkers and problem solvers, so encourage self-reliance. Let your child experience the joy of discovery, and preserve his love of learning. His happiness depends on making learning a way of life for the rest of his life. These programs were designed so that any child who is ready can work them with little or no adult help. A child who cannot work the programs unassisted is probably not ready and should be given more development time. Your child may ask, "What should I do now?" Rather than telling him explicitly what to do, you might reply, "Anything you want to do," or "It's a fun puzzle. Keep playing with it. You'll figure it out," or "If I tell you what to do, it will spoil your fun." If you have determined that the child has made a serious effort to solve his dilemma and he's still stumped, then you can give him hints which lead him to a solution without revealing the solution bluntly. Again, if he can't work the programs by himself, he's probably not ready and should be given more development time. Ideally, every child should have his own computer. A computer work station with furniture designed especially for the child should be considered an important element of the child's environment. If he does not have his own computer, then the family computer should be made accessible to him. To initially attract a child's attention to the computer, set it up in a room which he frequents such as the living room, kitchen, or his playroom. Place the mouse on a smooth, flat travel surface directly in front of the monitor so that both the mouse and screen are in the child's field of vision. Place the keyboard out of reach and out of sight. Make sure that the seating arrangement gives the child comfortable access to the mouse and a good view of both the mouse and the screen. The computer can be set up on the floor, and the child can sit or lie in front of the mouse and monitor. 1. CURSOR: This program displays a white cursor on a black background. The configuration of a cross was chosen for the cursor because of its simplicity and symmetry. This is a good program for introducing the child to the computer. It demands only a minimum of motor control and, in this sense, his first experience with the computer will be "user friendly." He will quickly learn that he can change the location of the cursor on the screen by moving the mouse on its travel surface, so he will experience immediate efficacy. Also, he will discover that he can color an outer rectangle by moving the cursor into it. He can complete the tutorial session by coloring all eight outer rectangles. A happy face will appear. Eventually, he will move the cursor into the happy face, and the practice portion of the program will begin. The happy face seems to be a universal symbol of congratulations on a job well done. I've used it to congratulate the child on the completion of tutorials and practice exercises. All programs begin with a tutorial session and end with a practice session. If the child leaves the computer during a tutorial session, the program reverts to the colored title screen. This tells you that the child did not complete the tutorial session. The next time you turn on the computer, select this SAME program again. If the child leaves the computer during a practice session, the program displays the white "Program Paused" message. This tells you that the child did complete the tutorial session. The next time you turn on the computer, select the NEXT program from the menu. If the child presses a mouse button during a tutorial session, the colored title screen will appear. If he presses a mouse button during a practice session, the white "Program Paused" message will appear. In either case, he can begin again by moving the mouse. At a time when the child happens to be in the room, run the CURSOR program. The flashing title screen will appear. After one second, any movement of the mouse will cause the title screen to disappear and the cursor to appear. Slowly move the mouse in different directions to move the cursor around within the center rectangle. If the child shows interest and approaches the computer, center the cursor on the screen, place the mouse in the center of its travel surface, and move aside to give the child access to the mouse. If he hesitates, as if waiting for permission to touch the mouse, encourage him to try it. If the child shows no interest, then leave the computer on and walk away. He may approach it in your absence. Try to watch him without his knowing it. Awareness of being watched makes some people uncomfortable. If he wants your attention, he'll solicit it. DO NOT coerce the child to work with the computer! When he is ready, he will go to it on his own. If he still shows no interest, then turn off the computer, wait a few days, try again. After the child begins working and becomes absorbed in what he's doing, he may no longer require your attention. Leave him alone. Engage in some activity that allows you to watch him out of the corner of your eye. "Reading" a book is good. Try to ensure that he is allowed to work undisturbed until he becomes bored and leaves the computer. If a program is begun, and sixty seconds pass during which there is no movement of the mouse, a flashing message appears. This is more than a screen saver. It tells you that the child got bored and left, and it tells you whether he left during the tutorial portion or the practice portion of the program. It also extends a continuous invitation to the child, telling him that the computer is ready to play whenever he is. If he moves the mouse, the message disappears and the program resumes. So, after the child masters a program and becomes bored with it, you can leave the computer on. He can return to it whenever he chooses. If you have turned off the computer and the child indicates that he wants it turned on, then turn it on and run his appropriate program. Do this as often as he wants. You should run all of the programs and play with them yourself so that you are thoroughly familiar with each before introducing them to the child. It is probably better not to introduce more than one new program to the child in a day. Each program uses concepts introduced in preceding programs, and each program introduces new concepts which will be used in succeeding programs. Therefore, it is important to introduce the programs to the child in the order in which they appear in the program menu. 2. CONTROL: This program helps the child practice his eye-hand coordination. It demands more motor control than the preceding program. It presents a target on the screen, and the child must move the cursor to the target. The "real time" interaction between the child and the computer allows him to practice eye-hand coordination by means of a six-point feedback loop in which information passes from his brain to his hand to the mouse to the processor to the screen to his eye and back to his brain. The tutorial portion of this program presents the largest target first and gradually reduces the size of each target presented. The last target presented in the tutorial is the smallest one. As he eliminates targets, portions of a screen border appear, indicating his progress through the tutorial. He completes the tutorial by eliminating eight targets and completing the screen border. When working any of the programs, the current length of the screen border will always let the child know how much of a tutorial or exercise he has completed. During the practice session of CONTROL, the size, color, and location of each target are picked at random by the computer. If the child does not yet have the eye-hand coordination he needs to complete the tutorial, wait a few weeks and try again, or turn on the computer and let the child try again whenever he wishes. Your mouse software may allow you to adjust mouse sensitivity and acceleration. Turning off mouse acceleration and reducing mouse sensitivity will make it much easier for a young child to use the mouse. From now on, the child need not be present when you select his program. You can select the correct program from the menu, remove your hand from the mouse within one second to allow the title screen to flash. Then, leave the computer. When the child comes into the room and sees the screen flashing, he probably will approach the computer and move the mouse, which will begin the tutorial session. If it appears that the child does not understand that he must move the mouse, or if he is reluctant to do so, then move it for him just enough (a fraction of an inch) to start the tutorial. One demonstration is probably all he will need. After this, all you need do is to select the correct program, leave the computer with the title screen flashing, and observe the child unobtrusively. If you accidentally bump the mouse and start the tutorial session, click a mouse button to restore the title screen. Be sure to write down the title of the program you start so that you will know which program to start the next time. If you don't write it down, you may forget it, and it's important to select the correct program. Again, try to ensure that the child can work undisturbed until he becomes bored and leaves the computer. Allow him privacy. When you watch him, do not let him see you watching unless he solicits your attention. 3. SIZE: This program allows the child to practice size discrimination. His response to a display is determined by the relative sizes of figures on the screen. In addition, he is introduced to three fundamental geometric figures: the circle, the triangle, and the square. Also, he learns that he can capture a figure, move it to a specified location, and drop it off there. Run the program and leave the computer. The flashing title screen should be enough to pique the child's curiosity. Leave him alone, and allow him time to become bored. Watch him candidly. During the practice portion of the program, two figures appear simultaneously on the screen. When he consistently moves the cursor to the smaller figure first, he has the idea. If he uses trial and error, he has not. You'll notice that all of the programs allow either a logical approach or a random, trial and error approach. It also will be interesting and obvious to you which method the child is using. Either way is fine. Let him do it his own way. He's not here to learn a lesson. He's here to explore. Let him get the idea in his own way and in his own time. 4. SHAPE: This program allows the child to discriminate between several geometric shapes. Also, many of the the screens contain an unused figure. This gives the child the opportunity to determine relevancy, and, then, to focus on the relevant and ignore the irrelevant. The geometric figures in this program are a little smaller than the ones in the preceding program, and this will require a little finer control of the mouse. Again, it will be interesting and obvious to you whether the child is using logic or trial and error. Either is fine. 5. COLOR: This program allows the child to discriminate between different colors. Colored figures appear on the screen and his response depends on the color of a figure instead of its shape. 6. ORDER: This program helps the child to explore order. The orders chosen are left-to-right and top-to-bottom, because they are the two orders that constitute our reading order. 7. PRACTICE: This is a collection of more elaborate shape, color, and order exercises. 8. INSETS: This program is a variation on Maria Montessori's solid insets. It presents a sequence of six holes graduated in size from smallest on the left to largest on the right. Below the holes, six disks are placed randomly on the screen. The sequence of holes is a two- dimensional representation of a three-dimensional wooden block of holes, and the disks represent the wooden cylinders which fit into the holes. INSETS provides an easy introduction to the use of the mouse button. The child's task is to fill the holes with the disks. First, he must move the cursor into one of the disks. Then, he must press a mouse button to pick up the disk. In previous programs, picking up an object was done automatically simply by moving the cursor into it. In this program, however, the disk will remain in place unless the child presses a mouse button. After he picks up a disk, he must move it to the correct hole and drop if off there by pressing a mouse button again. There is no tutorial session. You may need to briefly demonstrate the use of the mouse button. After all of the holes are filled with disks, the happy face appears, and he can begin again by moving the cursor into it. After the child has worked all eight programs, you may want to teach him how to turn on the computer and select his own programs from the menu. To simplify matters for the child, you could call these programs from your autoexec.bat file so that the program menu would appear on the screen whenever the computer is turned on.