Creating Multimedia Presentations with Kid Pix
Contents
1. normancborg com ve Creating Multimedia Presentations with Kid Pix Studio Norman C Borg Introduction One of the good things about the introduction of computers in primary schools is the easy access to multimedia apparatus in the classroom By multimedia we mean the use of text pictures animation and sound organised in a way to produce a single project It is the variety of the media that draws the children s attention anyone s attention for that matter towards the particular message that is to be conveyed So using moving pictures rather than still graphics and adding sound rather than just sticking to plain written text will definitely appeal more to the senses This of course is not a new concept for teachers as the use of radio cassette recorders and video tape in the classrooms has already shown However the advantage of the computer is that it has the power to manipulate all these different kinds of media simultaneously producing instantaneous results which the children can see there and then in real time If this potential inherent in the classroom computers is used to the maximum the concept behind the word project in the classroom is bound to change forever This should not be a far fetched prospect for Year and Year 2 teachers simply because all the apparatus necessary for producing multimedia projects is already there in the classrooms There is no additional equipment or software require2. d for such activities What makes it all possible 1s Kid Pix Studio perhaps the most popular classroom software so far if Year teachers comments over the last scholastic year are anything to go by Kid Pix Studio appeals to the children because it offers them the possibility to use the computer to enhance their self expression through creativity especially building pictures out of ready made blocks patterns picture stamps and the lot Teachers have also found it excellent for producing work sheets quickly and easily But Kid Pix Studio s real potential lies deep within its other features especially the Moopies the Stampimator and the SlideShow activities when these are used in conjunction with the main Paint a Picture mode In Chapter VI of the User s Manual there is a good example with Andrew s Story and the way it is put together with the SlideShow feature You can see the working example for yourself by loading it as a slide show from the galaxy directory on the Kid Pix Studio CD With the necessary preparation from the teacher s part even children in Years 1 and 2 will be able to create something on their own on these same lines What is missing in that example is a feature which may be even more attractive to the children the ability to record their own speech This is in the main Paint a Picture mode Goodies menu more about this later Kid Pix Studio can therefore produce multimedia presentations made up of still an
3. d moving pictures music and record commentaries Why do it Creating a multimedia presentation in class has a number of advantages The following are but a few It enhances enthusiasm in creativity The children are more eager to express themselves through a combination of pictures colour and sounds Creating Multimedia Presentations with Kid Pix Studio It gives an immediate tangible purpose an audience The project will definitely be more interesting if it is intended to be shown to the whole class to another class or perhaps to parents It encourages group work Individuals will certainly benefit from reciprocal help while working together towards one common aim It guarantees a sense of achievement There is always satisfaction in watching others admire one s work however simple it may be and this in itself encourages self confidence First of all make sure you familiarise yourself with every feature available in KPS not just the main Paint a Picture mode Do this by reading the manual thoroughly and by experimenting with the software itself This article assumes that your are familiar with all the features and with saving files on floppy Decide on a subject theme or themes The Kid Pix project itself may be just part of a larger project involving other non computer activities Arrange the children in small groups with more than three only if really necessary and definitely not more than six Remember th
4. e presentation you will create will contain at least one screen per pupil and perhaps an opening and a closing screen as well For the work on the presentation take one group at a time You will need to monitor closely the group s work and progress The work may not necessarily have to be done at one go during one session perhaps say throughout one week Let each child in the group create a picture using any of the Kid Pix Moopies Stampimator or Digital Puppets features Make sure to save their finished work on disk Note that when using Moopies Stampimator and Digital Puppets you may use the Save as option to save and subsequently reload the files for editing When the editing is complete sound included you should use the Norman C Borg Save for SlideShow option Otherwise the files will not be properly loaded into the SlideShow Kid Pix Studio Manual page 75 Now here is the interesting part Once all the files are complete sound can be added to each Unfortunately no microphones are available with the classroom computer consoles as yet but the built in microphone on the teacher s Notebook computer is quite adequate for the purpose Load the files from floppy into the Notebook to use this feature To record a sound into a Kid Pix bmp file load the picture and select Record a sound from the Goodies menu The function gives you up to thirty seconds time for recording which should be sufficient Clic
5. er s microphone will pick up any background noise or speech But once they start seeing or should we say hearing the results they will gradually be able to appreciate more the need for silence It will be a new classroom experience they will have to learn to adapt to The teacher may opt to let the rest of the class watch and listen to the group s recording session This may be more fruitful than having the other children carry on different tasks away from the group Putting it all together Once all the screens and recordings are finished and properly save on disk it should not take the teacher long to load each file in its proper order into the SlideShow KPS Manual page 59 ff Make sure you use the various transition effects available Manual page 64 in order to spruce up the presentation Alternatively you may ask the group to select their own transition effects Save the SlideShow on the same floppy with the rest of the group s files and show it to the whole class on the large monitor The other groups in the class will definitely look forward to creating their own shows What to do with the presentations There are a number of ways of showing off the completed projects too many to list here but these include B Exhibitions during open days and parents days B Copies for home on diskette for those children who may have Kid Pix Studio at home Actually it is also possible to make standalone versions of
6. k on the Record button to record Fig 1 You can over write any previous sound by clicking the Record button again so mistakes can be corrected When you are satisfied with the sound click on Save to attach the sound to the picture Now when you save the picture back to floppy the sound will be saved too Record e m uj stop Record Pause Play Seconds Fig 1 For the Moopies Stampimator or Digital Puppets you can access the same function from the Pick a Sound option in the Goodies menu Fig 2 Rather than importing or selecting a ready made sound click on Record a sound and repeat the same steps as above to record the children s original speech In this case you will be asked to give a name to the sound and it will be added to the list on display Filok Seon tel r a normancborg com Page 2 Creating Multimedia Presentations with Kid Pix Studio Norman C Borg Encourage the children to say something which is relevant to the picture s topic One short sentence per picture should suffice Have them write the sentence before reading it aloud for recording This will give you and them the chance to discuss and iron out any grammatical mistakes Order in the classroom The recording session will definitely be a great challenge for both you and the children It may take some time before they understand that there must be perfect silence during the recording the Notebook comput
7. the projects which can be run even if KPS is not installed on a PC but some features are restricted in these versions B Project exchanges between classes within the same school or even between different schools This possibility may look even more exciting when the Internet service is eventually established across the schools Conclusion Experimentation is important for such projects to work In this case you will be using KPS virtually up to its fullest potential so it is important that you are familiar with all the features before committing yourself to the class Preferably you should make yourself a model slide show to test all the software s features Once you get the knack of it it should not present any serious problems Eventually you will find that the record function can be put to many uses even when working with individual pupils rather than groups The teacher may produce screens for word recognition phrases sentences or perhaps even counting The child is presented the picture and instructed to the read the contents aloud Fig 3 The recording when saved to disk with others will be a helpful record of the child s progress Fig 3 This is just one idea I am sure that you will be able to come up with many other practical uses for the multimedia features of Kid Pix Studio Norman C Borg 1997 The article was originally published in Issue 2 1997 of Education 2000 published by the Faculty of Ed
8. ucation of the University of Malta in collaboration with the Education Division It is reproduced here in full with some slight changes normancborg com Page 3
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