Corby update

Corby

8/1/2002 - 22/1/2002

We started the project at Corby. The site consists of about 80 homes with quite alot of families with kids. Some of the kids on site already goto school we have tried to prioritise computer time to the kids who don't. At first the children were a bit apprehensive but after a few days they started to come round. It soon became apparent that our idea of having structured lesson wasen't going to work as the kids 'popped round' at various times of the day.

We decided to create exercises using the various programs on the computer. Creating structured exercises kept the kids amused and taught them computer skills at the same time. Left to their own devices they quickly found the games which we felt were of little educational value though they didn't seem to mind using the art programs if we turned the games off.

Using 'Word' we created an exercise that taught the kids how to change the font and font size, change the justification of a paragraph, use the spell checker and save the document to disk.

Also in this exercise we showed them how a digital camera works and the process involved in putting a picture into a document. These documents were then printed out so they could show their parents. One item of software we plan to get is software that teaches typing so the kids don't get into the habit of using one finger.

Using 'Paint' we got the children to create a card using the Rectangle tool, Circle tool, Fill tool and again saving the card to disk. This exercise also helped them to get use to using the mouse.

Word jam, an exercise where lots of words are jumbled together and the kids put in spaces then use spell checker. This helps with spelling and use of the keyboard.

We found that the various educational software we had got proved popular but due to only having one CD drive and being unable to network the computers only one child could use any item of software at a time. Networking the computers was not possible due to different versions of the operating system and Direct cable connection software.

Internet access is still not available so all the lessons we had planned to introduce to children to the internet will have to wait until more funding arrives. The research has been done and we now know what equipment we need and how much it will be.