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Diving into MicroWorlds Jr.
by Diane S. Kendall
Little kids - even pre-readers and non-readers - are so capable. They love the computer and they love to explore what it can do. And perhaps most of all they enjoy solving problems. In a nutshell, that's what Seymour Papert of MIT and the earliest researchers into kids and computers discovered and it still holds true.
That's not what we see in much of the school software for kids most recently released though. With increased pressure to meet measurable standards sometimes the spontaneity, creativity, depth and opportunity to practice problem solving - which are some of the best attributes that computers offer the classroom - are lost in more programmed learning.
But all is not lost. The folks at LCSI who have preserved much of the LOGO learning promoted by Papert have recently come out with a new version of their popular MicroWorlds software for pre-readers to second graders - no reading necessary - called MicroWorlds Jr.
With an art program on board reminiscent of the best of KidPix, MicroWorlds Jr goes much farther offering little kids a chance to program their own simple animations while learning about math ideas like numbers, angles, geometry, patterns, number lines, and movement, creating things on the computer, and even a little computer programming and early game theory including logic and strategy - all driven by an icon menu. It puts kids in full control of what the computer thinks and does - not a bad thing to know a bit about for kids whose futures will be so closely tied to computers, no matter what line of work they pursue in the future.
So how does it do this? It's actually pretty simple - even simple enough for an adult to understand. A little turtle appears on the screen that can be moved about with the mouse or turned in any direction by clicking on the tip of the turtle's nose and dragging. On the side of the screen are a series of icons - more than 20 and you can make your own - that represent different things the turtle can do. Moving forward is represented by a little button with two footstep imprints, growing bigger is represented by a turtle and a + sign, and a clock signifies making the turtle wait a fraction of a second. A ship's wheel can be used to figure out what angle to turn the turtle at some point in its routine. The little turtle can also draw using a pen (in multiple colors and widths) that it can pick up and put down in specific places on the screen. All a child has to do is click "open" the turtle and click on the icons representing what it wants the turtle to do, arrange the icons into a sequence, decide whether they want the turtle to run through the routine once or continuously, and close the top on the turtle.
With the turtle now ready to be launched, all kids have to do is click it and see what it does, A square, a circle or a spiral - just about anything can be drawn. A preplanned path for the turtle to follow can also be designed- sometimes creating hilarious results when the plan doesn't turn out quite the way the designer thought it would!
And the turtle does not have to be a turtle. It can be changed into any one of the many stamps available in the art program. There are also all sorts of backgrounds that can be selected and text, sounds and music can be added giving a student project a look, feel and sound of its own. It's fun. It's easy. It supports standards through the exploration of math concepts like patterning, rules, geometry, prediction and much more. Best of all it's the kind of software kids will remember having used in your classroom long after they have left because it will make a wide variety of concepts you are trying to get across more real and concrete.
Want to give it a whirl? Get a sample 30 day free demo at http://www.microworlds.com/solutions/mwjunior.html. This is also the kind of demo that kids might enjoy on their home computers so you might add this URL to your list of things to suggest little ones try over the summer.
The purchased package of software comes with a booklet full of classroom ideas and lesson plans and there are samples on the MicroWorlds site.
Software Information
MicroWorlds Jr.
LCSI
http://www.microworlds.com/solutions/mwjunior.html
800-321-5646
Windows 98 and higher
Macintosh OS X - 10.2 or higher
Individual $49
Lab (6 user) $249
Site License $699
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