Guest Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 Hi there, does any know of or have any ideas for programmable toys that i can get for a reception class which can also be leant to a nursery class? looked through all of the catalogues and can't seem to find one? SArah
Rea Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 Hi Sarah, I'm affraid we have the same problem. I work out of a church hall so we have limited space and cant keep electronic things on the premises because of the damp in the cupboard, but we tend to use the alphabet type laptops.I dont know the name of them but the children have to press certain buttons for it to speak (usually with an american accent). They do need 1:1 though or else the child does follow the correct sequence to play the games and just ends up swithing it on and off to hear it say 'hello' and 'goodbye'. You could try the Roamer, it's expensive and when we borrowed one from our local primary it confused the staff (not a hard thing to do ) If yo do find an inexpensive easy to use item perhapes you'd let us know. Sorry I'm not helpful!
apple Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 hi sarah have you got a roamer. most schools seem to have these there is also a simpler version called Pixie which our nursery have just bought. It's a small table top robot that is much simpler to use than a roamer. You can find out all about Pixie's at www.swallow.co.uk/ There are plenty of remote control things on the market but they really are cause and effect rather than programmable. I found a great little truck on ebay (i had to search there as Tomy who make it don't produce it anymore It's called Dreamstreet truck and you can program it to go forwards left, right and backwards. Unlike the roamer or pixie however, you cannot program it to move so many 'spaces' forward or back etc. hope this helps. hopefully as the world of ICT cotton onto the fact that this is a key early learning goal for us someone will produce a simple proagrammable toy happy hunting liza
Gezabel Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 YES! go to superdrug and spend £9:99 on a programmable 'bug' read somewhere that ofsted liked them (better than roamer i think!) and they go forwards backwards, left and right. Sure I read it on a post here somewhere. Dont know the exact name of it but I will be looking myself this week so will let you know if i find it.
Gezabel Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 Ooops! just seen the e-credits bit of your message, silly me but still think £10 sounds like a bargain!
Susan Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 I think there's something called ladybird that is cheaper than a roamer, although they are fun they're not on their own toys. Ladybird I believe will only take up to 10 as an input number, which is the problem with roamer-- children can program it to move an infinitesimal number, if their finger skills are not too good! Unfortunately I can't remember who makes makes it or in which catalogue I saw it! Thought my ICT coord was buying some but they never materialised!
Jackie A. Posted June 27, 2004 Posted June 27, 2004 I have also been looking this week to buy some new I.T. resources for my Nursery class. I came across this site which has some useful ideas and links to suppliers. It includes the "Lucky Ladybird" and "Pixie" The address is www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/ict/primary/foundation/resources/useful/ Hope this is useful Jackie
apple Posted June 28, 2004 Posted June 28, 2004 he there Geraldine I contacted superdrug via email to ask about th 'bug' unfotunateky it was part of some promotion back in April and they have sold out too bad sounded just up our street I will check out the ladybird thing as that too sounds good... cheers Jackie A
Guest Posted June 28, 2004 Posted June 28, 2004 We have, in the past, borrowed the Pixie (the foundation version of the Pip robot) from our EY partnership. Although said to be table-top, it is better on the floor (attach a felt-tip and use it on huge paper, and the children can see what they are doing while they learn to use it). Once the children have mastered the programming, you can move onto more complex activities. The children and I had great fun with it. I understand that my setting has now borrowed a ladybird. Unfortunately the leader expects the children to play with it during free-choice-time with little or no adult input (she views the computer in the same way: turn it on and let them get on with it). I don't think anyone knows what the ladybird can do (or how it works). Technology is only of value if the children have enough guidance to enjoy using it. We all know that learning only happens with little ones when fun is involved! Diane.
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