First up is PicturePoint by Logotron. Children collect their information by clicking pictures on screen representing the items being counted. Sounds indicate each time a selection is made, and the name of the item and the number of times it has been selected is spoken. PicturePoint will then create speaking bar charts, pie charts or pictograms of the data, updated as new counts are added, so that children can see the connection between their counting and the graph. The software includes configurable sound, display, printing and speaking options to help adapt to the needs of the classroom. Supported by excellent documentation, PicturePoint is also packed with a host of example files as well as being able to create your own. Topic files include Eye Colour, Music, Shapes, School Dinners, Pets, Sports, Rubbish, Family, Colours, Homes, Weather, Dice, Footwear and Journeys.
First up is PicturePoint by Logotron. Children collect their information by clicking pictures on screen representing the items being counted. Sounds indicate each time a selection is made, and the name of the item and the number of times it has been selected is spoken. PicturePoint will then create speaking bar charts, pie charts or pictograms of the data, updated as new counts are added, so that children can see the connection between their counting and the graph. The software includes configurable sound, display, printing and speaking options to help adapt to the needs of the classroom.
Supported by excellent documentation, PicturePoint is also packed with a host of example files as well as being able to create your own. Topic files include Eye Colour, Music, Shapes, School Dinners, Pets, Sports, Rubbish, Family, Colours, Homes, Weather, Dice, Footwear and Journeys.
Next is Pictooram by Kudlian. In Pictogram, pictures are dragged and dropped from the picture bank on to the stack. This may be a bit trickyfor children with poor mouse skills; but one of the four animated characters - parrot, genie, robot and wizard - can help them. Data can be displayed vertically or horizontally as pictograms, a block graph or the more familiar bar chart. The software has a useful scaling feature where a single picture can be used to represent a quantity greater than one. A wide variety of picture sets are available, including pets, mini-beasts, transport, houses, eye colours and hair colours. Users can also create their own picture groups and import their own pictures. All the graphs can be exported or copied to the clipboard for use in other applications.
* PicturePoint, Logotron, 34 www.logo.com01223 425558 * Pictogram, Kudlian, 35 www.kudlian.netO700 835424
