Journal # 6

My Experiences with Kidspiration

I had a hard time working with this software. I downloaded the InspireData and Kidspiration software. I thought that the quick tours of both programs were super and I was really excited to get started working on the programs once I downloaded the trial. I am not sure if it was just my inability to follow the tutorials, or if I just didn't spend enough time on the programs, but I found them both to be much less user friendly that I expected. Maybe that is what you get by going into things with expectations!! I thought that the InspireData program was particularly difficult to navigate, I spent some serious time trying to make graphs out of some of the databases they had already collected and found it difficult to get what I wanted. The tutorials on Atomic Learning were either to detailed (only giving you information about one small aspect) or didn't bother to go over the things I was trying to do. Eventually, after making some pretty unsatisfactory graphs, I moved on to Kidspiration, figuring that the software designed for younger children would be more appropriate for me. I thought that their activity sections were very good. I actually saw some students using the math programs in a second grade classroom the other day! I thought that the creative software was a little bit harder to use. It would have been nicer to make different kind of pictures besides just arrow graphs, and there weren't a ton of icons in the database. However, I did feel like I was more able to accomplish something with this program, and was actually proud of my picture!

I am going to keep working with the InspireData program while I still have the program on my computer, as I do think it is probably a lot more user friendly than I thought, I am chalking my inability to use it on my own technological shortcomings, not those of the program!