Please distribute this "READ ME" file with any copies of "Old MacD for FREE!" that you distribute to others. Thanks!
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SYSTEM RECOMMENDATIONS
We recommend that you use HyperCard 2.1 and Macintosh Operating System 7.0 (or greater). The module WILL WORK with HyperCard 2.0 (minimum) and with Macintosh Operating Systems 6.0.5, 6.0.7, and 6.0.8. Pleased be advised, however, that "Balloon Help" is not an available option in Macintosh Operating Systems prior to 7.0.
Running "Old MacD for FREE!" with HyperCard 2.0 and with Macintosh Operating System 7.0 (or greater) will work but you will be unable to access "Balloon Help" from within HyperCard. You can still access "Balloon Help" (IF you are using Macintosh Operating System 7.0 or greater) from the "System Help" Menu. To accomplish this;
1) Hold down the Command Key - the Command Key has the propeller on it - and touch the space bar once. This is referred to as the "CommandKey-Space" procedure. (This makes the menubar at the top of the screen visible.)
2) Once the menubar is visible, look towards the right side of the menubar for the little balloon with the question mark inside it. (This is the "System Help" menu.)
3) Point the mouse until it touches the balloon with the question mark inside it.
4) Press the mouse button down, hilighting this balloon.
5) With the mouse button down, drag the mouse down until "Show Balloons" is hilighted.
6) Release the mouse button. "Balloon Help" will shortly be "On".
7) When you have selected "Show Balloons" from the "System Help" menu, please hide the menubar again using the "Command-Space" procedure (see #1, above).
8) To hide Help Balloons, repeat steps 1 through 5 above except this time select "Hide Balloons" from the "System Help" menu.
OLD MACDONALD is an example of "whole language" teaching (e.g, the theory that everything is learned contextually and that nothing is learned in a vacuum). It is designed to INITIALLY be used by a student AND a caregiver.
As the student and caregiver work with this module, you will both note that each screen looks the same except for the picture of the animal (in the middle portion of the screen) and the animal's name (at the end of the sentence in the upper portion of the screen).
The goal is for the student to click on the name (not the picture) of the animal on each screen, as you both complete the sentence, "And on this farm he had a...".
When you reach the last screen, the opportunity is created to "write our own story" by spelling the name of each animal.
Using the program:
1) Press the button "To Start, please click Here...". You will be taken to the first screen ("Bird").
2) Read with the student; "And on this farm he had a...". Allow the student to finish the sentence with "... bird".
3) Click on the word "Bird". Hear the bird sound and accept congratulations that you found the word.
4) Click on the right arrow to proceed to the next screen, "Bug".
5) Repeat steps 2 through 4, this time substituting the word "Bug".
6) Proceed on to the next screens, repeating steps 2 through 4 while substituting the respective animal's names.
When you reach the last screen ("Let's Write or Own Story"), please notice three things:
A) The names of all the animals are clearly visible because the student may need some reenforcement on the spelling of a specific name.
B) If you click on a name, the corresponding icon will be briefly visible, but will not remain visible.
C) The name of an animal normally at the end of the sentence "And on this Farm he had a..." has been replaced with a QUESTION MARK. This is to allow you and the student to select which animal Old MacDonald has on his farm, and to make the picture of the animal remain visible throughout the exercise. This can only be done by correctly spelling the name of the animal.
I) Read with the student, "And on this farm he had a...".
II) This time, click on the question mark.
III) A "dialog box" ("And on this farm he had a ...") appears. This is to allow you or the student to type the name of one of the animals.
IV) For this example, type "bird" (without the quotation marks).
V) Notice that the picture of the bird appears under the word "Bird", and hear that you are being congratulated for spelling the word correctly.
VI) Repeat steps I through V, substituting the names of the animals you have yet to spell. As each animals' name is spelled, the picture of the animal appears under the word for that animal.
NOTE: If you make a spelling mistake or if you spell the name of an animal not listed, the computer will inform you, "I'm sorry. I didn't understand {the-word-you-spelled}," and will give you an opportunity to try spelling again.
You have completed this module when all the names of the animals have a picture of the respective animal underneath them.
When you reach this point, (or anytime that you'd like to, for that matter) click on the "Hannah's Face" Icon to take the tour of "Let's Go to Hannah's House".
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("Old MacD for FREE!" is a sampler of the full version of the series which contains eighteen different modules.)
"Let's Go to Hannah's House" was created to facilitate certain types of interaction between adults and young children or Special Education Students that would promote the development of preliteracy skills (e.g, letter and word recognition, number concepts, and verbal abilities) as well as provide a means of introducing young students to the various operating features of microcomputers.
The program is designed to be used like a bedtime story, that is, as a medium shared by an adult and a child which contains opportunities for both repetition and creativity. It is especially well suited to laboratory or one-on-one classroom settings where similar goals are desired.
The approach taken by “Let’s Go to Hannah’s House” is simple;
In the real world, a child might come home and tell Mom, Dad or a Caregiver,
“I’ve been invited to spend the night at my friend Hannah’s house. While I’m there I’m going to meet Hannah’s family and pets, have dinner, play games, sing songs, and other stuff. Is it OK if I go?”
If your child was old enough and if you knew Hannah’s family, you might say OK.
If your child wasn't old enough to go alone and if you didn't know Hannah's family, you might say;
"OK, but I'd like to go too!
In this simulation, these modules allow you and your student to “visit” Hannah’s house, while you both share the educational activities there. You may “visit” whenever you’d like to, whatever the age of your student.
We hope that you and your student(s) enjoy "Old MacD for FREE!" and that if you do you will consider purchasing the series "Let's Go to Hannah's House" from Intellimation, Inc. You may contact them at (1-800-346-8355). Don't forget to ask for a free "K-12" and/or "Higher Education" catalog!
Your comments are always welcome - Thanks for your support !
