Kidspiration 3.0 Tips and Tricks
Denise Clark
I. Introduction:
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Opening Screen:
o Picture View
o Writing View
o Math View
o Activities (pre-made templates ready for use)
Reading and Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies
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Additional Activities
o Check Internet for Pre-made Kidspiration Activities
o Menu bar—Teacher –Lesson Plans (Math, Science, Social Studies, and Reading and Writing)
o Menu bar—Teacher—Teacher Resources Online (Lesson Plans and Community Site)
o Inspired Learning Website: http://www.inspiredlearningcommunity.com
o Check Comprehensive Curriculum data base for pre-made activities
http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/cctech
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Diagram
o Concept Maps
o Idea Maps
o Webs
o Storyboards
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Diagram View: Menu Bar Options:
o Super Grouper Tool (use for categorizing and sorting ideas)
o Listen (scroll over words and the program will read them to students)
o Symbol Maker (lets you draw and create your own symbols)
o Word Guide (includes definitions, recorded speech for pronunciation, synonyms and antonyms,
syllabication, parts of speech, sample sentences and pairs 1400 words with images to enhance word
recognition and comprehension)
•
Outline-organizes
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
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o Written Documents
o Speeches
o Plans for frame working ideas
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Outline View: Menu Bar Options
o Publish (lets you transfer your document from a Kidspiration document to a word processing document.
Also allows you to print the diagram and outline view on the same page).
II. Best Way to Learn Everything about Kidspiration without sending students/Teachers to a
workshop!
Tutorial Lesson 1- Introduction to Diagram View Getting Started page 41
• Start Kidspiration
• Start a new diagram
• Add your name to a project
• Save your work
• Add symbols to a diagram
• Use the Symbol palette
• Perform a symbol search
• Show and hide symbol captions
• Draw a symbol using the Symbol Maker tool
• Move symbols
• Change the colors of symbols
• Connect symbols using links
• Remove part of the diagram
• Fix a mistake
• Change the look of text using font, text size and color
• Close a project and return to the Kidspiration Starter
Tutorial Lesson 2- Introduction to Writing View Getting Started page 58
• Switch from Diagram View to Outline View
• Add ideas
• Change the level of ideas
• Change the order of ideas
• Look up a word in the Word Guide
• Add details to ideas
• Change the look of text
• Hide the lined paper
• Change the prefix type
• Save your project
• Publish your project in a word processing document
Tutorial Lesson 3 – Categorizing ideas using the SuperGrouper Tool Getting Started page 67
• Add a SuperGrouper category
• Create a new SuperGrouper shape
• Add a title to a SuperGrouper category
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
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•
•
•
•
Change the colors of a SuperGrouper category
Remove symbols from a SuperGrouper category
Add symbols to a SuperGrouper category
View SuperGrouper categories in Writing View
Tutorial Lesson 4- Using the Teacher Menu Getting Started page 76
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Enable teacher menu
Add a password to the Teacher Menu
Add an Internet hyperlink
Create a Teacher symbol—(useful when instructions/ symbols are not relevant in writing view)
Lock a symbol
Listen to ideas in a diagram
Record words or narration
Save your project using the Activity Wizard
III. Quick Tips —
• To change the background color, font size, font color, etc of more than one bubble at one time:
Hold the “Shift Key” as you click on each bubble that you would like to be the same.
Once you have “highlighted” all the bubbles you want to include make your changes. You
will see the changes occur as you click.
•
To lock more than one item at a time in place:
Click on the first item, and then hold down the shift key as you click on the other items you
wish to lock in place. In the menu bar click: Teacher Lock Item
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To change the color of premade symbols:
The symbol needs to be inserted into your project before you can change colors. Highlight the
symbol then look at the formatting toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You can change the
symbol colors by working with the small color palette ovals there.
IV. Saving a Document as a Template
You can create custom templates that contain any type of content. Many teachers create custom
templates to meet the needs of their own classroom environments.
In addition to content, a template contains default settings that control how the template looks,
transfers and prints, including:
o The libraries that appear on the Symbol palette
o The custom libraries available with a template
o Access to online symbol collection for symbol searches
o Default formatting for text and objects
o Default settings for transferring the template to a word processor
o Default settings for printing the template
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
3
Directions for saving a template
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In the Main Menu select Teacher.
Click on Save with Activity Wizard and follow those on screen instructions. (See diagram
below)
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Click: Next.
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The Symbol Library Selection default box appears:
Decide whether you want students to be able to access all symbol libraries or limit them
to a specific set of libraries.
If you decide to limit the libraries, you must:
*Click to highlight the libraries you want the students to view in the window on left(can
only transfer one library at a time)
*Click: Select button in the middle section of the window
*The library selected will appear in the window on the right.
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•
Click: Next
When the Picture View Defaults dialog box appears, you can click on each section
button to set the defaults you wish the template to look like.
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
4
•
•
Click: Next.
Text Defaults dialog box appears. Choose the text font colors, sizes, styles, etc.
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•
Click: Next.
The Writing View Defaults dialog box allows you to choose how your outline will
appear and what your published document could include. Choose whether or not you
want your diagram and outline to appear together in your word processing document.
•
Click: Next.
The last dialog box to appear will be: Name and Category.
You can click on each section button to set the defaults for where the document will be
saved.
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Where you
will save your
template
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If you wish to save your template on your school’s server so that all computers in your
school can access it, you will have to:
* Click the Another Location button
•
Click: Save Activity.
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
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A regular Windows “Save” window will appear.
*Click on the drop down icon at the end of the Save in: box.
* Select the location where you want to save your template.
* Click: Save.
V. Creating Your Own Symbol Palette:
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Choose all of the graphics you wish to use in your symbol library and place
them in a folder either on your computer or the server.
Go to UtilityNew Symbol Library follow on screen directions to
complete.
VI: Math View
Math Tools Start Up
Screen
Add and move
through pages
Math Text Box
SuperGrouper
Cross out stamp
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
Add a background
grid
6
There is a tutorial for each of the five math tools, one tutorial for using Step Workspace and a seventh
tutorial for using the Free Workspace (Getting Started pages 85 to 174). Each tutorial takes about 10
minutes to complete.
Denise Clark---Classroom Technology Specialist
Region IV TLTC
[email protected]
7