[kidsgames] Re: the younger set

[Jeffery Douglas Waddell <jeff@smluc.org>]

Hey,

On Wed, 29 Sep 1999, Doug Loss wrote:

> Paul Kienzle wrote:
> > 
> > I spent a couple of weeks writing my
> > own StickerBook program (http://users.pwernet.co.uk/kienzle/stickers).
> > As it stands, it may have a place in an early school art curriculum.
> > 
> Not to be too anal-retentive, but you forgot an "o" in "powernet."
> 

thanks for the patch....

> > With some minor changes to StickerBook (adding labels to the stickers
> > and displaying them when they are selected) and some proper content,
> > StickerBook could be used for introductory botany.
> > 
> How about the addition (I admit that I haven't tried StickerBook yet) of
> a short section for the children to type a sentence or two about the
> picture they've made?

Then added to that a place on the internet where they can display there
creations (Internet Gallery anyone) just like at the county fair?

>  This could convert the program into one of those
> "Storybook Weaver" programs, especially if multiple pictures could be
> grouped together into a story.
> 

Cool.

> > If there is interest amongst the artistic types in the group, I could
> > create an engine for animated story books.  Grimm's fairy tales is a
> > ready source of content (hey, it works for Disney), as indeed are any
> > other collections of folk or religious texts.  I would base it on the
> > heart of StickerBook, with a few extra pieces such as text support, sound
> > support (there are a couple of network aware audio servers which might
> > work, but I don't have any idea how to sync them with the animation),
> > and a good speech engine (with 20 or 30 languages, you don't want to
> > ship audio for each of them).  This may be more than I can tackle alone,
> > but some of the pieces may already be out there.  Suggestions?
> > 
> This is a great idea!  How about adding the possibility of having it
> work as a decision tree rather than just as a linear story.  I'm
> thinking of the "create your own adventure" books, where the reader has
> to choose between 2-3 alternatives at the end of each short segment;
> each choice directs him or her to a different page with a different
> result.  This allows a bunch of ways to traverse the tree, generating
> different stories each time.
> 

excellent.

> > More ambitious types could create "A day in the life of" book series,
> > showing an individual going about their day.  You could use this for
> > teaching history (how does technology change day-to-day life) and culture
> > (how do people in different parts of the world live).
> 
> This might be an especially useful idea if it's easy for children to
> enter the data by themselves or with the help of teachers.  A class in
> Ghana (for example) could create "a day in the life of a Ghanan student"
> and exchange it with the equivalent daily life visions of classes in
> Mongolia or Venezuela.  I say classes, but individuals with the
> necessary equipment could do it just as well.
> 
> 

ok who is going to bring the Ghanan's, Mongolian's and Venezuelans up to
speed? ;)


Jeff


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