Children read environmental print when choosing the accessories or software programs on the desktop. The picture frame contains an image that may be a child's photograph, an icon, or a picture drawn by the child. The photograph guides younger children as they manipulate the program. Icons or images drawn by children can also be represented in the picture frame. Children click on the picture frame and use the drawing tools and a palette of colors to make an image.
Drawing is a precursor to emergent writing.
Over time, the meaning of a mark changes from an experimental scribble, to a house, a person, a mock letter, an identifiable letter, then a word. Children have been observed using the KidDesk address card file to record their name and classmates names along with special notes written using invented spellings. Beginning writing with invented spelling can be helpful for developing understanding of the identity and segmentation of speech sounds and sound-spelling relationships. Voice mail messages can be relayed between friends in a classroom. Oral language is as much a part of early literacy skills as reading and writing and is thought to develop concurrently.