The templates used for data entry introduce the concept of variables, and require students to consider which variables they will measure before executing their experiments. As children progress through Dalton's First Program, they develop multiple means of communication. However, emergent writers cannot yet fully express the complexity and depth of their thinking through writing. The Rain Forest Project for Kindergarteners was developed to create a technological tool which would allow children to communicate orally and pictorially, as well as through writing. As part of an extended investigation of animal behavior and adaptation, kindergarten students visit the Central Park Wildlife Conservation Center to study how tropical rain forest animals protect themselves from predators.
Teachers assist the children in recording their thoughts on an audio cassette tape.
Recording at the Conservation Center allows the children to compose their ideas with the subject immediately available for reference. Upon return to Dalton, the children transfer their observational drawings to the computer and add text. To make the finished program more accessible to emergent readers, the captions are restricted to the information contained in the child's recorded oral remarks. A SuperCard stack is made for each class, incorporating the auditory, visual, and textual components produced by the students, to produce a multimedia communication tool exploring how rain forest animals protect themselves. Completed stacks are made available to the children on each kindergarten classroom computer.