This is the current issue of the Canvastic
Community Newsletter. This publication helps support the use
of the popular publishing software product, Canvastic. Registered users
are automatically subscribed to the newsletter but anyone can sign up
at www.canvastic.com/community/.
Issues contain lesson plans or activities, tips, news
and useful Internet links. Your participation is encouraged. Please
send ideas for inclusion to info@canvastic.com.
Sell Canvastic to your students and make $$ for your school. See the
news items on the right.
Pilot Canvastic for 2 months. Have everyone test it.
Park City Schools in Utah did, they bought it for every elementary
school as did Steamboat Springs, CO. See canvastic.com/techteacheroffer-dm
for details.
The new on line version of Canvastic is ready. Try it!
Purchase Canvastic from one our resellers and get twice
the number of licenses. Pay for one, get two. Pay for 10, get 20. Pay
for one school, get two schools. Twice the licenses for the price of
one.
All of these resellers should be
participating. If they aren't, ask why not?
CANVASTIC.NET is
a really simple, fun version of Canvastic that runs on the Internet.
There is nothing to install. You just go to the web page and start
drawing and writing. It will work for Windows, Mac and Linux.
This version was designed for Pre-K to 2nd grade but you might be drawn
into the new Replay feature as well. It "replays" your brush strokes
like a movie. Our crack team of testers (Mtn. View Elementary's 2nd
grade) had a seed growing into a tree with leaves in just a few
minutes. They loved it and the computer lab teacher had visions of
primary sequential activities dancing in his head.
The most simple version of Canvastic.NET is completely free for now. It
prints and saves and makes simple primary publishing a breeze.
Make some cash for your technology needs this year. You
can offer Canvastic to your students to use at home for a discount and
raise funds for your school at the same time. Call us for details at
877-579-8207. It is easy and you can raise $10 for each
copy of Canvastic that your students buy. All you have to do is take
orders and distribute the CDs! We do everything else.
Pilot Canvastic with Everyone
Now any school or class can try Canvastic with
students with no cost. You can install Canvastic on as many
computers and in as many locations as you wish. Most people are picking
a school and/or lab to simplify things but you can configure your pilot
any way you wish. It takes a few minutes to setup on the phone. We get
all the contact and installation details and have a short lesson on
installing it correctly then your registration code arrives via email.
It will be valid for 60 days. You can decide when it starts. Call us
toll free at 877.579.8207
30 day subscriptions to Dot NET are also available.
We know that technology integration specialists like
you have no time to waste. With that in mind we are hosting and
updating an easy-to-find on-line resource that will help you make the
most of using Canvastic with your students. You will find lessons,
templates and more.
Send us your templates and examples to share with
everyone.
Check it out!
Tip
Share this movie with all that think technology is
taking time away from the "curriculum." Many of the ideas expressed
here so well are the reasons that authentic educational software like
Canvastic came to be.
This lesson will provide the opportunity for students
to author, analyze, solve, explain and publish a detailed multi-part
math story problem with the solution. The problem and solution along
with graphic aides will be published in a presentation format with
Canvastic. The students will write the story problem, the solution and
create graphics which will illustrate the problem. While this specific
lesson plan is aimed at 4-7 grade, it can be adapted for younger
students as well.
This activity will integrate math, language and
technology skills in an authentic setting. The problems can be aimed at
the students’ own math level or below. Students will more fully
understand the steps required to complete multi-part math problems.
Their skill on those problems should increase. Students will gain
experience in clearly stating directions and instructions in a written
form.
Procedure
1. Introduce the project in the classroom, not the lab.
Have the students use their Math text books as a resource of examples.
Lead the discussion towards an understanding that there are some
problems which are multi- step. Explain that they will be publishing a
multi-media presentation with 5 parts; The Title and credits, The
Problem, Graphic Hints, Call to Solve, and the Solution. Have them
begin thinking about what they will write. Some will want to write it
at home but ask that they only take notes on their ideas and do the
actual writing in the lab, later.
2. In the lab, use the Canvastic word processing tool to write the
first draft of the problems. The teacher will need to advise during
this step. The problems should be neither too hard nor too easy. The
difficulty could be adjusted depending on your intended audience (i.e.
their own grade level or an earlier one). The focus should be on making
the problem interesting. Do not allow any editing or spell checking.
Assign the solution of their problem as homework if they haven't
already done it. Have them save this page as the “problem work page”.
3. In the lab, open the problem from the previous session. Use the
spell check feature, and proof reading skills to edit and revise the
problem. The teacher should counsel those students whose problems are
too easy or miss the mark. The goal is to make it clear, complete, and
grammatically perfect. Depending on the functional level of the student
and magnitude of the mistakes, more or less teacher help may be needed.
Formatting, such as font, size, color, etc. is not needed. In fact,
this is better left to the presentation creation steps.
4. In the lab, use the Canvastic word processing tool to write the
first draft of the solutions. The teacher will need to advise during
this step. The solutions should be complete. Mathematical terms should
be used correctly. Clarity should be the focus of the writing. Do not
allow any editing or spell checking. Have them save this page as the
“solution work page”.
5. In the lab, open the solution from the previous session. Use proof
reading skills to edit and revise the solution. The goal is to make it
grammatically perfect. Depending on the functional level of the student
and magnitude of the mistakes, more or less teacher help may be needed.
Formatting, such as font, size, color, etc. is not needed. In fact,
this is better left to the presentation creation steps.
6 & 7. In the lab, use the Canvastic graphics tools to create the
graphic aids for the problems. These are meant to illustrate the
problem and make it easier for the reader to grasp the details. Besides
the graphic aids for solving the problem, you may want them to create a
graphic to appear on the title page of the presentation. Have them save
this page as the “graphics work page”. They may need more than one
graphics work page.
8 & 9. In the lab, use Canvastic to begin the
actual publishing of the project. Begin with a new document for every
“page or screen ” of the finished product. Have them name the pages
sequentially. This will help with assembling the pages in order.
Have them create the Title and credits (1), the Problem (2), Graphic
Hints (3), Call to Solve (4), and the Solution (5) pages. Care should
be taken to arrange the text and graphics on screen for the best visual
effect. Text and graphics created can be selected, copied, and pasted
into the final pages from the work pages. Have the students save often.
Give the students a "tour" of Slide Show controls found under the File
menu. Especially note how you can add all the pages from their folder,
drag to re-arrange the slides and use the – and + buttons to delete and
add pages.
Have them fill in the appropriate text on the Call to Solve page. This
page might give a hint about how to start or how many steps are needed.
10. This is show day(s)! Each Problem Presentation can be shown to the
class on the large lab screen as a math assignment. The presentations
could be running on the student stations and the students could rotate
through.
Optional: Presentations are easily turned into web graphics for display
on the school web site. Use the Export command under the File menu to
save pages into web friendly formats.
Needs and Preparation
Experience with reading and solving written math
problems. (Story Problems)
Time for an in-depth language, math, and technology
integrated activity. (10 sessions are likely)
An accessible folder for saving pages of the
project. Name pages sequentially.
Good story problem examples, from the students' math
books or other resources, to use as models.
Explain the use of the ready made templates in
Canvastic. The example shows the Fractions choice from the Slide Show
Frames.
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