|
The interim
evaluation is an overview of the product based on the evaluator’s investigation
of its capabilities outside the classroom environment. It provides information
on the subject and scope of the product, its content and appearance, and the
potential benefits it could offer teachers in the classroom.
|
| |
|
| |
|
| Context: |
Plants UK is suitable for teaching the Life Processes and Living Things component of the science national curriculum to key stage 2 and 3 pupils. It could be used in a classroom or in an ICT suite with an interactive whiteboard. Alternatively it could be used by individual pupils or by pairs or groups. It would be particularly valuable as part of a practical session in which pupils seek to classify and identify plants and flowers. An internet connection is not essential but would provide access to a website with support material and downloadable updates. The program has no sound component. [The publisher also suggests that the package can help non-specialist teachers develop confidence in identifying animals and plants.] |
| |
|
| Technical information: |
I and two other teachers installed the product in our classrooms ourselves without problems. The school’s ICT technician also installed it without difficulty on a network, for use in an IT suite. We were able to access Plants UK each time we used it. No special software plug-ins are required. Technical support notes are included with the software as well as clear minimum hardware specifications. Additional technical help is also available from the publisher’s website. |
| |
|
| Design & navigation: |
The CD is well designed and would be easy for children to navigate. There is no multimedia content but the illustrations, including full-colour paintings and descriptions of each species, are bright and colourful. Pupils use the software to sort plants into families and, by a process of elimination, attempt to identify particular plants. They do this by examining particular characteristics of plants and answering questions based on these features. There are three databases, covering wild flowers, trees and shrubs and grasses. There is a useful help section and mouse rollover help to facilitate the step-by-step process of identifying plants. Pupils’ results can be printed as a permanent record. |
| |
|
| Content: |
The CD seeks to foster an appreciation and understanding of the variety and complexity of living plants by means of a step-by-step system, involving observation and selection of key features, for identifying common British species. The program includes most of the common plants and flowers that children are likely to find in the environment around their home or within the vicinity of the school. The program is straightforward, child-friendly and does not use overly technical language. The package includes an excellent range of support material. This includes activity sheets on such subjects as pollination, sorting and classifying, food chains and habitats, spreadsheets for recording identified plants and a set of laminated posters. There are also some interactive exercises, on subjects including food webs and photosynthesis, that would be best used with an interactive whiteboard. You do not need the support materials to use the core program; they are designed to be used alongside the main resource. The package also includes illustrated, laminated guides that can be used to support field work. |
| |
|
| |
Curriculum coverage: |
| |
Plants UK supports the science national curriculum at key stage 2. In particular, it facilitates the teaching of the Life Processes and Living Things unit (levels 2 to 7). As part of this unit, children are required to understand why particular plants live in particular habitats. Accordingly the program seeks to teach pupils to observe and identify the particular features of different plants, trees, flowers and grasses that are adapted to their environment. The support materials take the process of classification further, focusing, for example, on pollination, food webs or seed dispersal. The core activity is probably best used to support practical group work in which pupils consolidate their knowledge of plant features by attempting to identify individual plants. Additional teacher notes discuss some of the difficulties of identification. |
| |
|
| |
Learning outcomes: |
| |
I would expect most pupils to have improved their knowledge of the structure, characteristics and features of different plants after using this product. They should be able to observe individual plants more closely and have a greater understanding of the characteristics of different plants. They should also appreciate that, because plants are very variable, they can sometimes be difficult to identify exactly. More generally, Plants UK should foster an appreciation of the importance of plant variety to human life. Pupils’ work can be printed out at any stage for assessment purposes. The selections pupils make in observing and identifying plants can also be printed as a permanent record. |
| |
|
| Classroom management & preparation: |
Plants UK is a simple piece of software, requiring no special ICT skills to install or for teachers or pupils to use. The package provides user support in the form of accompanying notes with helpful advice on installation and operation. Minimum technical requirements are explained clearly. An interactive whiteboard is not essential, as the program can also be used on a stand-alone PC or on a network in an ICT suite. However, the software could be used with an interactive whiteboard to great effect as part of a whole-class lesson. Pupils could use the core, plant-sorting activity as part of practical investigative work, or teachers could use it as part of a whole-class demonstration. Teachers could use the additional activities (both PC and paper-based) as optional challenges for the class or to extend more able pupils. While there is no particular support for SEN pupils, the software is very simple to use and avoids overly technical language. It is also very visual in approach, with large, clear, colourful pictures of different plants that should help to improve the skill of close botanical observation. There is no built-in assessment facility but the ability to print off screenshots at any stage is very useful, allowing pupils and teachers to keep track of pupils’ work including the answers they gave to the classification and identification questions. |
| |
|
| Summary: |
Plants UK encourages children to examine the observable features of plants closely in order to identify them and the families to which they belong. The process of selection and elimination should develop pupil’s skills not only in observation but also in classification and giving reasons for the choices they have made. The software should also encourage collaborative group work and promote discussion of practical science investigation. It is easy to use and avoids overly technical language. It has a bright and attractive design, with large, colourful pictures of plants, trees and flowers that will appeal to children. It is appropriate for pupils at key stage 2 but could also be used with older pupils.
|
|
