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INTRODUCTION In the recent years, technology continues to evolve and improves its capability affecting every individuals daily routines. Technology has impacted the different facets of life and certainly changed and redefined the way we live (Oak, 2 !!". One of the most common technologies used by people around the globe is computer. #ccording to International Telecommunications $nion or IT$, in 2 ! , the ratio of %ilipino computer users over the &hilippines population results in 2',( , over '',' ,!(( or 2'.() of our population. The

users of computers vastly increased and prospered since it was invented. *owadays, computers in any form become an integral part of our lives due to its functionality. The purpose of computers has engaged into comple+ity which made everything possible beyond our thoughts.

,ince there was a wide-range of computer usability, one of the emerging areas of computing is software development. ,oftware varies with application depending on the contents and purpose. One way to implement good software amongst series of development is electronic learning or simply e-.earning. /apid e-.earning is an ongoing trend which enables fle+ible and cost-effective creation of learning materials (&forte 0 ,tol1enberg, 2 (". One of such obvious

transformation and enhancement that will greatly affect the living standard in the future is the revolutioni1ed technology being implemented in the education section (,tudy$p, 2 ! ". Technological development in the !'' s and 2 s appears to be beneficial to education.

2urrently, technology improvement follows 3oore4s law which states that computers become twice as efficient appro+imately every two years (.ebedev, 2 ! ". 5ducation has changed significantly in the last twenty years. One of the main reasons education has undergone so many changes is because of technological development (.ebedev, 2 ! ".

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.earning across the world is changing and bringing about this change is the use of information and communications technology (I2T" or simply, computer, which has advanced the access to information and is providing a richer, more immediate and relevant opportunities for those who have embraced it (%amor, 2 !!". The use of I2T for education is revolutioni1ing the traditional classroom and encourages learners to progress outside of the four walls of classroom, is more personali1ed and has become powerful motivational tool6 the use of I2T in education is greatly helping developing countries to catch up with the education race becoming a great e7uali1er and providing access (%amor, 2 !!". 5-.earning develops into different phases which targets not 8ust higher education and adults but also children. The case of collaborative learning becomes available for children as a computer user (2rook, !''9". :ids and computers are nearly inseparable these days (;eiting, 2 !!".

# recent study on Internet #ccess and $se by %ilipino ,chool children showed (< percent of the children respondents use the computer or internet and =< percent started between 2-' years of age (#sian Institute of >ournalism and 2ommunication, 2 '". The statistics showed that

computer becomes more popular not only for adults but also for children. Our childrens lives are already influenced by the technology (Indian 2hild, 2 !!". 2omputers are an important (and virtually unavoidable" part of your child4s life and education (;eiting, 2 !!".The introduction of technology in the educational field has made the process of learning and knowledge sharing, an interactive and fun-filled activity (Oak, 2 ! ". # positive and effective combination of education for children and technology could be a good impact on the advancement and preparation on %ilipino childrens learning process providing with parental guidance.

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PROJECT CONTEXT

#ccording to the human capital theory, the economic development of a nation is a correlation of the 7uality and 7uantity of its education (Okemakinde 0 Olaniyan, 2 5conomic development of a nation corresponds with the number of educated people. ?The modern world in which we live is often termed a @knowledge society@6 education and information have become production factors potentially more valuable than labor and capital. Thus, in a globali1ed setting, investment in human capital has become a condition for international competitiveness (3einardus, 2 ="A 9".

The &hilippines education system faces different problems causes for the 7uality of education in the &hilippines to take risks. #s 2ru1 stated, our country needs ! ,B<' new classrooms, !.22 million additional seats, C(. = million new te+t books, and !2,!=! more teachers for 2 solve (2 C and summing up to !!.= billion in &hilippine currency which is impossible to

C, >anuary 22". 2 to

#nother potential problem reported from Dep5d %act ,heet for #cademic Eear 2 2

( gives the following education dataF Teacher F &upil (5lementary ,tudents" #verage /atio is

!F=C while Teacher F ,tudent (;igh ,chool ,tudents" #verage /atio is !F<! ( >obo, 2C 3arch 2 '". &opulation growth in the country is 2.= percent annually which results to !.( millions of babies born every year and probably claims their educational provision but as a conflict with gargantuan problem, our country only has few resources, lack of facilities and too many students (3einardus, 2 =".

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Gith what reality reflects, 3ainardus states that the 7uality of &hilippine education has been declining continuously for 2B years agreed with the statement from senior department of education that schools are failing to teach the competence the average citi1ens need to become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling (2 =".

The mission of Dep5d is to provide 7uality basic education that is e7uitably accessible to all and lays the foundation for life-long learning and service for the common good (Department of 5ducation HDep5dI, 2 !!". Ironically, the problems stated and the mission of Dep5d seems to contradict with each other. ,ince the computers continue to grow and the users continue patroni1ing it, e-.earning could be a complement in eliminating problems concern with the education issues. The problem in education remained unsolved for years but through technology, the problems might be reduced. *ew technology can support learning6 in particular, computers can be a medium in which material can be rendered accessible through creating visible and manipulative representations (2rook, !''9". I-Turo is an electronic learning tutorial software application especially made to nurture minds of young generation. I-Turo provides teaching and tutorial methodologies for young learners between =-C years of age. It responds with the need of our society in terms of early education and parental tutoring both accessible at home and based on &hilippine conte+t. It answers the needs of e-.earning software for a child which is purely based on the standardi1ed &hilippine curriculum.

The ,oftware application satisfies the interaction between parents and children in a convenient and educational way. %rom the software title itself, I-Turo, a %ilipino word meant to

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teach and to give knowledge is the main concern of the aforesaid software. %rom manual teaching, I-Turo re7uires the integration of teaching electronically through computers. I-Turo centers contents based upon &hilippine curriculum for pre-school education while conte+tuali1ing the &hilippine culture and environment. #s differ with e-.earning, the software is not intended to be learned alone or even distance learning but to be a medium for educating children with the guidance of the parents.

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PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION A. PURPOSE The primary purpose of I-Turo is to enrich the knowledge of young %ilipinos on the preschool level which is the foundation of fundamental knowledge combining different elements of teaching from the creative interfacing that captures the interest of the child into the valuable contents. 2ognitive development is the focus of the software to help young learners to cope up from the possible impact of education crisis. 2ognitive development includes development of communication skills, sensory-perceptual and numeracy concepts and skills. 2ommunication skills refer to competencies in e+pressing ideas and feelings both in 5nglish and %ilipino such as oral e+pression and basic readiness skills of listening, pre-reading and writing (,outheast #sian 3inisters of 5ducation Organi1ation H,5#35OI, 2 =". ,ensory-perceptual and numeracy skills

refer to the ability to observe, discriminate, compare and classify, and to understand, count, read and write numbers (,outheast #sian 3inisters of 5ducation Organi1ation H,5#35OI, 2 &re-school services in the country is !'.B ) over !!.B million children aged =".

to C years

(5ducation 5ncyclopedia, n.d". #s concluded, pre-schools in the country only served few children under the aforesaid ages. It shows that more than half of %ilipino children doesnt go to school for nursery and kindergarten which logically results to more than half of children population spend their pre-primary learning at home or might not e+perience this level of learning. ,ince pre-school level is compulsory, I-Turo provides an alternative way to e+perience early childhood education which is important to childs cognitive development. 5arly childhood education showed benefit and positive outcome on childs intellectual Juotient (IJ" development and fewer social or behavioral problems (5llis-2hristensen, 2 !!". ,ome long-term benefits of early education in pre-school learners are greater parental involvement, fewer

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referrals to special education or remedial services, higher grades, better social skills, greater ability to focus and even less likely to commit illegal acts (5llis-2hristensen, 2 !!". 2omputers and software titles increases in numbers and targets young children progressively (Indian 2hild, 2 !!". *owadays, children learns to read and write with computer games becoming a childs learning tool instead of traditional flash cards and other materials (Indian 2hild, 2 !!". Gith the following computer usage, pre-school children today spend hours in front of computer everyday (;eiting, 2 !!". These evidences purposely support what the software aims which is to apply information technology into education that can lessen some problems. &re-school education consists of nurseries and kindergartens that cater children under the age of =-C (,outheast #sian 3inisters of 5ducation Organi1ation H,5#35OI, 2 =". 2hildren =-

B year of age are developmentally ready to use computers and a best opportunity to let them control and e+plore computer and software (5ducation 5ncyclopedia, 2 !!". On the other hand, children ages B-( are ready to begin using computers for more directed purposes, which includes communication, information gathering and skills development (5ducation 5ncyclopedia, 2 !!". /esearch suggests computer use among pre-school children might actually improve their readiness and academic achievement (;eiting, 2 !!". In a study, children who worked on computer at home and at school using educational software performed better on measures of school readiness and cognitive development rather than children without computers (;eiting, 2 !!". I-Turo aims to provide a 7uality early education with the help of parental tutorial. The software application does not intend to replace the pedagogical and traditional approaches but to

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be a supportive education to add up on the learning e+perience of a child. ,ince numerous problems were discussed in the &hilippines 7uality of education, it is the time to make necessary action of both parents and child. &arental involvement is a great factor influencing child development which benefits positively into childs growth. The Importance of parental involvement is reinforced with the increase of effectiveness of the education the child receives (;ornby, 2 ". &arent involvement at pre-school was a ma8or component and tends for more

success and achievements of a child. #s ;ornby states that greatest gains are made when parents are more directly involved such as when they act as tutors with their children (2 ". &erry

preschool pro8ect in the $,# concluded that children who had undergone with parental tutorial had significantly higher IJs, increased academic achievement, decreased need for special education placement, and less unemployment (;ornby, 2 ". ,ome parents rely with computer

for learning process of their children applicable for interaction, which is one important learning step (Indian 2hild, 2 !!". #s a part of I-Turo, parental involvement would help in shaping childs intellectual growth with tutorial system. 5arly childhood education is general term that describes a diverse range of programs (5llis-2hristensen, 2 !!". ,ince preprimary education is not compulsory, the software can provide the needs for education in convenient way with unlimited access (,outheast #sian 3inisters of 5ducation Organi1ation H,5#35OI, 2 =". ,oftware can provide compilation of

programs for early childhood education and tutorial in less e+pense with more parental bonding, peer interaction while learning. &arents who commit to an ?at homeA education, need to commit to being creative and engage in raising their children (5llis-2hristensen, 2 !!". The software could enhance childs progress through different methods of learning and new form of material

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for teaching. 3ost e+perts agree that early childhood education works best in low pressure, social and very friendly environments (5llis-2hristensen, 2 !!". #nother purpose of the software application is to support collaborative learning with multi-users. Through different set of knowledge and activities, the software could inform children with knowledge according to their need, from basic up to moral values. The software also intends to uplift and populari1e the values and &hilippines-based knowledge to the eye of %ilipino youth at an early stage. I-Turo pursues to educate the children as a home learning e+perience with the parents since the ratio of teacher and students continues to increase and the focus for each student directly lessen affecting the learners progress. The pre-school level of education is not a re7uirement to basic education, through the software application children could learn providing with guidance and interaction between parents and child or with other users. Through considerations on different factors influencing learning, the purpose of the software could successfully integrate technology in form of education. Thorough e+planation of I-Turo is provided in the description. B. DESCRIPTION B.1 What is I-Turo? I-Turo is an electronic learning tutorial software application primarily intends to support pre-school learners and provides basic knowledge for cognitive development. The software caters early childhood education and parental involvement through tutoring system. The software is designed base on the needs, interests and applicability for childs knowledge progress. The software is a supplement for educational tools and another medium to impart basic information in a new set of material that would match the interest

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of the children today. It will not be a new form of technological invention but an enhancement and upgrade on the e+isting educational software across the globe. It will add innovative and interactive ways of implementing tutorial software to the child by the parents and new input device depending on the childs capability. It will also include multiple users on a single computer for parental tutorial interaction and even parent to children tutorial which means of tutoring children simultaneously and interactively. 2ooperative work skills and language skills develop through working with others on computer through cooperative activities (5ducation 5ncyclopedia, 2 !!". B.2 The So t!are users ,ince I-turo is designed for children at age of three (=" to si+ (C" years, parents and child are the target users of the software. 2hildren at these stages en8oy interacting with active links and areas on the screen, discovering the effects of clicking different choices (5ducation 5ncyclopedia, 2 !!". #t an early stage of =-C, children need

guidance from an adult. &arents play an important role into the child development process that will depend on the proper way they interact and support their children on their cognitive progress as a part of growth. The software re7uires minimum of two users, one would be the tutor and another would be the child. The tutor will be the master educator, most probably the parent to work with the child at early stage who will guide the child on the over-all process of tutorial and education with the help of the software. The tutor does not need to be professional, as long as he or she knows basic knowledge on computer literacy, the software will guide user in the flow of tutorial process. The second user will be the child who acts as the preprimary learner. The child should be at = to C to appropriately imbibe the information on the software. The tutor could also handle

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simultaneous users with ma+imum of <. The software could accept additional children users each time ranges up to <, while additional new mouse is compulsory every time new child user is associated with the group. B." #u$ti-%oi&ti&' Te(h&o$o') The software applied one of the latest innovations technology to date which is 3ulti-pointing. 3ulti-pointing technology can handle multiple mice synchronously without any error or confusion on the computer. 5very input mouse on the software has its own identity and does not affect the cursor movement of another. 3ulti-pointing improves the interaction for multi-users in the software which mainly a sub8ect in providing parental involvement in tutorial software such as I-Turo. This technology helps the software to establish advancement on early education and parental tutoring software with the increase on access of possible users and reduction on the cost for additional personal computers. It supports collaborative learning between children and reduces time framework on the tutorial session of different child which can be done in one certain time concurrently with the children. Through the use of this technology, the ob8ective to handle B users in one software application could be implied successfully. #ccording to 2rook, technology could be used in collaborative learning effectively (!''9". B.* The So t!are (o&te&ts The contents of the software are the most important aspects in an effective learning e+perience for pre-school learners through technology. The software development is intended for children under = to C years of age. This supplement or tool for early education and tutorial is base on the contents suitable for the children.

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%rom the top approach, the design of I-Turo is graphically friendly into childrens eye view. It combines good color combination and intermediate graphics resolution to hinge on childrens visual capability. The color scheme of the software consists of primary colors, soft te+tured colors, and light and bright variety of color combination to introduce children to different colors. The appearance of the software targets to accommodate the appropriate design for childrens interest and attention which affect learning through visual implications. The software is also composed of sounds and music to boost the en8oyment and to carry on childrens focus. It also shows graphic images such as different ob8ects to reflect the reality into the software. The category of knowledge for tutorial is divided into different sub8ects such as 5nglish (language and reading" and %ilipino (Gika and &agbasa" based on the curriculum. 5ach @$nit@ included in the software4s contents covers knowledge for cognitive development of a child. 5ach @$nit@ also consists of lectures, activities and assessments. .ectures are managed by the parents, tutor to be precise to educate children from the software contents. .ectures are purposely designed for e+iguous interaction to inform the child rela+ingly by the tutor little by little. .ectures ac7uire small mice movements from the tutor and childKchildren to embark the knowledge into their minds. #ctivities follow variety of methods to enrich their minds actively on what have they learned and as a practice and application. #ctivities might be done interactively with peers and tutor or a choice of alone depending on the preference of the tutor or the child. #ssessment is done through testing and e+aminations in a friendly environment. 5very assessment is graded right after to see the progress and can be easily evaluated. The lectures and activities are fi+ed in format while assessments come randomly for the

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number of mice involved in a session. #ll the contents can handle ! tutor and children up to < users as long as the tutor can work smoothly with these children. 5ach level also has sub category of sub8ects to organi1e certain information accordingly. The sub8ects of each all level are similar on the field but differ in scope and difficulty. The sub8ects of the system are based on the &hilippine curriculum prescribed by the Department of 5ducation for preschool students or pre-primary learners. #ll information is based upon books referred and preferred by the Department of 5ducation, educators, and other professionals. #ll the contents are assured to be relevant, related,

and accurate. The methods of implementing information undergo with psychological approvals and referrals from the child psychologists and come also from researches and documentations by the professionals. I-Turo is conte+tuali1ed from &hilippine based conte+t. It adds moral values and guidance tutorial for childhood good manners and right conducts. ,ince the software is designed for %ilipino children, it promotes &hilippines not 8ust graphically but also some lectures and activities which mainly involve &hilippine literature, culture, values, and other country based facts. The design of the software such as ob8ects is mainly a part reflected by the &hilippines conte+t and reality applicable for kids.

B.+ The ,ar-!are The hardware of I-Turo is composed of any computer as the main that can install software based on software re7uirements. The 2ompact Disc would be the default storage of the software installer for computers. The I-Turo is designed for kids hence, the input

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device of the software should respond with childrens capability in interacting with computers. ;andling normal mouse is an issue on ease of use for children under C years old below. One way to solve difficulty in handling interaction with computer is to produce a child-friendly mouse which can accommodate childrens capability in convenient manner. The design of $,L ($niversal ,erial Lus" cabled mouse is bigger than the normal si1e and shaped circularly to easily and comfortably hold it. The mouse has e7ual and proportional shape to easily notice the middle button by the users. The design is proportional to cater not only right-handed but also left-handed. The mouse is big enough to support childrens hand and navigate the mouse through optical sensors. ,ince children took a hard time to understand the dissimilarities in clicking the left click and right click, a new design of mouse is implemented to handle software application for kids. The mouse only has a one click functions as the usual left click of ordinary mouse. The right click is not necessary to be a part of input device of the software so6 right click is removed to eliminate confusion of children between left and right click. The left click is placed at the center as one and only press button for inputting or clicking. In terms of physical design, the color of the five mice varies with different colors such as blue, yellow, green, pink, and purple to showcase variation of colors. The mouse is rounded, soft edged, and lighted with simple yet creative designs to capture the attention of children. ,ince computers is limited with a few number of $,L ports, the mouse will include $,L port hub to provide access on the five mice simultaneously. The hub has C ports, B for the mice and ! as an e+tra. The hub is designed with soft color and childfriendly structure. The computer, installer, hub and mice work together as one to be a

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medium of tutorial and education through the use of technology today. The proposed design of the mouse without the hub is shown in the figure !.

.i'ure 1/ Sa0%$e (o0%uter 0ouse %ro%osa$ !ithout the hu1 2a(tua$ si3e a&- -esi'& 0a) (ha&'e4. B.5 I0%$e0e&tatio& *umerous computers spread out in different places, with different forms and versions but, most of it functions e+actly the same. ,ince computers are everywhere, the implementation of the software would be easy. #fter completing the hardware re7uirements, the software should be compatible to the operating system of the computer also based on the system re7uirements set by the software developers. Installation of the software to the computer would come ne+t. &ossible implementation of the software works with only ! tutor, ! computer and differs on the number of children and mice

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depending on the number of users. Different implementations are shown in the following figures.

a. .i'ure 2F ! child, ! computer, ! tutor, and 2 mice

b. .i'ure "F 2 children, ! computer, ! tutor, = mice

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c. .i'ure *F = children, ! computer, ! tutor, < mice

d. .i'ure +F < children, ! computer, ! tutor, B mice

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I-Turo does not influence young learners to concentrate on computers which pessimistically affect and ruin the normal life of a child. On the other hand, I-Turo lends technology to be an aid and tool for educating children without affecting the bond between parents and child. Through a good foundation of education, %ilipinos could be highly competent around the world. &roviding good sources for education, students can be highly knowledgeable even at early stage.

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OBJECTI6ES GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES I-Turo entailed development on an electronic learning tutorial software application for childhood cognitive development containing effective lessons based on &hilippine conte+t. The primary ob8ectives of the pro8ect beyond accuracy, reliability and effectiveness wereF (!" To develop a computer-based software application engaging into ma+imum usability solving problems related in education focusing on childhood cognitive development and moral guidance stages between =-C years of age through e-.earning technology and based on &hilippine educational curriculum6 Specific objective as follows: to design a software application catering its usability and applicability for more numbers of people in the society to create software concerning with &hilippine based conte+t such as traditions, history, values, %ilipino language, epics and etc. to include information from basic level into kindergarten level lessons (5nglish (language and reading" and %ilipino (Gika and &agbasa" " for home study purposes and thorough understanding to focus on the information intended to be learned during the childhood mental development stage as a good foundation of knowledge

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to integrate good manners and right conduct in the software contents to categori1e sub8ect content into different level of learning and understanding depending on the applicable knowledge for each age based upon the curriculum.

(2" To improve and enhance the knowledge of young %ilipinos through introductory and e+ploratory learning with computers as a positive, effective and easier way of collaborative learning e+perience6 Specific objective as follows: to introduce a well constructed graphics for early education that could interest young learners to provide an accurate and efficient information and software contents applicable for young learners (=" To implement a new form of input device and interactive tutorial medium responding on the needs for parental tutoring, early education preparation and assistance for childs progress and knowledge updates. Specific objective as follows: to implement the breakthrough on 3ulti-pointing Technology supporting on multi-users for mouse control handling

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to create an application satisfying parenthood guidance for young learners to support interaction between multiple user such as parent-child, parentchildren, parents-child and parents-children

to ease the use and access of educational medium such as cards, posters, books, charts, and other more and transfer it in a computer-based software as one tool

to engage young learners into early education with the use of technology corresponding with parent-child bonding while learning at a convenient manner

to ma+imi1e the use of computers for teaching young learners with different methods

to guide every progress on childrens accumulated knowledge through testing and e+amination

to implement new form of input device under childrens capability for ease of use

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SCOPE AND 7I#ITATIONS

This pro8ect will focus on implementation of computer-based software application designed for childhood tutorial and early education for cognitive development and integrating moral values guidance. The pro8ect will mainly cover &hilippine based curriculum corresponding on the knowledge needed by young %ilipino learners approved by professionals such as psychologists, educators, guidance councilors and government agencies and its officials. The contents would be guided by accurate information which undergoes with studies and supported by certified books applicable for young learners referred by professionals. The pro8ect will target learners under the age of three (=" and up to age of si+ (C", to be general, pre-school learners. 5ven though the application will be designed for normal learners, special cases of learners with disability or disorder might be also guided by the software but it does not assure that the software could give an effective feedback on the users learning process since it does not undergoes with a study for special cases. 3oreover, the application efficiently caters relevant knowledge based upon studies for tutoring and early education for pre-school. %undamental information regarding on different sub8ects and conte+t will be applied as a further investment on childs cognitive development. The application will include school

sub8ects references such as .anguage, /eading, Gika, and &agbasa with integration on Malues 5ducation. Other information related on &hilippine history, culture, traditions, tales, epics and other important facts are also included for e+emplifications or activities. #ll the contents are limited only the curriculum provided by Department of 5ducation for pre-school. Thus, different levels of learning will be categori1ed based on sub8ects and ages for understandability and

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different type of strategic teaching and learning methods will be featured. 5very sub8ect on each category covers lecture, activity and assessment or testing and e+aminations. #s a part of childs improvement, the application will address a progress status of a child and analysis of performance during the assessment period done after lecture and activities. The application will adopt the latest 3ulti-pointing Technology which utili1es its function for handling multi-users. Through 3ulti-pointing Technology, the application can support parent and child tutorial interactively. It does not 8ust provide a single human Ncomputer interaction but can also be used by more than one (!" user up to five (B" and may also be depend on computer mouse availability. In the process of learning, parents will participate in tutorial with the computer and child. The parent will be the tutor, the child will be the student and the application will be the medium and source of education. The software recommends parents to guide their child for electronic learning tutorial. It also encloses collaborative learning with parent and with peers or other students simultaneously and interactively. One (!" tutor and one (!" child are the basic user re7uirements and can add up limited into four children (<". In terms of the software development, the contents of the software is limited on the information provided by professionals, study or research and from pre-school books which is fi+ed on the system. ,ince the application will contain &hilippine based-curriculum, the sub8ect would only be effective for young learners in the &hilippines. The application will be limited on usage because it is not accessible on the internet and works only with a computer and software installer.

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RE6IEW O. RE7ATED 7ITERATURE8S9STE# EAR79 C,I7D,OOD The developmental period that e+tends from the end of infancy (= years old" to about B to C years of age. ,ometimes this period is called the pre-school years. During this time, young children learn to become more self-sufficient, and to care for themselves, they develop school readiness skills (following directions, identifying letters", and they spend many hours in play and with peers. %irst grade typically marks the end of this period (,antrock, 2 9".

C,I7D DE6E7OP#ENT AND 7EARNIN: 2hild development is defined as systematic and adaptive changes in the body and mind based on se7uence and patterns of growth and maturity (2harlesworth, 2 Gilson, 2 =". <6 Gatson, Gatson, 0

Three )ears o$Three years olds have a distinct period of development with added skills and challenges. They are an+ious to try new things but get frustrated when they cannot do what they set out to do. They engage in more e+tensive conversations6 and although they can play along with other children, they often find it difficult to cooperate in a game.

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I&te$$e(tua$ -e;e$o%0e&t :nows how to use learning materials like pencils and scissors

7a&'ua'e -e;e$o%0e&t 5n8oy repetitive stories and use tenses and plurals

So(ia$ De;e$o%0e&t Importance of negotiation and taking turns (.ee, 2 9"

.our 9ears O$%our years olds are full of enthusiasm and high energy. The ability to do more things without help, along with increased large and small muscle control, allows the children to develop a greater self-confidence. 2hildren of this age en8oy learning to do new things and like to have an adults attention. #t the same time, because they are so eager to learn and learn so fast, they can use a higher level of language (more and bigger words" than they really understand (>ackman, 2 B".

I&te$$e(tua$ De;e$o%0e&t Draw recogni1able ob8ects e.g. &eople and animals will consist of a body, head, legs, etc.

7a&'ua'e De;e$o%0e&t

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In7uisitiveness asking relentless 7uestions. 5+. Ghy, how, when and where. Oestures So(ia$ De;e$o%0e&t /ecogni1e right from wrong Gorking as part of a group (.ee, 2 .i;e )ears o$-s %ive years olds are becoming more social6 they have best friends and also en8oy playing with small groups of children. Their use of language, especially vocabulary, continues to grow along with the understanding that words can have several meanings. 5+perimentation of language is evident at this stage. They are also more self-controlled. 9"

5+ploration of the environment is important to these children. They are learning about the world and their place in it. They act on their own and construct their own meaning. 5ach of their actions and interpretations is uni7ue to them. They are developing an understanding of rules, limits and cause and effect (>ackman, 2 I&te$$e(tua$ -e;e$o%0e&t &roduce drawings with good detail /ecite their name, address and age #ctive interest in reading and writing B".

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Develop concepts of time and understand the past, present and future %amiliar with concepts of 7uantity and understand length, weight, measurement, distance, volume and capacity Le competent at 8igsaw pu11le and be able to copy simple shapes(.ee, 2 7a&'ua'e De;e$o%0e&t Talk about the past, present and the future &ronounce the ma8ority of sounds Le able to recite nursery rhymes and songs(.ee, 2 So(ia$ De;e$o%0e&t Leginning to grasp the concept of fairness and be able to share and take turns (.ee, 2 9" 9" 9"

Si< )ears o$These children are able to think and learn logically and systematically. They are developing the ability to concentrate their attention for longer periods of time.

The language and communication development in these primary- grade children is dramatic. They move more oral self-e+pression to written e+pression.

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#s they stated, ?During these years, childrens receptive vocabulary increases not 8ust by listening but by reading and their e+pressive vocabulary e+pand from spoken to written communication (Lredekamp 0 2opple, !''(".A They are e+tremely curious about their world, and they actively look for new things to do, to see and to e+plore. ,eefeldt and Larbour (!''9" states, ?Theyre developing the ability to see things from another perspective and are able to be more emphatic. #t the same time, theyre very sensitive and their feelings get hurt easilyA. #s these primary age children try out their new independence, they need teachers and parents guidance, affection, encouragement, and protection, as much as, if not more than, ever (>ackman, 2 B". They also have Interest in numeracy and literacy and 9".

en8oy taking part in structured games with rules (.ee, 2 I&te$$e(tua$ De;e$o%0e&t

#ccurate detailed pictures and begin to introduce color naturally Le competent with writing skills and be able to use both capital and small letters ;ave mastered numeracy skill such as addition and subtraction (.ee, 2 7a&'ua'e De;e$o%0e&t 2onfident in making up 8okes and stories (.ee, 2 9" 9"

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7EARNIN: AND DE6E7OP#ENTA7 T,EORIES O. EAR79 C,I7D,OOD EDUCATION Co'&iti;e De;e$o%0e&t theor) 2ognitive development is described as the intellectual ac7uisition of information, facts or data and includes reasoning, understanding, problem solving and language ac7uisition. 3uch of what is known about cognitive development has come from the work of >ean &iaget. ,ome of &iaget4s research was based on observations of his own three kids. &iaget offered ob8ects to the kids, or set problems for them to solve, and watched their responses (&atterson, 2 9". &iaget

also studied children and adolescents, usually by giving them problems to solve or simply by observing them in the course of their everyday interactions. The results of these investigations became the foundation for his theory of cognitive development during the first !2 years of life (&atterson, 2 9". In &iaget4s cognitive-developmental theory, children are seen as active 9".

learners, constructing their own understanding of the world (&atterson, 2

;e introduced the study of childrens thinking and was the first to describe how each child creates his own mental image of the world, based on his encounters with the environment. ?&iaget suggested that a childs system of thought develops through a series of stages common to all children of all cultures.A (,podek 0 ,aracho, !''<" # careful consideration of &iagets concepts, along with close observation of children, helps in providing appropriate environments and e+periences. &iaget believed that $ear&i&', or change in behavior occurs as children construct knowledge through active e+ploration and discovery in their physical social environments. ;e also asserted that learning happens through the dual process of assimilation and accommodation. Assi0i$atio& is a process that occurs when

P a g e | 30

a child handles, sees or otherwise e+periences something. ;e adds this information to e+isting schemata. # s(he0a is an integrated way of thinking or mental images. ?Ge constantly create, refine, change, modify, organi1e and recogni1e our schemaA (5ssa, 2 =". A((o00o-atio&

occurs when a schema is modified as a result of e+perience. E=ui$i1riu0 happens when there is a balance between assimilation and accommodation. #ccording to &iaget, this continues until new information causes the process to begin again.

Co'&iti;e -e;e$o%0e&t is -i;i-e- i&to our sta'es/ !. Se&sori0otor sta'e (birth to about 2 years" - During this time children grow from helpless newborns to children who are able to walk and talk. Infants begin learning through the use of their sensory system and refle+es. Oradually these refle+ behaviors are changed and new behaviors develop. Labies en8oy repeating behaviors. Often something une+pected happens during repetitions and a new behavior is discovered. They then try to repeat the new behavior. Throughout the sensorimotor stage, infants are developing the concept of o1>e(t %er0a&e&(e. #ccording to &iagets theory, a baby thinks that ob8ects, including people, cease to e+ist the moment he stops seeing them. %or e+ample, if an ob8ect that has left returns, the infant considers it a new, though identical, ob8ect. 2. Preo%eratio&a$ sta'e (about 2 to ( years" N It lasts appro+imately 2 to ( years old. In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images and drawings (,antrock, 2 9". &iaget believed that childrens thinking during this stage is e'o(e&tri(, that is,

they think about the world only in relation to themselves. #long with this, the preoperational period is characteri1ed by s)01o$i( thi&?i&'. ,ymbols or mental

P a g e | 31

representations are formed, allowing children to solve problems by thinking before acting. They begin to en8oy pretend play. #s thinking emerges as verbal e+pression, language ac7uisition proceeds rapidly. Intellectual and language development blend together. The more a child uses all his senses and broadens his e+periences, the more he has to think and talk about. =. Co&(rete O%eratio&s Sta'e 2about (-!2" <. .or0a$ o%eratio&s sta'e 2!2 years through adulthood" I& or0atio& Pro(essi&' Theor) #pproaches that liken a child4s mind to a computer- taking in information, categori1ing, storing, and acting upon it, in order to solve problems- are part of information processing theory (&atterson, 2 9". %or this reason, researchers who take this approach study the growth of

attention and categori1ation skills, memory storage, and development of symbolic understanding (&atterson, 2 (&atterson, 2 9". During infancy, these skills grow and develop in many different directions 9".

#e0or) One of the concepts of cognitive development is memory. 3emory is reciting facts and significant piece of remembering brain. This is semantic memory, a significant piece of the remembering brain.

P a g e | 32

The De;e$o%0e&ta$ Course o #e0or) 3emory involves three interconnected processesF encoding, storage and retrieval. In order for children to e&(o-e information received through their senses they need to do something with it, transform it in some way that is suitable for memory storage. Stora'e is simply how memories are maintained or kept over time and retrie;a$ is the process of fetching the stored memory (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

The preschooler will be able to retrieve memory after substantial delay because he has encoded the information in some manner. These are all indications of memory development. #lthough young children can recall information, particularly when it is meaningful, recognition is better developed that recall. This is partly due to the childs inability to understand the need for the use of memory aids. %or instance in a study when a child was asked ?if you wanted to phone your friend and someone told you the phone number, would it make any difference if you called right after you heard the number or if you got a drink firstP The children responded that it wouldnt matter (5llis, !'('". It becomes very clear that young children not only neglect to use memory aid techni7ues but also fail to recogni1e the need for them. This understanding of how ones own mind works is called metacognition and it typically does not develop until the age of seven or eight (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

SOCIOCU7TURA7 CO:NITI6E T,EOR9 This theory encompasses learning of children through social involvement and with the culture they lived in. The psychologist named .ev Mygotsky asserted that a childs learning development is affected by his culture, including the culture of family environment. ;e believed

P a g e | 33

that a difference e+ists between what a child can do on his own and what he can do with help. ;e called this difference the 3o&e o %ro<i0a$ -e;e$o%0e&t. It is the range of potential each child has for learning being shaped by the social environment in which it takes place (Gertsche, !''!". O1ser;atio&a$ 7ear&i&' a&- So(ia$ 7ear&i&' Theor) 2lassical and operant conditioning are important modes of learning, but humans also learn by observation. %or instance, children learn many behaviors by watching their parents perform them. Through his study of such modeling processes, #lbert Landura and others developed what came to be called social learning theory, which emphasi1es the social and cognitive elements of learning processes (&atterson, 2 9". &eople are most likely to imitate

models, he argued, when they have little information or feel uncertain about the correct path to follow6 thus children are more likely than adults to imitate the behavior of models. Landura4s thinking has shifted toward a more cognitive e+planation of learning (&atterson, 2 9".

Its said that Observational learning is learning through watching other people. 2hildren actively advance their own social learning by choosing models to imitate. %or e+ample, a parent or a popular sports hero (%eldman, Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#ccording to the ,wiss psychologist, >ean &iaget, adaptation is how a child handles new information that seems to conflict with what the child already knows. #daptation may involve two processesF assimilation and accommodation. #ssimilation is taking in information and incorporating it into e+isting cognitive structures. 3oreover, accommodation is changing ones cognitive structures to include the new knowledge. In &iagets term called e7uilibration, is a

P a g e | 34

constant striving for a stable balance, or e7uilibrium which dictates a shift from assimilation to accommodation (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 Core @&o!$e-'e Theories #n approach to the study of cognitive development that suggests toddlers are born with some understanding about essential areas, such as language, space, ob8ects, and numbers(&atterson, 2 9". ,uch innate knowledge, is limited in nature, and applies only to 2".

certain domains. In the course of development, innate knowledge is enriched through e+perience into a more comple+ and detailed understanding of the world. Thus, from early in life, they seem to understand something about numerical e7uality (&atterson, 2 9". If these e+periments are repeated with larger number of ob8ects, however, 9". 2hildren cannot verbali1e

infants are not as likely to show understanding (&atterson, 2

accurate responses to many 7uestions about numbers until well into childhood. #s they grow older, their core knowledge about numerical e7uality of small numbers becomes enriched, can be verbali1ed, and can be applied to larger numbers. 2ore knowledge theorists have proposed that long before children have learned to talk about numbers they possess a rudimentary knowledge of arithmetic (&atterson, 2 6)'ots?) Theor) The theory states that children learn by internali1ing the results of their interactions with adults. #dults direct childrens learning most effectively in the 1one of pro+imal development (Q&D" that is, with the help of leading 7uestions, e+amples and demonstrations. In one study, = and < year olds were asked to give their parents directions for finding a hidden mouse in a 9".

P a g e | 35

dollhouse. The parents gave the children feedback when their directions need clarifying (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 C,I7D DE6E7OP#ENT The Stu-) o Chi$- De;e$o%0e&t/ The& a&- No! %rom the moment of conception, human beings undergo processes of development. The field of child development is the scientific study of those processes. Developmental scientistspeople engaged in the professional study of child development- look at ways in which children change from conception through adolescence as well as at characteristics that remain fairly stable (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". 2hild development has, of course, been going on as long as 2".

children have e+isted, but its formal scientific study is relatively new. Ne! .ro&tiers #lthough children have been the focus of scientific study for more than ! years, this

e+ploration is an ever-evolving endeavor. The 7uestions that developmental scientists seek to answer, the methods they use, and the e+planations they propose are more sophisticated and more eclectic than they were even 2B years ago (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". These shifts

reflect progress in understanding, as new investigations build on or challenge those that went before. They also reflect the changing cultural and technological conte+t. ,ensitive instruments that measure eye movements are turning up intriguing connections between children visual attentiveness and childhood intelligence (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". 2ameras, videocassette recorders, and computers enable investigators to scan children4s

facial e+pressions for early signs of emotions and to analy1e how mothers and children

P a g e | 36

communicate (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2

2". #dvances in brain imaging make it possible to

probe the mysteries of temperament and to pinpoint the sources of logical thought (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

De;e$o%0e&t o S)01o$i( U&-ersta&-i&' #nother important development of preschool period is the growth of symbolic understanding (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". .anguages are symbolic systems, and the

infant4s world is also filled with other types of symbols. 2oming to understand the dual nature of a symbol- that it is not only something in and of itself, but also stands for something other than itself- is a ma8or cognitive achievement. One symbolic form that is accessible to preschoolers is pictorial representation. They are often shown pictures of ob8ects, and they encounter pictures in many different settings whether at home or in child care, they see pictures in books, maga1ines, and on television. The preschoolers are more likely to point to the pictured ob8ects, often while saying its name aloud (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

7a&'ua'e -e;e$o%0e&t #ccording to %eldman , Olds, 0 &apalias book ?# 2hilds GorldF Infancy through adolescenceA, evidences show the stages a child goes through during the early development of his language abilities.

P a g e | 37

A'e 2i& 0o&ths4 !C to 2<

7a&'ua'e -e;e$o%0e&t learns many new words, e+panding vocabulary rapidly, going from about B words up to < 6 uses verbs and ad8ectives

!9-2< 2< =

,ays first sentence (2 words" use many two-word phrases6 no longer babbles6 wants to talk learns new words almost every day6 speaks in combinations of three or more words6 understands very well6 makes grammatical mistakes

=C

says up to ! synta+

words, 9 ) intelligible6 makes some mistakes in

The ability to perceive differences between sounds is essential to language development. Oestures can be a valuable alternative or supplement to words, especially during the period of early vocabulary formation.

# childs first sentences typically deals with everyday events, things, people or activities #t first a child uses, telegraphic speech which consists of only a few essential words. 2hildren who learn to read early are generally those whose parents read to them very fre7uently when they were very young

P a g e | 38

Artisti( -e;e$o%0e&t #ge of three, the shape stage appears. *ow a child draws diagram in si+ basic shapesF circles, s7uares, rectangles, triangles, crosses, Rs and odd forms (&atterson, 2 ;andedness id the preference for using a particular hand (&atterson, 2 9". 9".

De;e$o%0e&t o #e0or) S?i$$s 3ost preschoolers can handle a task, which involves recognition memory, remarkably as well. ;owever, a task, which involves recall, is much more difficult, and most < year-old children have more trouble with it. On average, <-year-olds are usually able to recall only three or four items. In general, preschoolers4 recognition memory is much better than their recall6 indeed the same is true of adults (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

&reschool children are less likely than older children to use strategies to help them perform well in recall tasks (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". There is evidence that <-year-

olds can successfully use spatial categori1ation strategies, such as putting to be remembered items near each other (%eldman, Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". They are not as good as older children 9".

at using rehearsal strategies for memori1ation (&atterson, 2

One particular form of shared book reading, called dialogic reading, is especially helpful in advancing young children4s language skills (&atterson, 2 9"..

2hildren improve in attention and in the speed and efficiency with which they process information6 and they begin to form long-lasting memories. ,till, young children do not remember as well as older ones. %or one thing, young children tend to focus on e+act details of an event, which are easily forgotten, whereas older children and adults generally concentrate on

P a g e | 39

the gist of what happened. #lso, young children, because of their lesser knowledge of the world, may fail to notice important aspects of a situation such as when and where it occurred, which could help 8og their memory (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#e0or) a&- Cu$ture ,ocial interaction not only helps children remember6 it may also be the key to memory formation (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". Investigators support a social interaction model,

which holds that children collaboratively construct autobiographical memories with parents or other adults as they talk about shared events (&atterson, 2 @&o!$e-'e a1out Thi&?i&' a&- #e&ta$ States Letween ages = and B, children come to understand that thinking goes inside the mind6 that it can deal with either real or imaginary things6 that someone can be thinking of one thing while doing or looking at someone else6 that a person whose eyes and ears are covered can think about ob8ects6 that someone who looks pensive is probably thinking6 and that thinking is different from seeing, talking, touching, and knowing (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". 9".

;owever, preschoolers generally believe that mental activity starts and stops. &reschoolers tend to e7uate dreams with imagining6 they believe they can dream about anything they wish. %ive year olds show a more adultlike understanding, recogni1ing that physical e+periences, emotions, knowledge, and thoughts can affect the contents of dreams (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

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:e&era$ I-e&tit) Oeneral identity is an important aspect of the developing self-concept. %emales tend to do better at verbal tasks while boys to greater ability to mentally manipulate figures and shapes and solve ma1es (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

The Stu-) o Chi$- De;e$o%0e&t/ Basi( Co&(e%ts De;e$o%0e&ta$ Pro(esses/ Cha&'e a&- Sta1i$it) Developmental scientists study two kinds of changeF 7uantitative and 7ualitative. Juantitative change is a change in number or amount, such as in height, weight, si1e of vocabulary, or fre7uency of communication. Jualitative change is a change in kind, structure, or organi1ation. It is marked by the emergence of new phenomena that cannot be anticipated easily on the basis of earlier functioning, such as the change from a nonverbal child to one who understands words and can communicate verbally (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Do0ai&s o De;e$o%0e&t 2hange and stability occur in various domains of the self. Developmental scientists talk separately about physical development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". #ctually, though, these

domains are interrelated. Throughout life, each affects the others.

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2hange and stability in mental abilities, such as learning, memory, language, thinking, moral reasoning, and creativity constitute cognitive development. 2ognitive advances are closely related to physical, social, and emotional growth. The ability to speak depends on the physical development of the mouth and brain. # child who has difficulty e+pressing herself in words may evoke negative reactions in others, influencing her popularity and sense of self-worth (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#lthough we will be looking separately at physical, cognitive and psychosocial development, a child is more than a bundle of isolated parts. Development is a unified process (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 A%%roa(hes o Chi$- De;e$o%0e&t Ps)(ho0etri( A%%roa(h/ De;e$o%0e&ta$ a&- I&te$$i'e&(e Testi&' Intelligent behavior is goal oriented and adaptiveF directed at ad8usting to the circumstances and conditions of life. Intelligence enables people to ac7uire, remember, and use knowledge6 to understand concepts, and relationships6 and to solve problems (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". 2".

The goals of psychometric testing are to measure 7uantitatively the factors that are thought to make up intelligence (such as comprehension and reasoning", and from the results of that measurement, to predict future performance(%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". IJ

(intelligence 7uotient" tests consists of 7uestions or tasks that are supposed to show how much of the measured abilities a person has, by comparing that person4s performance with that of other test takers (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

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Lecause =, < and B years olds are more proficient with language that younger children, intelligence tests can now include more verbal items6 and these tests produce more reliable results than the largely nonverbal tests used in infancy. Sta& or- Bi&et I&te$$i'e&(e S(a$e It is a scale that takes at about = -< minutes. The child is asked to define words, string beads, build with blocks, identify the missing parts of a picture, trace ma1es, and show an understanding of numbers (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 We(hs$er Pres(hoo$ a&- Pri0ar) s(a$e o i&te$$i'e&(e it is one of the scales in intelligence which takes at about one hour. It is an individual test used with children ages =-(, yields separate verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". 2".

3others also consider their ?difficultA tended to give them more assistance and instruction or to be more critical and coercive6 and their children failed to develop independent problem-solving skills. 2hildren whose mothers, when the children were 2 !K2 , gave them suggestion for problem solving or showed them effective strategies did better on the arithmetic and vocabulary subtests, whereas children whose mothers had given either more approval or disapproval or had told them what to did worse (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2"..

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So(io-(o&te<tua$ a%%roa(h/ $ear&i&' ro0 i&tera(tio&s The concept of guided participation was inspired by Mygotskys 1one of pro+imal development and his view of learning as collaborative process. It refers to mutual interactions with adults that help structure childrens activities and bridge the gap between the childs understanding and the adults. Ouided participation often occurs in shared play and in ordinary, everyday activities in which children learn informally the skills, knowledge and values important in their culture (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Pare&t- Chi$- Re$atio&shi%s Atta(h0e&t Re$atio&shi%s Duri&' Ear$) Chi$-hoo5+pect under unusual circumstances, the security of children4s attachment relationships with parents generally remains stable across the preschool years (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#oti;atio&s or %are&thooThere are many reasons to pri1e the e+periences of parenthood. &arents cite such benefits as the 8oy of watching children grow up, love for children and pride in their achievements, the value of sharing their lives, passing along values, feeling needed, and having fun together (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2". ;aving become parents, few would trade the e+perience for

anything else. On the other hand, parenthood also has its costs, including loss of freedom, conflicts between demands of works and family, loss of privacy, less time alone with partner or

P a g e | 44

spouse, economic burdens of supporting children, and worries about bringing up children in a world that is full of dangers. ;oping to become a parent at some point during adult life is not the same thing as feeling ready to have a baby right now (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Co'&iti;e A-;a&(es -uri&' Ear$) Chi$-hoo%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia also stated some facts regarding childrens capabilities during their early childhood. A-;a&(e $se of symbols Si'&i i(a&(e children do not need to be in sensorimotor contact with an ob8ect. 2hildren can imagine that ob8ects or people have properties other than those they actually have. $nderstanding of identities 2hildren are aware that superficial alterations do not change the nature of things. $nderstanding of cause and effect #bility to classify children reali1e the events have causes children organi1es ob8ects, people, and events into meaningful categories. $nderstanding of numbers 5mpathy children can count and deal with 7uantities children become more able to imagine how others might feel

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Theory of mind

children become more aware of mental activity and the functioning of mind

Disti&'uishi&' 1et!ee& a%%eara&(e a&- rea$it) /elated to the awareness of false beliefs is the ability to distinguish between appearance and realityF both re7uire a child to refer to two conflicting mental representations at the same time. #ccording to &iaget, not until about age B or C do children understand the distinction between what seems to be and what is (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 S9NAPTIC PRO7I.ERATION ,ynaptic proliferation is allowing the child to learn something new by enabling him to readily attach it to something learned previously (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 T,E#ES # theme is a broad concept or topic that enables the development of a lesson plan and the activities that fit within the curriculum plan (>ackman, 2 B". This aids in creating a child(". 2".

centered curriculum. The following are e+amples of themes that are proven to be favorites. This can be modified to fit at any age groupF 3agnificent me 3y family and me

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3y community %amilies %riendship 2aring and sharing The seasons Geather 3y five senses 2olors and shapes in our world Te+tures Things that grow The environment &lants and gardening #nimals &ets 2ars, trucks, and buses #irplanes, trains and tracks

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In creating I-turo, it will enhance the following components needed for toddler educationF CREATI6IT9 2reativity is the process of doing, of bringing something new and imaginative into being. (>ackman, 2 B". #ccording to Isbell and /aines (2 =", creative arts provide an avenue for

learning and e+periencing that is uni7uely different. Their inclusion, during the early years of childrens lives, establishes a rich foundation that adapts to change, provides 8oy and inspires involvement.

Re1us Chart /ebus chart is visual pictures, such as signs, illustrations and directions to help children make sense of any activity.

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.i'ure 5F /ebus 2hart (,ourceF 5dge, *., from httpFKKwww.nellieedge.com"

7ITERATURE 2hildrens literature is a wondrous and e+citing part of early education. Looks have a way of connecting oneself to others. They put in a different time and place and capture ones imaginations and ones hearts. The language of literature provides the child with vivid, imaginative, well-ordered words N words to think about, to listen to, and to try out and make her own. Oral language relates to reading and writing. It is part of the development of both. The child who hears stories all through childhood learns language and structure and develops

P a g e | 49

attitudes and concepts about the printed word (3achado, 2

=".

.iterature

is

all

writings

(prose and verse" of a people, country or period, including those written especially for children.

PURPOSES AND 6A7UES O. C,I7DRENAS BOO@S &rovide sheer en8oyment for a child ;elp develop a childs imagination ;elp a child find meaning in life Offer a child time to reflect on e+perience that relate to real life ;elp a child reinforce discoveries about the world Oive a child opportunities to reread parts en8oyed or not understood Introduce a child to many kinds of learning through the en8oyment of books ;elp a child develop processes and skills ;elp a child focus on predicting outcomes, drawing conclusions and solving problems 5ncourage a child to develop curiosity about learning and life ;elp a child build foundation for learning to read Oive a child e+citing e+periences with books and with language

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&rovide a means for a child to listen to others ;elp a child appreciate the writing and illustrations in books 5nable a child to build a foundation for the use and care of books( >ackman, 2 B"

T9PES AND :ENRES O. BOO@S .OR C,I7DREN Lefore selecting a book, 2 factors are consideredF its genre and format (type". :e&re is a category used to classify literary works, usually by form, techni7ue, or content. # books format is the overall arrangement, or the way the book is put together, involving factors such as si1e, shape, paper, 7uality, colors and content of each page (>ackman, 2 B".

The types of literature are listed with its characteristics that identify each kind of book. !. #lphabetic books- simple stories based on the alphabet that present letter identification and one-ob8ect picture association. 2. Leginning-to-read books- predictable books that are easy to read and present words that are simple and repetitive. =. Lig books- oversi1ed books that present e+tra-large te+t and illustrations. <. Loard books- first books for infants and toddlers made of laminated heavy cardboard B. 2oncept books- books that present themes, ideas, or concepts with specific e+amples. They also identify and clarify abstractions, such as color or shape and help with vocabulary development

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C. 2ounting books- books that describe simple numeral and picture associations, and often tell a story. They show representations of numbers in more than one format and vary from simple to comple+. (. %olk literature- tales that come from the oral tradition of storytelling that appeal to the childs sense of fantasy. 9. Information books- books that offer non-fiction for emergent readers by providing accurate facts about people and sub8ect matter. '. Interaction books- books used to stimulate imagination by using some device for involving young readers, such as pop-ups, fold-outs, scratch and sniff, pasting books, pu11le pictures, humor and riddles. ! . 3other Ooose and *ursery /hymes books- books passed from generation to generation and known by children all over the world. These are often a childs first introduction to literature. !!. 3ulticultural books- books that develop awareness of and sensitivity to other cultures. They also help to increase positive attitudes toward similarities and differences in people. !2. &icture books- books written in a direct style that tell a simple story with illustrations complementing the te+t. !=. &oetry- a form of literature that contributes imaginative rhyme, rhythm and sound. !<. &redictable books- books that contain familiar and repetitive se7uences.

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!B. /ealistic literature N a form of literature that helps children cope with common, actual e+periences by offering positive solutions and insights. !C. /eference books- books that emphasi1e individuali1ed learning through special topic books, picture, dictionaries and encyclopedias (>ackman, 2 B".

!(. ,eries books- books written for primary grade children and built around a single character or group of characters. !9. Teacher and child made books- books made by the teacher or child that encourage selfesteem, creativity and the sharing of ideas. They also encourage children to articulate e+periences !'. Gordless picture books- books that tell story with visually appealing illustrations. These books promote creativity by encouraging a child to talk about e+periences and use his or her imagination (>ackman, 2 B".

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READIN: .earning to read is a comple+ process that begins with listening and speaking and evolves into being able to ascertain meaning from the printed word.

Pri&t A!are&ess #s the child becomes more and more e+posed to written materials, he begins to understand that print carries meaning. The child may not recogni1e the name with the child purely by shape of the word called logographic reading (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

A$%ha1eti( A!are&ess Ly three years of age many children can identify letters of the alphabet by name, particularly the letters in their own names. They sing alphabet song and recite letters in rhythmic patterns. Ly the age of three or four, children begin to distinguish the letters from one another and link the letter to its shape. #gain, children en8oys in matching the letters, such as finding Ts in the house. Often, children recogni1e uppercase letters before lowercase 8ust as they will begin writing uppercase (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

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Sou&--$etter (orres%o&-e&(e #round the age of three years, the child begins linking the sounds of the letter to the actual letter shape. &ast e+periences and the type of learning environment the child is in greatly influence the age at which this begins. # child with great deal of e+perience with the written language begins to link the sound HsI with slithery, snakelike letter ,(#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

Boo? @&o!$e-'e The preschooler begins to identify the author, illustrator, and the title of the book. The five year old begins to distinguish different types of books by function. %or instance, books with many words and few colorful real-life pictures provide information on such topics as volcanoes, whereas, books with drawn pictures and fewer words are probably more story-like(#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

/eading involves different levels of skills. Once children can translate the marks on a page into patterns of sound and meaning, they can develop increasingly sophisticated strategies to understand what they read.

#e(ha&i(s o Rea-i&'

Ghole language approach believes that children can learn to read and write naturally, through discovery much as they learn to understand and use speech. The whole language method emphasi1es visually based retrievalF the child looks

P a g e | 55

at a whole word and then retrieves it from memory with the help of conte+tual cues if necessary (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2

2".

2omprehension is developmental processes that improve reading comprehension during the school years are similar to those that improve memory. /epeated e+posure to the same words helps so many computeri1ed programs that link words with their definition and coach students on how to select and use them (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Share- Rea-i&' ,hared reading is more effective than 8ust talking to a child because it affords a natural opportunity for giving information and increasing vocabulary. It provides a focus for attention and for asking and responding to 7uestions. In addition, it is en8oyable for both children and adults. It fosters emotional bonding while enhancing cognitive development (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

7AN:UA:E .anguage serves a wide variety of purposes for the developing child. It helps the child e+press desires, feelings and needs6 it helps to transmit meaning and it is a framework for social interactions and connectedness and it helps children e+plore their environment. .anguages helps children sharpen their memory, control their behavior and direct and organi1e thoughts(#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 (".

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Co0%o&e&ts o 7a&'ua'e &honology- the smallest unit of sound that can be altered to change the meaning of a word 5+ampleF gin, kin, pin, sin ,emantics- meaning of words and word combinations ,ynta+- refers to the standardi1ed set of rules that determine how words should be combined to make sense to speakers of language &ragmatics- strategies and rules for effective and socially acceptable interaction (#hola 0 :ovacik, 2 ("

7AN:UA:E ACBUISITION DE6ICE 27AD4 #ccording to .inguist *oam 2homsky, proposed that humans are biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way. ;e said that children are born into the world with a language ac7uisition device (.#D", a biological endowment that enables the child to detect certain features and rules of language, including phonology, synta+ and semantics. 2hildren are prepared by nature with the ability to detect the sounds of a language, for e+ample and follow rules such as how to form plurals and ask 7uestions (,antrock, 2 9".

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7a&'ua'e or (o00u&i(atio& 2hildren who hear lots of language are more likely to develop their own vocabulary at a greater rate (&atterson, 2 9" 9"

2hildren do not learn to speak in isolation (&atterson, 2

,ign language is also a way of communicating and where spoken language is not successful method of communication, perhaps in the case of a person being deaf, then sign language may be the main method of communication practiced (&atterson, 2 9".

Other forms of communication includesF !. Lody language- folded arms, pointed fingers, hands on hips, etc. 2. 5ye contact =. %acial gestures- smiling, frowning, sulking, etc. <. ;and gestures- waving, clapping, etc. B. Griting C. Mocal noises- sighing, cooing, screaming, etc. (. /eading (&atterson, 2 9"

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7a&'ua'e or thi&?i&' Developing the language for comparing and contrasting is the first basic tool for thinking and children need to be able to discriminate in order to build on their logical thought (&atterson, 2 9"

Gords such as Sbigger than, Sheavier than, and Sfaster than will encourage children to discriminate logically

No&-;er1a$ Co00u&i(atio& /eading- interested in listening stories ,tories can be either made up orally or read from a book It may be represented byF o 5veryday life e+periences and events o 3ake believe o &oems o #ction rhymes o True stories ,haring and en8oying stories is an e+cellent way of helping them to become competent readers

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/eading is an essential skill which all children need to master. In order to be able to read a child needs to understand that symbols have a meaning

/epetition is very important because when doing this, it encourages children to 8oin in the story and at appropriate times, ask them what they think will happen ne+t as this will encourage the children to participate in the story and test their knowledge of what they have heard and understood

Ghen teaching children to read, get them to recogni1e their name begin to read by using the pictures in the book to Sguess the story line and this should encouraged where possible (&atterson, 2 9"

6o(a1u$ar) #t = the average child can use ' to ! different words and uses about !2 each

day. Ly the age of C, a child typically has a spoken vocabulary of 2C more than 2

words and understands

, having learned an average of ' new words a day since about ! T years of age 2".

(%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2

%ast map allows them to absorb the meaning of a new word after hearing it only once or twice in conversation. *ames of ob8ects (nouns" seem to be easier to fast map than names of actions (verbs", which are less concrete. The use of metaphor, a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that usually designates one thing is applied to another, becomes increasingly common during these years (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

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:ra00ar a&- S)&ta< The ways in which children combine syllables into words and words into sentences grow increasingly sophisticated during early childhood. #t =, children typically begin to use plurals, possessives and past tense and know the difference between I, you, and we. 3ost of their sentences are declarative (?:itty wants milkA" but they can ask and answer what and where 7uestions. (why and how are harder to grasp.". Letween ages < and B, sentences average four to five words and may be declarative, negative (?Im not hungryA, interrogative (?why cant I go outsidePA", or imperative (?catch the ballA". %our year olds use comple+, multiclause sentences (?Im eating because Im hungry". Ly ages B to (, childrens speech has become 7uite adultlike (%eldman, Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Pri;ate s%ee(h &rivate speech is talking aloud to oneself with no intent to communicate with others is normal and common in childhood accounting for 2 to B percent of what < to ! year old children say (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#u$ti$i&'ua$ (hi$-re& 2hildren who are learning more than one language are having a slow speech and communication and speech development that those who are only learning to grasp one language. In learning multiple languages, a situation in which a child is unfamiliar with a language will pass through a phase of becoming silent when they are absorbing what they are hearing around

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them. ,ilent period is not a time for the child to be left alone and they should be encouraged to take part (.ee, 2 9".

2hildren will become competent at speaking and matching the appropriate language to the correct environment. Do not be tempted to encourage a multilingual to show off his skills by asking him to say certain words in his home language. It is always a good idea to learn one or more important phrases from the first language. It is absolutely vital that a childs home language is recogni1ed and valued. 5ncourage the parents of the child to become involved in teaching a child with different languages (.ee, 2 #AT, 3athematics are seen everywhere. #lmost all things people do involves mathematics like telling time with clocks, paying with the cashier, cooking and etc. Gith this given activities, it relates to topics in math like, problem solving, classifying, measuring and se7uencing. This is true for children, too. ;aving this sub8ect, it will give them basic skills and concepts first to live in this world, which is e+ploding with information and continuous changing. 9".

CONCEPT DE6E7OP#ENT IN 9OUN: C,I7DREN Early childhood is a period when children actively engage in acquiring fundamental concepts and learning fundamental skills. Concepts are the building blocks of knowledge they allow people to organi!e and categori!e information. . . Concepts can be applied to the solution of new problems that are met in everyday e"perience (2harlesworth 0 .ind, 2 =".

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>ean &iaget and .ev Mygotsky are known whenever child development and mathematics 8oined together. >ean &iaget focused on the study of childrens thinking and describe how each child create his own mental image or knowledge of the world, based on his encounters with the environment. &iaget called this %h)si(a$ ?&o!$e-'e or learning about ob8ects in the environment and their characteristics, such as color, weight and si1e. &iagets 7o'i(o-#athe0ati(a$ ?&o!$e-'e includes relationships constructed in order to make sense out of the world and to organi1e information such as counting and classification . (2harlesworth 0 .ind, 2 ="

3oreover, .ev Mygotsky studied, as well, with how children thinks. ;e contributed in the insight into the way people learn from things around them. ;e believed that people develop ways of cooperating and communicating, as well as e+hibiting new capacities to plan and to think ahead. (2harlesworth 0 .ind, 2 #AT, 7AN:UA:ES !. *umbers and Operations *umber sense This is a concept that develops over time as children think about, e+plore and discuss mathematical ideas. (>ackman, 2 B" ="

2ounting helps in better understanding of numbers. There are two types of counting namely, rote counting and rational counting. (>ackman, 2 B"

/ote counting is the ability to recite names of numerals in order

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/ational counting re7uires matching each numeral name, in order, to an ob8ect in a group

2ounting in coordination with body movements help children learn it in a clearer and effective way. This is supported by 2opley (2 " and he stated that

researchers determined that finger counting plays an important role in the development of mathematical understanding of young children. $sing fingers to count, compare, and perform simple operations can provide children with a basis for understanding numbers up to ! . 2. One to one correspondence- based on the premise that each ob8ect has the value of one (>ackman, 2 B"

=. 2lassifying and ,orting- grouping ob8ects by a common characteristic such as si1e, shape and color. (>ackman, 2 B" ", sorting activities gives natural introduction in the

#ccording to Ghite (2

language of mathematics such as more, few, many, most, least and none to describe childrens collections. Once children complete a sorting activity, they are often interested in how groups relate to each other. 2hildren may be overheard saying ?This group has moreA or ?This group is biggerA. In pre-schoolers they tend to begin by sorting ob8ects with one characteristic or 7uality. They en8oy sorting buttons, plastic animals, wooden beads, and shells. %or older pre-schoolers, classifying becomes more involved by isolating a set from a collection, such as counting children and sorting them into boys and girls then observing which children are wearing stripes and which are not (>ackman, 2 B".

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<. &atterns, functions and #lgebra &attern is another way of seeing order in the world. # pattern is a se7uence of colors, ob8ects, sounds, stories or movements that repeats in the same order over and over again. It also serves as the cornerstone of algebraic thinking. #s stated by Taylor-2o+ (2 =", in recogni1ing, describing, e+tending and translating patterns encourage children

to think in terms of algebraic problem solving. 2opley (2 " e+plains that mathematics is the science and language of patterns.

Thinking about patterns help children make sense of mathematics. %or pre-schoolers a pattern called auditory patterning is an effective way of teaching numbers. It is by repeating or singing sounds (such as soft, loud, soft, loud, soft" over and over again and then having the children repeat the se7uence. B. Oeometry and ,patial ,ense Oeometry is the area of mathematics that involves shape, si1e, space, position, direction and movement and describes and classifies the physical world we live in (%romboluti 0 /inck, !'''". #ccording to *ational 2ouncil of Teachers of 3athematics (2 ", Oeometry

offers students an aspect of mathematical thinking that is different from, but connected to the world of numbers. #s students become familiar with shape, structure, location, and transformations and as they develop spatial reasoning, they lay the foundations for understanding not only their spatial world but also mathematics in art, science and social studies.

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,patial sense is a comparison that helps children develop an awareness of themselves in relation to people and ob8ects in space (>ackman, 2 B". Oames and

movement activities can be the keys to spatial relationship awareness. #lso, manipulation of shapes in space introduces children to vocabulary words. C. 3easurement 3easurement is finding the length, height and weight of an ob8ect using units like inches, feet and pounds (>ackman, 2 B". This is an important way for children to look

for relationships in the real world. Through playing, imitating, and learning to use standard units of measurement, young children e+plore and discover measurement. Ly practicing measurement, they will learn how big or little things are and how to figure that out.

(. Data #nalysis and &robability Juestions that cannot be answered may take an alternative way by the means of gathering data. Data can be organi1ed, represented and summari1ed in a variety of ways. $sing graphs and charts, children can discover how to organi1e and interpret information and see relationships. Oraphing and charting offer children a way to show and see information and can make it easier to make predictions of related events (>ackman, 2 B".

9. &roblem ,olving

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&roblem ,olving is critical to being able to do all other aspects of mathematics. 3any early childhood educators and researchers emphasi1e the importance of learning how to solve a problem. #s what stated by *#5E2 and *2T3 (2 2", that problem

solving and reasoning are the heart of mathematics. . . Ghile content represents what of early childhood mathematics education, the processes- problem solving, reasoning, communication, connections, and representation- make it possible for children to ac7uire content knowledge. . . 2hildrens development and use of these processes are among the most long-lasting and important achievements of mathematics education.

Nu01ers or Cou&ti&' 2oncepts in counting in early mathematicsF reciting numbers in order being able to count ob8ects correctly by saying one number at a time being able to separate certain ob8ects which have been counted being able to mentally recogni1ed how many ob8ects are in a small group (.ee, 2 9"

+ %ri&(i%$es o Cou&ti&'

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!. The !-to-! principleF say only one number-name for each item being counted (?OneU twoUthreeA" 2. The stable-order principleF say number names in a set order (?one, two, threeUA rather than ?three, one, twoUA". =. The order Nirrelevance principleF start counting with any item and the total number of items being counted <. The cardinality principleF the last number-name used is the total number of items being counted B. The abstraction principleF the principles above apply to any kind of ob8ect (.ee, 2 9"

Pro1$e0s i& Cou&ti&' It can be difficult for children to understand that moving ob8ects around but not taking any away, does not affect the amount. It can also be a problem that when a child is interrupted when counting, they will tend to begin again and start counting each ob8ect rather than carry on from where they left off (.ee, 2 9".

The solution is that to begin it by lining up ob8ects in a row before beginning to count them6 this obviously makes the task easier for the child as they can easily see which ob8ects have been counted and which have not. ;owever, as their counting skills progress they will recogni1e that it doesnt matter which order are counted in or whether they are in line or randomly arranged. In time children will master how to self check when counting and will rely less and less on having to touch the ob8ects they are counting (.ee, 2 9".

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It is also important to reiterate why it is necessary to count in order for children to understand the importance of mastering the essential skill. 5ncourage also, the children that in counting they will learn that it is possible to see if there are any pieces missing from the 8igsaw pu11le or whether all the building blocks have been picked up and places back in the bo+. Oames of snakes and ladders and dominoes are also e+cellent ways of encouraging children to count and recogni1e number se7uence (.ee, 2 9".

Ca$(u$ati&' # young child often begins to develop their knowledge of calculation through addition and subtraction activities in everyday life. 2hildren can be encouraged to learn about calculation by introducing simple problems for them to solve. Try placing a row of five bricks in front of the child and asking them to calculate how many bricks are in the row after you have added one or taken one way. Introducing words such as Smore and Sless will help to reinforce language used in communication and encourage the children to develop their own understanding of the language of calculation (.ee, 2 9".

Wor-s a&- %hrases i& he$%i&' a (hi$- to $ear& &u01ers a&- (a$(u$atio&/ numbers from 1ero through to ten more than, less than

P a g e | 69

fewer none how manyP ,hare out ;ow muchP .east 3ost The same as *early 2ompare Difference #ltogether

Sha%eC s%a(e a&- 0easures ,ome shapes do have specific names and it is important that children are encouraged to recogni1e these shapes. 2hildren must learn to be aware of the differences between shapes. 2hildren will only get a real understanding of the properties of shapes if they are allowed to

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investigate them. It is also important that young children are not bombarded with too many technical terms and also, to gradually introduce these and they should begin by using general terms. 2hildren must also know things that are Sbigger or Ssmaller, Sheavier or Slighter, Sfatter or Sthinner (.ee, 2 9".

* Cate'ories o Sha%e a&- Si3e/ !. .ength 2. Geight =. #rea <. Molume and capacity In length, a child may learn by asking SDo you think the banana is longer than the carrotP rather than Show long do you think the banana isP In regards with volume and capacity, a child may learn by distinguishing between a cup half full, a 8ug overflowing, and a bucket is almost full to the top (.ee, 2 9".

Wor-s a&- %hrases i& he$%i&' a (hi$- to $ear& sha%eC s%a(e a&- 0easures/ Ligger, larger smaller

P a g e | 71

guess compare enough too much, too little length, width, and height long, longer, and longest short, shorter and shortest tall, taller and tallest low, lower, and lowest wide, wider, and widest narrow, narrower, and narrowest think and thin

Ti0e It is a good idea to let the children know the se7uence of the week and encourage them to remember which days follow on from each other and what they can e+pect to happen on certain

P a g e | 72

days of the week. In order to help children to understand the concept of time more easily it is good idea to think about introducing history to the setting (.ee, 2 9".

6o(a1u$ar) i& he$%i&' a (hi$- to $ear& sha%eC s%a(e a&- 0easures/ hours, minutes, seconds day, week, month and year yesterday, tomorrow and today

SCIENCE ,cience gives children basic concepts and stimulates natural curiosity, e+ploration and discovery in them. They will be given learnings about the world around them through senses. &reschoolers based their scientific knowledge on what they see, hear, taste, smell and touch. ,cience e+pands on this basic fact of child growth and development by stimulating observation, in7uiry, interest and verbali1ation. This will help children know things around them. ,cience is a combination of both process skills (how children learn" and in7uiry skill on which it is a 7uestioning process that encourages curiosity and e+ploration. This is the opposite of rote learning. #ccording to *ational /esearch 2ouncil (!''C", the fundamental science concepts and knowledge should be determined by what the children see and do each day and their

P a g e | 73

developmental growth. They are life science, ecology, physical science, chemistry and earth and space science.

.ife science- the study of living things, people, plants and animals 5cology- the study of living things in relation to their environment and to each other

&hysical science- the sciences (physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, and astronomy" that relate to nonliving materials. o Oeology- the study of earth o 3eteorology- the science of weather and atmosphere o #stronomy- the study of the universe beyond the earths atmosphere

2hemistry- the science dealing with the composition and transformations of substances

5arth and ,pace ,cience- the study of earth materials, ob8ects in the sky and changes in the earth and sky

SOCIA7 STUDIES ,ocial studies emphasi1e ways to provide care and education for each child by focusing on the childs family, the community, the nation and the world and ?through social studies,

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children begin to develop the self understanding that will serve as a foundation for learning about others and the world around themA (Te+as 5ducation #gency, !''9". 3oreover ,eefeldt (2 !" points out F

#he field of social studies is uniquely suited to prepare children with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to participate in and contribute to, the small democracies of their homes, their preschool or primary groups and their immediate neighborhoods today, as well as to become functioning citi!ens of society in general in the future. So(ia$ S(ie&(es ,ocial ,ciences are the core of ,ocial ,tudies. They serve as the medium in understanding social studies. They are anthropology, sociology, history, geography, economics, and psychology (>ackman, 2 B".

o #nthropology - the study of the way people live o ,ociology - the study of group living, cooperation and responsibilities o ;istory - the study of what has happened in the life of a country or people o Oeography N the study of the earths surface, resources, and the concepts of direction, location and distance o 5conomics- the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services o &sychology- the study of the mind, emotions and behavioral processes

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:OA7S O. EAR79 EDUCATION SOCIA7 STUDIES #ccording to /obles de 3elende1, Leck, and %letcher (2 the goals for early education social studiesF Individual identity- pride in oneself, abilities, innate potential and cultural background to which one belongs *ational identity- recognition of ones role in democratic country Olobal identity- awareness of being part of the world 2"6 ,eefedlt (2 !" and Taylor (!'''" added some ", the following are

3oreover, Day (!''<"6 3ayesky (2

goals for including social studies in early education curriculumF To develop a childs positive self-concept To further an understanding of a childs role in the family To develop an awareness of a childs own cultural heritage as well as the traditions of others To provide an inclusive, multicultural classroom environment To understand the need for rules and laws

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ART #rt is fundamental to the growth of a child and an integration of many skills and basic e+periences that begin at home and are continued and e+panded in early childhood programs. #rt represents preschoolers feelings and perceptions of a childs world. The child creates what is important to him. # child uses color that please him, and these colors may bear little relation to the actual colors of the ob8ects created. #n older preschooler creates forms and shapes, chooses materials carefully and looks at the materials in new way (>ackman, 2 B".

#rt is visual communication through the elements of color, line, shape and te+ture instead of words. It is also developmental and its contributions can be seen in physical, cognitive, social and emotional development (>ackman, 2 B".

&hysical development- involving children using large muscles, manipulating small muscles and developing eye-hand coordination and ac7uiring self-help skills.

2ognitive development N relates to children making art forms that represent and clarify how they see the world

,ocial and emotional development- consists of children developing positive images of themselves6 e+pressing personality and individualism6 representing imagination and fantasy6 establishing en8oyable relationships with others and e+pressing their feelings

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.anguage development- developmental process of a predictable se7uence which includes both sending and receiving information. It is related, but not tied, to chronological age

&erceptual development- type of development in which children use their senses to learn about the nature of ob8ects, action and events (>ackman, 2 B"

#n e+ample of art is painting. &re-schoolers, involved in painting, develop their skills that are used in reading and writing. The curves patterns, and lines are similar to letters and words. The awareness of spatial relationship and configurations on the page relates to reading skills. Distinguishing painted forms, lines and patterns from the background re7uires the same discrimination as reading (>ackman, 2 #USIC 3usic is a language, a means of communication. It is communicated through tone, rhythm, volume, range, tempo and movement (>ackman, 2 B". 3usic can communicate feelings B".

to children even when its cultural origin and language is foreign to them. # childs involvement with music includes listening and creative activities. # music curriculum for young children should include many opportunities to e+plore sound through singing, moving, listening, and playing instruments as well as introductory e+periences with verbali1ation and visuali1ation of musical ideas (3usic 5ducators *ational 2onference H35*2I, !''<".

T)%es o #usi( or e-u(ati&' %re-s(hoo$ers

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songs and singing using the voice choosing classical collection

Cate'ori3atio& 2ategori1ation now includes such sophisticated and abilities as seriation, transitive inference and class inclusion. 2hildren show that they understand seriation when they can arrange ob8ects in a series according to one or more dimensions such as weight or color. Transitive inference is the ability to recogni1e a relationship between two ob8ects by knowing the relationship between each of them and a third ob8ect. 2lass inclusion is the ability to see the relationship between a whole and its parts (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

#&e0o&i(/ Strate'ies or re0e01eri&' Devices to aid memory are called mnemonic strategies. The most common mnemonic strategy among both children and adults is use of e+ternal memory aids. Other common mnemonic strategies include rehearsal, organi1ation and elaboration. 5+ternal memory aids is using mnemonic strategies with the use of something outside the person. /ehearsal is a mnemonic strategy to keep an item in working memory through conscious repetition. Organi1ation is another mnemonic strategy that categori1e materials to be remembered and

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elaboration is a mnemonic strategy of making mental associations involving items to be remembered (%eldman , Olds, 0 &apalia, 2 2".

Strate')

De i&itio&

De;e$o%0e&t Chi$-hoo-

i&

#i--$e

5+ternal 3emory aids

&rompting

by

something B and C years olds can do this but 9 year olds are more likely to think of it

outside the person

/ehearsal

2onscious repetition

C year olds can be taught to do this6 ( year olds do it

spontaneously. Organi1ation Orouping by categories 3ost children do not do this until at least age ! , but younger children can be taught to do it. 5laboration #ssociating items to be Older children are more likely

remembered with something to do this spontaneously and else, such as phrase, scene or remember better if they make story up their own elaboration6

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younger children remember better if someone else makes it up. Ta1$e 1/ * Co00o& #e0or) Strate'ies a((or-i&' to .e$-0a& C O$-sC D Pa%a$ia/

CO7OR 2olor is a meaningful constant for sighted people and it4s a powerful psychological tool positively and negatively (&recision Intermedia, 2 !!". # lot of research has been done to determine tha impact of color psychology in the human mind (:uchinsky, 2 (". 2hildren

respond well to bright color, which is why primary colors are popular with them (:uchinsky, 2 (". 2olor inspires creativity which encourages students to think for new ideas (:ivi, 2 (". (".

2olor stimulates creativity thinking and helps students evaluate and solve 7uestions (:ivi, 2

2hildren learn and retain information longer when color is used in educational material and in classroom and eighty percent of the brain receives information visually which encourages retention of information (:ivi, 2 !!". Different color causes different moods (:ivi, 2 !!". The colors red, orange and yellow stimulate and increase brain activity whilce colors green, blue and violet induce rela+ation (:ivi, 2 !!". ,tudies have shown that light blues and purples have a calming effect to learners and the usual color of classroom and best for students with emotional and behavioral challenges (Dinsmore, 2 ! ". Garm tones provide a rela+ing atmosphere that allows learners to focus on their studies rather than be distracted by the environment (:ivi, 2 ! ". Mariety of colors is good as it aids memory (:ivi, 2 ! ".

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Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ B$a(? #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @Llack is the color of authority and power, stability and strength. It is also the color associated with intelligence. Llack clothes make people appear thinner. It4s a somber color sometimes associated with evil in the western hemisphere black is associated with grieving. Llack is a serious color that evokes strong emotions6 it is easy to overwhelm people with too much black (2 !!".@

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ White #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @%or most of the world this is the color associated with purity cleanliness and the safety of bright light. It is also used to pro8ect the absence of color, or neutrality. In some eastern parts of the world, white is associated with mourning. Ghite associated with creativity. It is a compression of all the colors in the color spectrum (2 !!"@.

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ :ra) #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @Oray is most associated with the practical, timeless, middle-of-the-road, solid things in life. Too much gray leads to feeling mostly nothing6 but a bit of gray will add that rock solid feeling to your product. ,ome shades of gray are associated with old age, death, ta+es, depression

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or a lost sense of direction. ,ilver is an off-shoot of gray and often associated with giving a helping hand, strong character (2 !!"@.

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ Re#ccording to &recision Intermedia, @If you want to draw attention, use red. It is often where the eye looks first. /ed is the color of energy. It4s associated with movement and e+citement. &eople surrounded by red find their heart beating a little faster and often report feeling a bit out of breath. It4s absolute the wrong color for a baby4s room but perfect to get people e+cited. Gearing red clothes will make you appear a bit heavier and certainly more noticeable. (,ome studies show red cars get more tickets but that maybe because the red car owners drive faster or the ticket giver notices the movement of the red car more prominently". /ed is not a good color to overuse but using a spot of red in 8ust the right place is smart in some cases (one red accent in a otherwise neutral room draws the eye6 a red tie with a navy blue suit and white shirts adds 8ust the right amount of energy to draw the eye (no wonder it4s the @uniform of the day@ at the seats of government". /ed is the symbol of life (red blooded lifeV" and, for this reason, it4s the color worn by brides in 2hina. /ed is used at holidays that are about love and giving but the true color of love is pink. &ink is the most calming of all colors -- often our most dangerous criminals are housed in pink cells as studies show that color drains the

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energy and calms aggression. Think of pink as the color of romance, love, and gentle feelings, to be in the pink is to be soothed (2 !!"@.

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ B$ue #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @#sk people their favorite color and a clear ma8ority will say blue. 3uch of the world is blue (skies, seas". ,eeing the color blue actually causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming6 but that isn4t true of all shades of blue. ,ome shades (or too much blue" can send a cold and uncaring message. 3any bedrooms are blue because it4s calm, restful color. Over the ages blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability, wisdom and loyalty. &eople tend to be more productive in a blue room because they are calm and focused on the task at hand. ,ome studies are showing that weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym - in fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue surroundings (2 !!".@

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ :ree& #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @The color of growth, nature, and money. # calming color also that4s very pleasing to the senses. Dark forest green is associated with terms like conservative, masculine and wealth. ;ospitals use light green rooms because they too are found to be calming to patients. It is also

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the color associated with envy, good luck, generosity and fertility. It is the traditional color of peace, harmony, comfortable nurturing, support and well paced energy (2 !!".@

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ 9e$$o! #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @2heerful yellow the color of the sun, associated with laughter, happiness and good times. # person surrounded by yellow feels optimistic because the brain actually releases more seratonin (feel good chemical in the brain" when around this color. It is the color associated with optimism but be careful with yellow, when intense, it is the color of flames and studies show babies cry more in (bright" yellow rooms and tempers flare more around that color too. It has the power to speed up our metabolism and bring out some creative thoughts. Eellow can be 7uickly overpowering if over-used, but used sparingly in the 8ust the right place it can be an effective tool in marketing to greater sales. ,ome shades of yellow are associated with cowardice6 but the more golden shades with the promise of better times (2 !!"@.

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ Ora&'e #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @It4s the color tied most this fun times, happy and energetic days, warmth and organic products. It is also associated with

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ambition. There is nothing even remotely calm associated with this color. Orange is associated with a new dawn in attitude (2 !!"@.

Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ Pur%$e #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @Ghat color were the robes of kings and 7ueensP Ees, they were purple, our most royal color that is associated with wealth, prosperity, rich sophistication. This color stimulates the brain activity used in problem solving. ;owever, when overused in a common setting it is associated with putting on airs and being artificialK $se purple most carefully to lend an air of mystery, wisdom, and respect. Eoung adolescent girls are most likely to select nearly all shades of purple as their favorite color (2 !!"@. Ps)(ho$o') o Co$or/ Bro!& #ccording to &recision Intermedia, @This color is most associated with reliability, stability, and friendship. 3ore are more likely to select this as their favorite color. It4s the color of the earth itself @terra firma@ and what could represent stability better. It too is associated with things being natural or organic. 2aution however, for in India it is the color of mourning (2 !!"@. *ot all colors are good, bold colors should be avoided especially for young learners (:ivi, 2 ! ".

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.i'ure EF The figure shows the favorite color according to study made by >oe hillock (;allock, 2 =".

TEC,NO7O:9 .OR EAR79 C,I7D,OOD EDUCATION The Lank ,treet 2ollege of 5ducation (!''2" emphasi1es the importance of including sensory materials in the selection for young children, especially toddlers. Included in the selection of indoor classroom e7uipment and materials for young children are computers, developmentally appropriate software, cameras, and video and tape recorders. #s with any learning resource available, how technology is used is more important than if technology is used

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at all. Integrating computers and other technology into early childhood learning can enrich a cooperative, pro8ect-based, hands-on curriculum (#nderson, 2 ".

The following are criteria in using technology as a medium in childhood education (>ackman, (2 B"6 *ational association for the education of young children, (!''C""F

!. ,elect technology that reflects and supports educational goals. 2. $se appropriate technology that can improve childrens thinking ability and help them develop good relationships with peers. =. Gork together with parents to promote appropriate use of technology at home. <. $se suitable technology tools that encourage learning activities that are self-paced and driven by the childs own interest and abilities. B. 3ust apply the principles of developmentally appropriate practice, curriculum and assessment when choosing technology C. Technology should be integrated into daily activities of a child (. Gork together with parents to promote appropriate use of technology

2hildren today are also e+posed to computers early in life (&atterson, 2

9". Eoung

children4s computer skills improve with age and e+perience. Ly = years of age, most children know how to use a mouse to point and click, can load 2D-/O3 discs, and can turn a computer on or off without help (&atterson, 2 9". #s they move through the preschool years, children 9".

become increasingly adept at these and other computer-related skills (&atterson, 2

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/esearchers do not know much yet about how computer usage affects young children, but computer usage is increasingly common among preschoolers, and future studies will almost certainly e+plore this area. The role of computers in the early childhood curriculum should be that of uni7uely adding to children e+periences (,52#, !'' ". #ccording to Luckleitner (!''B", computers are no substitute for children activities like running, paying with blocks and en8oying story books N all of which help foster intellectual development. ;owever, if the right software is used the computer can be an e+cellent supplement to these traditional activities. 3oreover, computers empower young children. They enable them to become totally immersed in the 8oys of learning. The key is how computers are used, selecting developmental software and websites must be essential (&atterson, 2 C,I7D CO#PUTER #OUSE ,AND7IN: #ccording to 3ouse#rena, wireless computer mice can be easily misplaced and not recommended for small children (2 '". 5ventually, as child use computer with computer 9".

mouse, one big problem then they have very small hands and they can4t usually operate a computer mouse that was designed for adults (3ouse#rena, 2 '". This case is one of the most

common problems by parents considering child handling on mouse. #nother fact problem of children, especially small ones who do not have enough de+terity to handle and manilupate things are confused about what button to use and why is there a right click and a left click (3ouse#rena, 2 '". #ccording to >eanne, young children seem much more able to use mouse with

8ust one button than two buttons and had a hard time pushing 8ust her right ring finger without pushing all her fingers (2 B". One good implementation of mouse for kids is not using 8ust the fingers but also the

P a g e | 89 whole hand to navigate the command (3etler, 2 B". 2hildren also get frustated and nervouse when

children press the wrong button of the mouse when they are in the middle of a computer game (3ouse#rena, 2 '". It is recommended to have a special mouse for children to ease their mouse '". The usual mouse for kids are in bright colors, look really funny, '".

handling (3ouse#rena, 2

and attractive (3ouse#rena, 2

ADOBE .7AS, CS* PRO.ESSIONA7 #dobe %lash 2,< &rofessional is the industry-leading authoring environment for creating, engaging interactive e+periences. *ew ob8ect-based animation tools make working in %lash easier and more intuitive for beginning and e+pert designers have the opportunity to create powerful designs (,mith, 2 ! ". #dobe %lash 2,< &rofessional has hundreds of enhancements, including an easy to customi1e user interface consistent with other components within the #dobe 2reative ,uite %amily of ,oftware. Tweens are now applied directly to ob8ects, which means the user can 7uickly create animations, easily modify motion paths with Le1ier handles, make changes to the entire animation once, and en8oy greater control over each individual animation attribute. #nother feature is that the user can animate 2D ob8ects through =D space with e+citing new =D transition and rotating tools which allow the user to animate along the +, y and 1 a+es6 apply local or global transformation to any ob8ect (,mith, 2 ! ". It can also turn symbols into instant design tools, can also apply symbols in variety of ways, it can 7uickly create kaleidoscope like effects and apply fills using Deco tool, or randomly spray symbols across any defined area using the ,pray brush. 3oreover, it leverage the #dobe 3edia 5ncoder and e+perience advanced video

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capabilities including embedded cue points, alpha channel support and high 7uality video codecs. It also boosts efficiency with intuitive panel docking and spring loaded behaviors that streamline the user interaction with tools throughout the 2reative ,uite editions (,mith, 2 ! ". ADOBE ACTION SCRIPT #dobe #ction,cript is the programming language of the #dobe %lash &latform. Originally developed as a way for developers to program interactivity, #ction,cript enables efficient programming of %lash &latform applications for everything from simple animations to comple+, data-rich, interactive interfaces. It is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the #dobe %lash &layer platform, used on Geb pages in the form of embedded ,G% files. #ction,cript was initially designed for controlling simple 2D vector animations made in #dobe %lash (formerly 3acromedia %lash". Initially focused on animation, early versions of %lash content offered few interactivity features and thus had very limited scripting capability. .ater versions added functionality allowing for the creation of Geb-based games and rich Internet applications with streaming media (such as video and audio" (#dobe ,ystem Inc., 2 !!".

ADOBE P,OTOS,OP CS* #dobe &hotoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by #dobe ,ystems Incorporated. #dobe &hotoshop 2,< features a new =D engine allowing painting directly on =D models, wrapping 2D images around =D shapes, converting gradient maps to =D ob8ects, adding depth to layers and te+t, getting print-7uality output with the new ray-tracing rendering engine. It supports common =D formats6 the new #d8ustment and 3ask &anels6 2ontent-aware scaling.

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%luid 2anvas /otation and %ile display options. On = #pril, #dobe released &hotoshop 2,< 5+tended, which includes all the same features of #dobe &hotoshop 2,< with the addition of capabilities for scientific imaging, =D, and high-end film and video users. The successor to &hotoshop 2,=, &hotoshop 2,< is the first C<-bit &hotoshop on consumer computers (only on Gindows N the O, R version is still =2-bit only."

#U7TIPOINT TEC,NO7O:9 # 3ultipoint technology enables multiple users to share a single &2 using multiple mice. This provides the ability to build interactive applications from which each user, with their own mouse, simultaneously engage on a single &2. 3ultipoint technology allows multiple users to work on software at the same time, and each can be distinguished by the O,. It allows multiple users to leverage resources from a single computer, providing more students to have access to Gindows technology. In this way it can help them to learn, share, produce, communicate and positively impact their future employability. #ccording to the Indian 5+press .imited, 3ultipoint Technology is a platform where children have access to different cursors on a single screen and thereby, they can be active participants instead of passively sharing computers. This promotes collaborative learning and also facilitates the monitoring and progress of each student individually by the teacher. #mit 3ital, 2orporate Mice &resident, $nlimited &otential Oroup, 3icrosoft 2orporation, said, ?The technology was developed keeping in mind a simple fact our researchers noticed on the fieldW most schools can afford only a few computersW sometimes only one, even for a class of < children. 5ach of these computers is usually surrounded by several kids, anywhere from two to

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! , but never 8ust one student, and in most cases, a dominant child hogs the mouse and keyboard. #n ideal situation would be one computer per child, which is a great vision, but realities might not always support that. It enhances learning through higher student engagement and a more collaborative method of learning for children. This mechanism makes it possible for multiple students to get a computing e+perience, with no compromises on 7uality. In fact, the technology promotes collaborative learning scenarios as well as healthy competition. TEC,NICA7 BAC@:ROUND

$pon the analysis of all the elements revolving the proposed software such as its purpose, ob8ectives, features, capabilities, and its limitations, the team has summed up all the re7uired technical support re7uirements that the software itself needs in order to be built.

:e&era$ Te(h&i(a$ Re=uire0e&ts These technical re7uirements include not only basic knowledge on the different programming languages today but a mi+ of both the use of a variety of graphics-editing software and basic knowledge in children4s psychology in order to fully satisfy the purpose of the proposed e-learning software. #lthough these technical re7uirements seem to be comple+ in nature due to the mi+ of both software-development re7uirements and psychological research re7uirements, the team has concluded that this comple+ use of Information Technology and &sychology in designing and building the software would be the critical success factor in attaining the team4s target system.

Pro'ra00i&' 7a&'ua'e Ca&-i-ates

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The team has debated over the use of eitherF 2, 2XX, >ava, Misual Lasic, or %lash #ction ,cript as the software4s programming language. The list of which language to use was mainly based on the team members4 personal hands-on e+perience in using them than on the researches made by the team. The decision to rely on personal hands-on e+perience on which of the language to use was seen to be reasonable since the team members believed that the language4s efficiency for the developers would more likely be dependent on how familiar the programmer is on the particular language that he4d be using.

Narro!i&' -o!& the 7a&'ua'e Choi(es Oiven the target system4s characteristics, the team has then narrowed the list down to the two most reasonable languages to use namelyF >ava and %lash #ction ,cript. The decision made to use either of these languages was made certain since these two languages are capable of doing drag-and-drop interface designs to compensate for the comple+ re7uirements of the proposed software. Their drag-and-drop interface capabilities would greatly be beneficial to both the software4s development and the team4s efficiency in making it since the team would then given the chance to focus more on the critical contents and ;2I(;uman-2omputer Interaction" issues of the e-learning software.

The Chose& 7a&'ua'e $pon further researches and discussions made by the team on which of the two most reasonable programming language to use for the proposed software, the team has finally made its decision to adopt %lash #ction ,cript 2. to be its software development language to use. #lthough %lash #ction ,cript 2. has been around since the late !'' s based from the

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researches made, the team has still decided to use the said version as its programming language since the team believed that the synta+ of %lash #ction ,cript 2. is easier to study than the languages later version %lash #ction ,cript =. .

The team pursued the use of the older version for two thingsF The simplicity of its synta+ #voiding compatibility issues for users

The team concluded that using the older version of the %lash #ction ,cript programming language would be the most logical solution to reducing the load of the team members on studying the said programming language6 studying the older but simpler version would be more efficient for the developers than studying the later but more comple+ version. The older versions capabilities may be limited but the simplicity of its synta+ could give more time for the developers to focus on the more important issues on building the e-learning software likeF content research and ;uman-2omputer Interaction principles for children.

The decision was also based on the discussions made on compatibility issues that may occur the time the software is released to public. The researches made say that %lash #ction ,cript =. was made to be run by %lash &layer ' and higher which means that older versions of %lash &layer would most likely not be able to run software running on %lash #ction ,cript =. . The team concluded that in order to avoid compatibility issues in the near future on machines running the lower versions of %lash &layer, the older version must be used. Developing the

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proposed software through the older version would at least allow both old and newer machines to run the proposed software.

I&te'rate- De;e$o%0e&t E&;iro&0e&t 2IDE4 In the aspect of which ID5 to use in programming the proposed software, the team has gone through the process of debating over 3acromedia %lash 9 and #dobe %lash 2,< since the two ID5s were, at the time of the proposal, readily available to the team. The long debates summary has chosen #dobe %lash 2,< as the teams preferred ID5.

The factors that affected the teams decision wereF - The softwares availability in the market - The softwares capabilities - The softwares $ser Interface - The softwares fle+ibility

Gith regards to the given factors, #dobe %lash 2,< met them all. The software was widely available in the market and was already at the hands of the teams programmers. It too, as compared to 3acromedia %lash 9 and the later version, was already capable enough of handling vast range of data and file types which was critical to the development of the software itself. #lthough its $ser Interface was a bit more comple+ than that of 3acromedia %lash 9, its interface features did not vary that differently from the simpler 3acromedia %lash 96 the team

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concluded that the standard components needed in the softwares interface were still easily recogni1able despite its comple+ design. .astly, #dobe %lash 2,< was also capable of switching through the various versions of %lash #ction ,cript if in case the team decides to switch to another version.

:ra%hi(s-Su%%ort So t!are #side from the programming aspect of the proposed software, it too needs to have constant support from graphics-editing software such as #dobe &hotoshop to make the necessary designs that meet the ;2I principles. ,oftware, as such, would also be a 2ritical ,uccess %actor in integrating graphics into the software as part of its visual e-learning features.

In this case, the team has turned to the later but not the most recent version of #dobe &hotoshopF #dobe &hotoshop 2,<. Due to the availability of resources at the time the software was proposed, #dobe &hotoshop 2,< was in no doubt the graphics-support software selected by the team to cater the needs of visual presentations and effects of the e-learning software. The capability of the softwares version, as the team has discussed and concluded, does not differ that much from the latest version #dobe &hotoshop 2,B and so the version would still be capable enough to meet the re7uirements of developing the proposed e-learning software.

,u0a&-Co0%uter I&tera(tio& or Chi$-re& The final technical issue that was needed to be constantly monitored would be the &sychology principles that surround the application itself. ,ince the proposed software aimed to support the education of children, the software would re7uire support from the field of Lasic

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2hildren4s &sychology. In this case, the software would also re7uire ac7uiring key information from 7ualified &sychology ma8ors in supporting the software4s foundation. This aspect of the proposed software may be seen as a non-technical part of the study but was also given due credit since it4s also part of the software4s key characteristics.

#ET,ODO7O:IESC RESU7TSC AND DISCUSSION

I. #etho-o$o'ies

A. O;er;ie!/ This research was organi1ed in order to inculcate information using primary and secondary resources in line with the concept of an e-learning software. &rimary resources, like the process of interviews, were conducted to support this research goal. 3oreover, ,econdary resources such as books, 8ournals, internet sources, and articles were utili1ed to continuously collect necessary information in preparation for the softwares development. 2ollected information from the said secondary resources was stated in the /eview of /elated .iteratureK,ystems section of this documentation. #ll information gathered like the review on the software involved in the development of the proposed e-learning software and as well as the review on background support technology such as the concept of multi-pointing are key elements for the foundation of I-Turo.

Lefore being able to develop I-Turo, proper steps had to be followed by the team. #s part of these steps in the preparation of the systems development process, the ne+t section will

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discuss the research method that the team has selected in the overall development of the software and the documentation itself. The procedure to be followed by the team in the step by step data gathering and analysis will be discussed later as well as the participants involved and the materials and instruments used.

B. Resear(h Desi'&8 #ethoGhile tackling and assessing the target systems re7uirements and ob8ectives, the team came to the conclusion of using a particular type of research method currently being used in the field of Information Technology in seeking valuable information that may help in attaining this studys goals. B.1. Desi'& Resear(h In the ;2I community and in the design practice community, the term design research is generally used to refer to the upfront research practitioners do to ground, inform, and inspire their product development process. ;owever, in the design research community, including institutions such as the Design /esearch ,ociety, the term design research implies an in7uiry focused on producing a contribution of knowledge (Qimmerman, %orli11i , 0 5venson, *.D. ".

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.i'ure F/ /easoning in the Design 2ycle published by the #ssociation for Information ,ystems Design research is sometimes called ?Improvement /esearchA and this designation emphasi1es the problem- solvingKperformance-improving nature of the activity. ,uggestions for a problem solution are abductively drawn from the e+isting knowledgeKtheory base for the problem area (&ierce, !'=!". Development, 5valuation and further ,uggestions are fre7uently iteratively performed in the course of the design research effort. The basis of the iteration, the flow from partial completion of the cycle back to #wareness of the &roblem, is indicated by the 2ircumscription arrow like shown on the figure. 2onclusion indicates termination of a specific design pro8ect (#ssociation for Information ,ystems, *.D ". Lunge (!'9<" implies that design research is most effective when its practitioners shift between pragmatic and critical realist perspectives and guided by a pragmatic assessment of progress in the design cycle. &urao(2 2" presents a very rich elaboration on the perspective

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shifts that accompany any iterative design cycle. ;is analysis is grounded in semiotics and describes in detail how ?the design researcher arrives at an interpretation (understanding" of the phenomenon and the design of the artifact simultaneously@ (#ssociation for Information ,ystems, *.D". *ew knowledge production is indicated in the figure by the arrows labeled 2ircumscription and Operation and Ooal :nowledge. The 2ircumscription process is especially important to understanding design research because it generates understanding that could only be gained from the specific act of construction. 2ircumscription is a formal logical method (3c2arthy, !'9 " that assumes that every fragment of knowledge is valid only in certain situations. %urther, the applicability of knowledge can only be determined through the detection and analysis of contradictions N in common language, the design researcher learns or discovers when things dont work ?according to theory.@ This happens many times not due to a misunderstanding of the theory, but due to the necessarily incomplete nature of any knowledge base. The design process, when interrupted and forced back to #wareness of &roblem in this way, contributes valuable constraint knowledge to the understanding of the always-incompletetheories that motivated the original design (#ssociation for Information ,ystems, *.D ". The reason why the team chose this particular research method was due to the methods way of re-iterating its processes whenever ideas and works do not match each others e+pected outputs. The team believed that this iterative process would come in handy in such a way when new ideas have to be generated from e+isting ones while simultaneously doing the design of the software itself.

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.ike said earlier, the research method also has the advantage of being able to simultaneously provide the means of ac7uiring new theories through the design processes. B.2. The Tea0As Poi&t o 6ie! o& the Resear(h Ste%s a&- Their Si'&i i(a&(e #s seen in the diagram shown earlier, Design /esearch is vertically categori1ed into three basic descriptionsF the :nowledge %lows, the &rocess ,teps, and the .ogical %ormalism. The :nowledge %lows indicate all possible iterations the processes can do throughout the e+ecution of the entire method. The &rocess ,teps column shows the se7uential approach to the proper development of the proposal and is divided into four (<" main parts namelyF #wareness of the problem, #bduction, Deduction, and the 2onclusion. The #bduction part of this particular research method is also known as the suggestion phase while the Deduction part of the research method is further broken down into two specific phases namelyF the Development phase and the 5valuation phase. .astly, the final stage of the &rocess ,teps would be the overall conclusion. The third column, the .ogical %ormalism, shows the two general partitions within the research methodF the #bduction phase and the Deduction phase. 5ach phase is deemed to be as e7ually significant as the other. The layered-se7uential and iterative structure of Design /esearch only shows that the phases themselves wouldn4t only allow the team to follow a step-by-step approach towards the attainment of the target software but would also allow the team to further improve the practice of previous phases and their outcome as the development continues. The team believed that the integrity and the results of the future deployment of I-Turo would greatly depend on how the team e+ecutes each phase.

B.". A!are&ess o the Pro1$e0

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This step of the methodology would first and foremost be the proposal4s very foundation. This phase would serve as the ancestral basis of where the proposal4s concept started from, why the team chose the concept as their proposal, and how the team plans to carry out the tasks needed for the proposal to be successfully deployed on the field. The step involves the identification of the problem in relation to today4s societal needs in relation to the field of Information Technology through data gathering. Leing able to properly sort out the hierarchy of needs would e7uate to the understanding of which problems to prioriti1e first and classify them accordingly into their e7uivalent solutions.

B.*. Su''estio& #s seen being under the #bduction phase of Design /esearch, this ne+t phase aimed to 4abduct4 or ac7uire ideas coming from outside sources which also involves the careful reevaluation of the problems summed up during the #wareness of the &roblem phase and then using the assessments to find appropriate and logical solutions to answer the problem statements from various points of view. #fter figuring out the priority levels and describing each individual problem, the team must now seek information from their own e+periences and on the field to gather up data that best fit to give an answer to the problems.

B.+. De;e$o%0e&t

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This phase now involves the start of the Deduction phase of Design /esearch where all the information gained during the two earlier phases are then unpacked to form the actual solutions to the problems. #s said earlier during the awareness of the problem and the suggestion phases, the purpose of the data gathering processes involved during those stages is to form the foundation of why the proposal should be pursued. #fter the said phases, the team must now be able to form actual principles and key logic that would serve as the building blocks of the proposal. This stage officially starts the Deduction phase of Design /esearch. %rom here, the team4s ne+t challenge would now be the task of gathering all available resources in their hands and using both these resources and their skills to design and physically build the desired proposal. Together with all the support information abducted from various sources in the earlier phases, the team can now use this information to help them integrate human-computer interaction principles which could render the beneficiaries of the proposal ease of use and access. The team should also now be able to progress in the building of the actual proposal and match their works with the re7uirements for the solution of the problems with the help of the iterative feature of Design /esearch. B.5. E;a$uatio& $pon the finali1ation of the proposal, Design /esearch4s Deduction phase continues as the team, at this stage of the methodology, evaluates their work thru iterations of hardware, software, and contents testing. In this phase, the team may also set tests giving the target beneficiaries a hands-on e+perience in using the proposed e-learning software. This phase now

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aims to serve as a checklist to prove 8ust how much the proposal has answered the problems which the team proposed to address. #s the different test sub8ects are given the opportunity to run thru the proposed software, the entire team would then be tasked to note down problems encountered by the proposal4s test sub8ects and at the same time observe the sub8ects4 reactions as they encounter problems within the proposed software. $pon wrapping up the test cases and gathering feedbacks from the test sub8ects, the team must now see to it that all the problems are accounted for and given due priority for improvement. %rom this point on, the team should then go back to modifying the proposal4s functions to counter the problems made during the initial tests with the volunteer sub8ects. This phase continues to loop back and forth from the Development phase and even the previous phases to ensure that the target product is met at the final release and deployment of the proposed software.

B.E. Co&($usio& The final step of the Design /esearch method, as seen in the diagram earlier, doesn4t actually end in a linear way in the sense that the knowledge flow of the conclusion phase allows the method to continuously loop back to the early stages to check whether the e+pectations have been met by the final output of the proposal or not. This phase also involves the summing up of all the sources gathered, obstacles encountered, and as well the team4s recommendations on how problems encountered throughout the duration of the proposal4s development could4ve been avoided.

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The conclusion phase also serves as the final preparation for the deployment of the proposed software. In line with this, the team must now prepare all the resources needed for the release of the product and arrange all the paper works re7uired as the product is primed for its due release and acknowledgment.

C. Data :atheri&'

The focus of this preliminary study was primarily on childhood mental development analysis aimed at perceptions of actual changes in behavior and skills during the learning stage. Data gathering is a particular course of action which was intended to achieve a result.

The process of progressive draft designing and documenting will also be followed in order to lead the team to the summary and assembly of collected information. /evision of works is highly recommended for the team, to be able to attain substantial and accurate results.

C.1. #ateria$s a&- I&stru0e&ts

The support of traditional library research will help the team to come up with different concepts and estimations based on the books and articles that the team will be or has engaged on. In line with todays modern research methods, advanced web research will also be of use by the teams researchers wherein information is collected via the modern day internet. *owadays, the internet is broadly and promptly accessible all over the world and the e+tensive use of it can cater the needs of the researchers for practically instant and real time information gathering on

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most topics thus having a greater impact on how the team members establish their ideas and knowledge. 3oreover, personal interviews and survey 7uestionnaires may take place to produce concrete results for productive and intense discussions. Different types of interview 7uestions such as open and closed ones may be prepared by the team before the appointment of interview. Interview 7uestions will be created based on the profession and knowledge of the interviewee.

The 7uestions contained in the interview outline must be 7uestions that the interviewee can answer in a comfortable manner. In short, these are the 7uestions that are related to their profession, understanding, and knowledge.

C.2. Parti(i%a&ts

Interviews with child psychologists, guidance counselor, preschool teachers, and education e+perts especially from the Department of 5ducation may be conducted further to have greater understanding and to accumulate different significant sources that will guide the team through the flow of their research study. ,urvey 7uestionnaires will also be given to some parents and to their children. ;owever, some children may not be able to answer survey 7uestionnaires, so parents may be encouraged to guide and help their children in answering the 7uestionnaires. In order for the team to contact a child psychologist and a guidance counselor, the team should establish a look up in colleges or universities. .astly, the most valuable respondent that the team may have would be an interview with high stated official or employee of the Department of 5ducation.

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C.". Pro(e-ure

In order to accomplish the purposive ob8ectives of the study, procedures must be planned, prepared, and conducted precisely according to the chosen methodology. .ibrary research, internet research, series of interviews, and survey 7uestionnaires should be properly settled for a precise conclusion and as part of the methodologys abduction phase. The materials and instruments that may be used by the team were previously stated. The participants involved were also e+plained in the previous part of this documentation. %urther information on the procedures taken by the team in the duration of the steps involved in the chosen methodology will be discussed on the Development and Testing section of this documentation.

D. RESU7TS AND DISCUSSIONS $pon the completion of the data gathering phase of the chosen methodology, the team had gathered up and sorted out all the relevant data ac7uired from primary and secondary sources. #fter the analysis of the data gathered, the results showed what the re7uirements of the proposed were and how they were to be achieved based on the researches made and what the actual statements taken from the interviews said. These re7uirements include the re7uirements for the systems interface and its contents.

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,can through the /e7uirements #nalysis, /e7uirements Documentation, and the Development and Testing section of this documentation to see the more detailed e+planation of the results and discussions made during and after the methodology4s data gathering or ?#bductionA phases.

REBUIRE#ENTS ANA79SIS In terms of the actual re7uirements for the proposed e-.earning software, the team had discussed and finali1ed a summed up version of all the re7uirements after the data gathering phase of the chosen methodology. The reason for this summari1ation of re7uirements was to effectively eliminate the unnecessary re7uirements for the proposed software and put together all other relevant re7uirements into a single statement. This strategy had allowed the development team to remain focused on the ma8or re7uirements for the proposed system. # summari1ed version of all the relevant re7uirements also made way for the 7uick understanding and

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resolution of the problems to be analy1ed and addressed upon during the later phases of the development team4s chosen methodology. $pon careful categori1ation and sorting of the pieces of re7uirements taken during the data gathering phase of the chosen methodology, the development team had finally determined the four (<" summed up re7uirements for the proposed software I-Turo. Lelow is the bulleted form of all the summed up re7uirementsF 1. The e-7ear&i&' so t!are 0ust 1e si0%$e a&- eas)-to-use #lso based upon the most crucial principles on ;uman-2omputer Interaction, the re7uirements for the proposed software include having an even more user-friendly interface since the e-.earning software would be focusing on the education of young preschool children. %urthermore, the design and functionalities of the product itself must be in accordance to these principles and as well as 2hildren4s &sychology principles. The technical aspects of the proposed e-.earning software must also be simple enough to be implemented by ordinary individuals since the targeted users or beneficiaries of the proposed software include parents and their children and so the software itself must easily be manageable, adaptive, and compatible with today4s resources readily available to the general public. 2. The so t!areGs -esi'& 0ust a-here to the re(o00e&-atio&s 'i;e& 1) the i&ter;ie!e- e<%erts i& the ie$To e+ercise professionalism of development and standardi1ation, the design and functionalities of the proposed software must at most be based upon the actual

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recommendations taken from the field during the interviews made. This is to ensure that the design, contents, and features of the proposed e-.earning software would in the end be appropriate for its target end users. In terms of standardi1ation, the recommendations given by the e+perts in the concerned fields of study must be greatly taken into consideration if not entirely followed by the development team since adhering to the e+perts4 own recommendations would amount or e7uate to the uniform principles and practices already being e+ercised in the field. ". It 0ust i&(or%orate i&tera(ti;e eatures a%%ro%riate or (hi$-re& #s based on the proposed software4s goals set by the development team and as well as information taken from the data gathering phase of the chosen methodology, the proposed software must contain or must have an integration of interactive features for children to effectively gear their attention and interest towards the value of learning through fun and interactive means. This re7uirement also had relation to what research and actual interviews say with regards to the factors affecting children4s attitude and interests towards learning. ;aving incorporated such features into the proposed system would mean a huge difference in the impact it has to the users or children that were to benefit from the proposed software4s services. *. The so t!are 0ust ha;e a Phi$i%%i&e-1ase- (o&te<t a&- (urri(u$u0 &art of the proposed software4s purpose and description was to give its users a deeper look into the slowly-fading traditions and cultures the &hilippines has. This re7uirement for the proposed software itself was to address the need to develop a software that would integrate the country4s *ational pride. To do this, the e+perts

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interviewed encouragingly recommended that the proposed software be set to fulfill the promotion of the &hilippines since only a number of dedicated advocates contribute a product that actually focuses on the country4s traditions and cultures. %urthermore, having developed a software focused on promoting a &hilippine-based theme, contents, and features would help slow down the fading-away of the country4s traditions and cultures even more if not completely fill up the e+tending gap between today4s hybrid foreign culture and past4s *ationalistic culture.

REBUIRE#ENTS DOCU#ENTATION A. Desi'& o So t!are a&- its Pro(esses ,implicity and $ser-friendliness had always been the two most crucial characteristics that the development team aimed for even before the actual development phase had begun. During the initial informal designing of the proposed software specifically during the pre-development phase of the chosen methodology, the development team had already focused on making the

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overall software easy-to-use as it was drawn up the drawing boards using the pen-and-paper approach to designing. #s said earlier during this documentation of the proposed software, fle+ible and inter-platform compatible hardware and software were used to make I-Turo a very fle+ible software yet having a very simple interface and 7uality contents. I-Turo was also developed to have a straight approach to lectures and functionalities similar to a classroom environment. #lthough having a hybrid mi+ of both classroom and home environment, the proposed software was developed to have a little twist when it comes to the interaction between the three parties involvedF the e-.earning software itself, the parent in charge of the session, and the children or child to be taught by the software together with the parent. I-Turo4s interface was made to fit all standards when it comes to 3enus and the corresponding functionalities of a typical application. #ll standard functions, as the team had designed and implemented, may be found right there on its 3ain 3enu. Other functions such as Instructions and buttons related to progressing into I-Turo4s curriculum were designed to be easily identifiable by the average individual so as to make the proposed software more adaptable to any family that uses it in its future deployment in the field. The interface of the proposed software was also carefully designed to meet the re7uirements from the e+perts interviewed by the development team earlier in the teams chosen methodology. #s re7uired, the development team had incorporated the appropriate colors, shapes, and sounds for I-Turos overall course. This ensures that the software itself is customary to the interests and behavior of the children who would then be I-Turos pupils. Lasic bright and encouraging colors were integrated into the softwares interface design to attract and retain the attention of its users. Lasic shapes were also integrated into the designs to help meet the

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re7uirement of helping the children identify shapes in their early age. .astly, children-centered sound mi+es and effects were also integrated into the design of I-Turos interface to give further motivation for the child to continue e+ploring I-Turos curriculum as he or she curiously and e+citedly hears the different sounds and music of I-Turo. The proposed software4s contents, as stated in the /e7uirements #nalysis section of this documentation, had been designed and developed by the development team to accommodate the latest release of the Department of 5ducation4s preschool curriculum and as part of I-Turo4s purpose were integrated into the software having a &hilippine-theme based approach to its integration design. The contents consist of lectures, interactive activities related to the lectures, and 7ui11es on the given lectures that were designed to accommodate I-Turos 3ulti-pointing Technology feature that allows =-< children to take the evaluation 7ui11es simultaneously. The developers also made sure that simplicity is shown by the contents themselves as the software users browse through I-Turos contents6 buttons and other functions involved in content browsing were designed to be efficiently e+ecuted through the Ssingle-click rule. The lectures in I-Turos curriculum were based on books and other similar sources which imply that I-Turo simply is an alternate mean of learning for preschool children and that users are still encouraged to read books to gain knowledge. The contents themselves, together with the additional features of I-Turo such as its interactive characters, are based on the %ilipino traditions and cultures to e+press *ationalism for the country and to promote a &hilippine-based e-.earning software made by %ilipinos for %ilipinos.

B.

Desi'& o S)ste0s !ithi& the So t!are

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In terms of the system involved within the software programming, a Ladge /eward ,ystem was implemented and integrated by the team within I-Turo in accordance to what researches and interview recommendations say regarding children4s reinforcement. I-Turo was designed to be a very friendly application for its users especially the children whom it would be imparting its built-in knowledge to. In order to maintain that specific purpose, the development team decided to adopt the positive approach to children4s reinforcement to learning based on the &sychology principles which the development team learned through research and interviews. The use of the Ladge /eward ,ystem for the evaluation of each child after their assessment 7ui1 at the end of each $nit means that whether or not they get the passing score, encouraging statements to learn and study even harder would still be prompted on screen by I-Turo. The said approach to children4s education, as the team believed from the start, would help mold the child4s personality into a more learning-driven personality as opposed to the possible negative effects to the child4s personality if the development team was to use the negative reinforcement approach to children4s education. &ositive reinforcement also allows the child to strive harder to achieve higher marks as he or she is encouraged to thrive harder and never lose hope regardless of what score he or she gets out of any 7ui1 given in the proposed e-.earning software. C. Desi'& o Pro-u(t In line of incorporating interactive features for children as stated in the /e7uirements #nalysis of this documentation, one of I-Turo4s product design considerations involve somehow innovating the original way of handling peripheral devices particularly the computer mouse. ,ince one of the proposed software4s target end users were preschool children, the development

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team had to think of a way to gain the children4s attention to help their interests focus more on the side of learning with e+citement than on the side of 8ust simply having fun with the computer. To achieve this, the development team had designed and built modified versions of the original computer mouse to suite the capabilities of children. The simple innovation comes in the form of the modification of the function of the mouse itself. In order to suit the needs of preschool children to have an even simpler version of the input device, the development team figured that by removing the unnecessary right-click function of the mouse would allow for better interaction between the computer and the children since the modified mouse itself would have a much lesser comple+ity by function as compared to its original counterpart. The removal of such unnecessary function would also give due benefit to both left-handed and right-handed users. #side from the accessories or the modified mice that I-Turo4s package comes with, the development team also took huge amounts of efforts to design and build the package itself. In order for the development team to promote the proposed software4s country-centered conte+t and curriculum approach to e-.earning, the development team concluded that ade7uate designs on the product packaging itself must be done to help the general public recogni1e the concepts and features of the proposed software. ;ere, the team developed I-Turo4s official logo as seen on the proposed software4s package and physical components. The logo aimed to strengthen both the integrity and originality of the proposed software4s name @I-Turo.@ The design of I-Turo4s usb hub component was also carefully debated on by the team. In which case, the development team decided that the best @iconic@ hull representation would be a house to encase the usb hub itself. The chosen representation, by the concluded purpose of the development team, was designed to be aimed at signifying the importance of the family home

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and to represent the comfort 1one of the actual family home as the child or children gain knowledge from both their parent and I-Turo. The hubs working design, as the development team had decided upon, consisted of a generic five-port hub and a customi1ed outer casing which housed the actual hub component. This design ensures that the components involved can easily be replaced if in case either of the two is damaged. 3ulti-port hubs such as the generic hub included in I-Turos package are readily available at any computer store at the nearest malls. The softwares compatibility with the said type of hardware isnt dependent on the standards made by such hardwares manufacturers. In this case, either branded or generic multi-port hub bought at any store would do in replacement of the original one included in I-Turos package since hardware compatibility would mainly depend on the Operating ,ystem used by the machine that would be running I-Turo. The outer shell of I-Turos hub may also easily be removed and replaced if in case damage occurs. /emoving the hubs casing would not interfere or disable the actual hub itself as the shell was designed solely to protect the hub and represent the product. $sers of I-Turo may choose to replace the hubs casing with a similar case or a customi1ed one such as that included in I-Turos package. In terms of the hubs other physical designs, the I-Turos hub casing also consists of rubber stoppers to prevent the sliding of the product in smooth surfaces. Together with its stable weight, the hub itself can be placed in almost any type of surface.

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DE6E7OP#ENT AND TESTIN: #s stated earlier in this documentation, the success of attaining the goals of the development of I-Turo would depend on how well the team utili1es all its available resources and how strict the team could follow the methodology it chose. To follow on the development and testing of I-Turo, this section will enumerate and e+plain the steps the development team has taken from the birth of the idea of the creation of I-Turo to the development and testing of the actual software prototype.

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.O77OWIN: T,E DESI:N RESEARC, #ET,OD T,E DE6E7OP#ENT

A!are&ess o the Pro1$e0 #s part of this phase, the team started off gathering opinionated data amongst its

members through brainstorming. $pon listing down all the problems seen in today4s society, the team then proceeded on gathering data from other media such as books, maga1ines, television documentaries, the internet, and as well as the daily news. #fter all the information gathered on the field were compiled, the team then sorted out their sources and categori1ed them according to the weight of their effects on our society today. The ne+t steps involved a series of source evaluation and debates among the team4s members to pick out the top candidates for the problems that need to be solved by the proposal.

A.1

The To% Pro%osa$ Ca&-i-ates ,ome of the top candidates that came up on the teams research and discussions

for the problems that need to be solved by the proposal in the current state of our countrys society areF

The decreasing 7uality of education

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The lack of communications technology for firefighters in responding to emergencies

The need of businessmen, students, and even an average individuals to have a cheap but efficient way of electronically organi1ing personal information

The automation needs of todays restaurants in improving their services

The need to create a more efficient system for public utility vehicles to allot and sense ade7uate spaces for their passengers

Improving supermarkets support for its customers 2reating student monitoring systems in $niversities Tenants monitoring system for student dormitories

A.2

Pro%osa$ .i&a$i3atio& a&- Se$e(tio& $pon careful evaluation and finali1ation, the team has then come up with the final

decision to answer the call of 5ducation here in the &hilippines. This decision to push through in the proposal of an e-learning software to solve the problems on the decrease in the 7uality of education in the country was encouraged by the facts learned from primary and secondary sources and as well as the preliminary interviews done with contacts in the

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field of primary education. The idea was also supported by the teams thesis adviser who also encouraged the development team to go ahead and have an e-learning software as a proposal. Oiven the stated instances, the team then moved on to the discussion and creation of the list of both general and specific problem statements as seen on I-Turos purpose and description section.

Su''estio& #fter the proposal selection process, the team by then has been able to properly

identify which specific problems on 5ducation here in the &hilippines which the proposal should address. The ne+t step the team took as part of the methodologys #bduction phase was to approach various professionals and e+perts in the field of primary education which gave them the appropriate information on how they can address the situations involved in solving the problem factors.

B.2 Su''estio&/ The Data :atheri&' Te(h&i=ues In this part of the #bduction phase, the members themselves then had the responsibility of ac7uiring delicate and authentic data coming from credible sources from published books to e+perts in the field of the problems being addressed by the proposal. The initial plan the team had was to e+ecute the data gathering process through the means

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of team discussions, formal and informal interviews from e+perts in the field, and surveys for children. B." Su''estio&/ The A(tua$ Data :atheri&' ,everal days and the day before the interview appointments at the Department of 5ducation, interview 7uestions were organi1ed and polished by each of the team members. 5ach of the members was assigned in making interview 7uestions to an assigned interviewee. $pon the refinement of interview 7uestions, the team by then was ready to e+ecute the process of data gathering. The team had already interviewed preschool teachers, child psychologist, and guidance counselor at ,iena 2ollege prior to the appointed interviews at the Department of 5ducation6 theyve used the same procedures in interviewing the &sychology and 5ducation e+perts at the said 2ollege. Lefore the initiation of asking 7uestions to the interviewees at Dep5d, the team saw to it that the interviewees already have a concise and e+act background of the proposed software. The team believed that it is important for them to understand the concepts and the purpose of I-Turo so as to assure that their answers match our interview ob8ectives. The team during the interviews also gathered the point of view of educational e+perts from the different departments of Dep5d. ,urvey 7uestionnaires were also prepared for the parents and children at ,iena 2ollege days after the interviews at Dep5d were made. #s stated earlier, parents were encouraged to guide their children in answering the 7uestionnaire. The ,urvey, at that time, was seen to be very important for statistical analysis. #s for the sampling method

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that the team used, theyve selected ,imple random sampling as their method of sampling. This stated sampling method was conducted where each member of the target population has an e7ual opportunity to become a part of the sample. #s all members of the population had an e7ual chance of becoming a research participant, the chosen sampling method was concluded to be the most efficient sampling procedure for the data gathering process. $pon careful analysis of all the 4suggested4 data that came from the e+perts in the field, the team then pieced together all relevant information and came up with the overall conceptual solution than can simultaneously answer the different problems being stated. #lthough the survey made did not make it to the team discussions due to time constraint, small amounts of intangible information taken from the members personal analysis of the surveys results were still taken into consideration in the prototypes design. Despite not having completely used the results of the survey made, the team has still achieved gaining more than enough information in the data gathering process especially through the interviews made in continuing to the ne+t phase of the Design /esearch 3ethodology. De;e$o%0e&t The softwares development phase for the team started almost immediately after the ,uggestion phase was finished. $pon sorting out, reviewing, analy1ing, and discussing the results of the data gathering process, the team then proceeded on the informal designing of the prototype where ideas taken from the results of the data

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gathering process were put into actual designs together with the &sychology principles the team had learned from the e+perts in the field. C.1 De;e$o%0e&t/ I& or0a$ Desi'&i&' The informal designing stage of the development process was e+ecuted by the team to achieve creativity and innovation for the proposed e-learning software. This modified stage inserted within the development phase of the Design /esearch 3ethodology allowed the team to brainstorm creative and innovative ideas to be taken into consideration in the conceptual design of the prototype. #lthough such modification in the methodology was highly discouraged, the team made the necessary precautions to prevent going beyond the limits and retaining the principles that should be applied to the proposed software.

;ere, the team focused on some of the prototypes areas of concernF ,ar-!are This includes all physical devices involved in the development and future testing of the proposed softwares prototype includingF I-Turos custom-made mouse design Development computers

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So t!are

Test computers &ackaging

This includes all software involved in the design, programming, and presentation of I-TuroF .eatures This includes all of the features that must be incorporated within the prototypeF &hilippine conte+t-based 2urriculum .essons #ctivities Jui11es #dditional activities for parents and children Integrated Development 5nvironment(ID5" Oraphics-editing ,oftware #udio-editing ,oftware 3ultipoint Technology

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Pri&(i%$es These cover all principles recommended by the e+perts interviewed and the facts taken from researches made by the teamF ;2I principles for children 2hildrens &sychology %amily-related principles

Details on each of these areas were e+plained in the /e7uirements Documentation section. C.2 De;e$o%0e&t/ Tas?s Assi'&0e&t In order for the team to efficiently progress, the team members were designated to do specific 8obs. These 8obs include F !. 2ontents /esearch 2. Oraphics Designing =. #udio Designing <. &rogramming The o$$o!i&' are the tas?s assi'&0e&ts o the tea0As 0e01ers/ (2" members for 2ontents /esearch

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- one in charge of Gika and &agbasa - the other for .anguage and /eading (!" member for Oraphics Design (!" member for &rogramming These are 8ust the ma8or tasks the members were assigned to. Other tasks cover the documentation revision and the audio support for the prototype. These two additional areas were assigned dynamically to either members depending on their availability and load.

.i'ure H/ #n illustration of the overall dataflow and processes of the development phase.

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C." De;e$o%0e&t/ A%%$i(atio& o the Te(h&i(a$ Re=uire0e&ts #fter having each member of the team assigned their corresponding tasks to do, the team then proceeded on the preparation of the Technical /e7uirements for the actual development of the proposed software. #s part of the application of Technical /e7uirements for the development phase, the team had dedicated the following resources for the development phase.

.aptop ! N Oraphics Design K &rogramming &rocessor FIntel 2ore Duo T-,eries Y!.(gh1 /#3 F !.Bgb Mideo 2ardF Integrated Oraphics 2BCmb O, F Gindows ( $ltimate =2-bit Development ,oftware $sedF #dobe &hotoshop 2,< #dobe %lash 2,< .aptop = N Documentation K 2ontents /esearch K &rogramming &rocessor F /#3 F Mideo 2ardF O, F Intel #tom !.CCgh1 2gb Integrated Oraphics C<mb Gindows R& ,&=

.aptop 2 N &rogramming &rocessor F Intel #tom Y!.9gh1 /#3 F !gb Mideo 2ardF Integrated Oraphics 2BCmb O, F Gindows ( ,tarter Development ,oftware $sedF #dobe %lash 2,<

.aptop < N Documentation K 2ontents /esearch K &rogramming K #udio 3i+ing &rocessor F Intel 2ore I= 3obile 2. gh1 /#3 F 2gb Mideo 2ardF #TI 3obility /adeon ;D B<(

Development ,oftware $sedF

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3icrosoft Gord 2 >ava *etbeans (

O,

F Gindows R& ,&=

Development ,oftware $sedF 3icrosoft Gord 2 ( #dobe %lash 2,< #udio 3i+er ,oftware Desktop ! N Dedicated &rogramming &rocessor F Intel 2ore 2 Duo 2.CCgh1 /#3 F <gb Mideo 2ardF *vidia '9 gt !gb O, F Gindows ( &rofessional C<-bit Development ,oftware $sedF #dobe %lash 2,< Ta1$e 2/ The %erso&a$ (o0%uters use- i& the -uratio& o the De;e$o%0e&t PhaseC their (orres%o&-i&' ro$eC a&- their s%e(i i(atio&s.

C.".1 Co&te&ts Resear(h On the 2ontents /esearch area where two (2" members simultaneously focus on creating the softwares curriculum based on the latest pre-school curriculum ac7uired from the Department of 5ducation, lesson drafts and appropriate child performance evaluation drafts were made through research via &hilippine conte+t-based books and the internet. The two members carefully created the lectures and 7ui11es that would be included in the proposed e-learning software. #s said earlier, the two members focused on creating drafts for lessons and 7ui11es on the four ma8or sub8ects of I-TuroF .anguage, /eading, SGika, and S&agbasa.

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C.".2

:ra%hi(s Desi'& #s what was said in the Technical Lackground section of this documentation, the

graphics design area of the development re7uired software that was capable enough to handle the various types of digital images that would be added into the proposed software. %rom the discussions and debates over which software to use for graphics designing, the team decided to use #dobe &hotoshop 2,< which was the most popular and capable graphics-editing software in the market. The team member in charge of graphics designing preferred the said software for its features and his familiarity of the software itself. The member had been using #dobe &hotoshop 2,< for 7uite some time and so he decided to adopt the software for use in the designing and development of all the graphics needed in the proposed software.

.i'ure 1I/ A s(ree&shot o the a(tua$ 'ra%hi(s -esi'&i&' %ro(ess usi&' A-o1e Photosho% CS*

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$pon finishing and finali1ing all the lesson and 7ui1 drafts, the members in the area of 2ontents /esearch passed their drafts to the graphics designer who then made each appropriate design for the corresponding lecture or 7ui1. C."." Pro'ra00i&' Ghen the designs made by the graphics designer were finali1ed, it was then up to the prototypes programmer to integrate the contents and their corresponding graphics into the software. ;ere, the programmer used the ID5 called #dobe %lash 2,< which was debated and voted on for use by the development team in creating the actual software. The %ro'ra00i&' area (o;ere-/ -the integration of both the contents and their corresponding graphics into the ID5 -adding audio mi+es and effects into the software -adding the necessary %lash #ction ,cript 2. codes and animation into the ID5 -minor testing and re-testing of all the contents and e+pected animations

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-integration of 3ulti-pointing Technology into the ,oftware -final publication of the .swf files and other support files

.i'ure 11/ A s(ree&shot o the a(tua$ (o&te&t i&te'ratio& a&(o-i&' %ro(ess usi&' A-o1e .$ash CS*

*ote that the development of audio mi+es and effects was not entirely documented since this documentation only focuses on the high-priority areas of the development of I-Turo. The development of audio mi+es and effects was done iteratively in between 2ontents /esearch, Oraphics Design, and &rogramming.

C.".* Do(u0e&tatio& The proposed systems documentation was handled side-by-side by each of the development teams members. During the course of the actual development phase, each team member was tasked to give a detailed but informal report on the events that

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occurred, updates on his or her tasks, and finali1ation of what information to include in this documentation. Documentation was iteratively done in each phase of the chosen methodology to have the uttermost accuracy in documenting all the necessary information for future references of the proposed e-learning software. C.".+ Pa(?a'i&' The proposed systems packaging was handled by the teams members voluntarily. This includesF -the design of the package -materials to be used -the presentation of the package -the physical components to be included in the package The packaging was done through simultaneously as the software itself was being developed. The members who volunteered to take charge of building and improving ITuros packaging allotted time on the e+ecution of the softwares packaging. Through third party support from the developers relatives and close friends, the team was then able to gather the enough resources to finali1e the design and build the actual package as they too developed the proposed software at the same time. C.* De;e$o%0e&t/ So$;i&' Pro1$e0s o& Te(h&i(a$ Issues

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Over the course of the proposed systems development, problems on development including the implementation of the 3ulti-pointing Technology, the decrease in the efficiency of the development hardware, and other technical issues did arise. O& the .eatures On the part of the implementation of the 3ulti-pointing technology to be used, compatibility issues rose as the programmer found out that the initial strategy to implement the technology was incompatible with the software the team was at then currently using6 these issues were debated upon by the team in the middle of the softwares development and had to re-think of another option to implement the desired output of the planned 3ulti-pointing Technology. Despite the intense debates and researches, the team finally managed to solve compatibility issues using an alternative mean of integrating the planned 3ulti-pointing technology into the prototype. O& the De;e$o%0e&t ,ar-!are #side from the problems in the software features, such as the technology stated earlier, problems also rose from the development hardware area. The initial e+pectation by the team that mobile or laptop computers are sufficient enough to support the development of the proposed e-learning software was not met. During the program development, the laptops used for programming the proposed system were slowly decreasing in performance and efficiency as the software grew and become more comple+. The programmer found out later on the development phase that the initial .fla file used by the ID5 to design and compile the prototype was calling and using up too much resource than what the development hardware has. $pon investigation of the root

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of the problem and the review of the capabilities the development computers have, the team decided to have another approach into the development of the prototype. #lthough surprised by the resource re7uirements of the development of the prototype, the team managed to detect the problem 8ust in time to make a risky solution of recalibrating their approach on development. In this case, the team halted the development of the original .fla file and proceeded on creating a new strategy on developing the prototype. It was a risky decision for the team to pursue the switch of development strategy but the team did get through on finding another way to complete the prototype. The new strategy involved ad8usting the way the programmer managed the files needed when calling libraries in the ID5. Through the means of switching into the component-based approach on programming, the new strategy greatly reduced the stress on the programs resource re7uirements therefore allowing the available hardware to be sufficient enough in compiling all the necessary files. The new strategy also involved having a dedicated programming desktop to be used by the programmer. This dedicated desktop had 8ust the right specifications which allowed more horsepower into the programming and compiling of the needed files for the program prototype. The use of the dedicated desktop made work easier for the programmer since programming was now done through a larger workspace and not having to worry about the small screen of the original laptop. The dedicated desktops hardware and software specifications were described in the table seen earlier. Other te(h&i(a$ issues

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Lesides the ma8or problems that rose on the proposed softwares features and hardware re7uirements, content-issues were also seen to be another ma8or problem. In this aspect, the two 2ontent researchers had to find ways to redesign lectures and 7ui11es based from the books and net researches theyve made to be made compatible with the re7uirements of an e-learning software. ,ince most of the contents found on books and the net were designed to be taught by actual teachers in a classroom environment, the 2ontent-researchers had the responsibility of taking care of the transition of the gathered information based on traditional classroom-based content to an e-learning content that meets the concepts of an e-learning environment. ,ince parent involvement was part of I-Turos description as an e-learning software, the 2ontent-researchers also had to deal with the applicability of integrating the ?parent-child involvementA rule into the lectures, additional activities, and 7ui11es that were to be made and added into the proposed software. Dealing with issues as such had many factors includingF maintaining ;2I principles for children, the &hilippine-based conte+t of all the input information into the proposed software, the applicability of 3ultipointing technology, Lasic 2hildrens &sychology, and the ?parent-child involvementA rule of I-Turo. The problems in the 2ontents area of the development of I-Turo were addressed by continuous support of the development teams contacts in the field of 2hildrens &sychology and real educators in primary education. Gith the help of the development teams contacts, the stress from 2ontent development was then reduced significantly. PROTOT9PE TESTIN:

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Desi'& Resear(h/ E;a$uatio& Phase Leing said the Design /esearch4s 5valuation phase involves the testing of the three (=" areas of product interest namelyF ;ardware, ,oftware, and its 2ontents, the team has prepared and e+ecuted the following tests and their specifications to get accurate feedbacks on the performance of the proposed system4s prototype. These tests will not only focus on the functions and performance of the prototype itself but would also impact and reflect on how the proposed software has attained its purpose and how the development team has achieved their goals in the development of the proposed software I-Turo.

A.

,ar-!are8So t!are Testi&' To test the software4s hardware and software re7uirements for machines that may

be running the software, the team had set up controlled tests on hardware resource consumption and software compatibility from test machines borrowed from the field. The following are the specifications of the test machines that were used to evaluate the hardware re7uirements and software compatibility of I-Turo.

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.aptop ! &rocessor F /#3 F Mideo 2ardF O, F Desktop ! &rocessor F Intel 2ore 2 Duo 2.CCgh1 /#3 F <gb Mideo 2ardF *vidia '9 gt !gb O, F Gindows ( &rofessional C<-bit Intel #tom !.CCgh1 2gb Integrated Oraphics C<mb Gindows R& ,&=

.aptop 2 &rocessor FIntel &entium 3 Y!.(gh1 /#3 F !gb Mideo 2ardF Integrated Oraphics !29mb O, F Gindows R& ,&=

Ta1$e "/ S%e(i i(atio&s o the Test #a(hi&es useThe controlled tests e+ecuted on these machines involve the following stepsF !." 2." =." /un the I-Turo e-.earning software $pon the applications startup, wait for the application to stabili1e at the 3ain 3enu 2heck the performance status of the test machine through the Operating ,ystem4s task manager Test the following modules of I-Turo a." b." c." d." 3ain 3enu .ecture #civity Jui1

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The results shown on the set figures below are arranged in the following orderF Top leftF 3ain 3enu Top rightF .ecture Lottom leftF #ctivity Lottom rightF Jui1

.i'ure 12/ 7a%to% 1 Test Resu$ts

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.i'ure 1"/ 7a%to% 2 Test Resu$ts

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.i'ure 1*/ Des?to% 1 Test Resu$ts Lased from the results of the controlled tests made by the development team on the field, the team concluded that the re7uirements for I-Turo were consistently met. The software adhered to the ;2I re7uirements given by the &sychology and 5ducation e+perts interviewed prior to the software4s development and has definitely met the purpose of being a %ilipino-centered e.earning software through its &hilippine-based themes and features.

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I-Turo also answered the interactivity re7uirements by being able to fully integrate the 3ultipointing technology into its activities and 7ui11es. Gith this technology, the children and their parent could simultaneously interact with one another throughout I-Turo4s curriculum. ITuro4s integrated 3ultipointing Technology also passed the development team4s e+pectations of having < mice to work on the software4s e+ecution6 the team later discovered that it4s possible to have even more than the recommended number of mice running simultaneously. On the hardware stress and software compatibility aspect of the tests, I-Turo ran perfectly on the test machines on the field. The development team managed to borrow computers (shown in the table earlier" that showcased microprocessors released from the year 2 = to 2 ! . One of

these was the laptop run by an old &entium 3 microprocessor. The test made on the machine concluded that the old mobile microprocessor was sufficient enough to run I-Turo with minimal lags which proved that the minimal system re7uirements set by the team for I-Turo were more than enough to support the compatibility for the e-.earning software. The test machines were also run by both Gindows ( C<-bit and Gindows R& together with #dobe %lashplayer ! and its later versions. The results only showed that the said operating systems and the versions of #dobe %lashplayers were fully compatible with I-Turo4s software re7uirements. *o issues were detected upon the controlled tests4 e+ecution on the given tests machines. To give some additional information about I-Turo4s hardware stress test results, the development team had concluded some stress points to be taken into consideration when running the e-.earning software. #s shown on the set figures earlier, I-Turo4s 3ain 3enu and its activities had the most stress given to the running hardware. &eak stress were rated to be at the

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( ) performance for the single core processors while a 2=) performance stress on higher-end dual-core processors. 3emory stress for windows R& were rated to be in C machines with a Gindows ( C<-bit operating system. mb and !.Bgb for

B.

Co&te&ts Testi&' The contents of the proposed system, specifically the lectures and 7ui11es,

integrated into the proposed system4s prototype were simultaneously tested by the development team4s programmer and its other members as the software was being developed. The team had to make sure that each lecture meets the re7uirements of the curriculum given to the developers by the Department of 5ducation so as to meet the purpose of I-Turo which was to provide a &hilippine conte+t-based curriculum to be followed by the end users of the proposed system. The contents testing involved re-evaluating the lectures made by the content-researchers before and after they4ve been integrated into the proposed system. $pon the re-evaluating process made before the integration of the lectures into the software, the content-researchers rechecks the lectures4 appropriateness towards the topics at hand. 2hecks are also made to ensure that the lectures and 7ui11es are applicable for the multipointing feature of I-Turo. If the content was found to be inapplicable for the multi-pointing feature or if the content didn4t match the curriculum, then changes would immediately in to take effect to correct the mistakes made.

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.i'ure 1+/ A& i$$ustratio& sho!i&' the %ro(ess o (o&te&t re-e;a$uatio& a ter the (o&te&t i&te'ratio&. The %ro'ra00er tests 1utto&s to see i the)Gre u&(tio&i&' (orre(t$)

.i'ure 15/ A& i$$ustratio& sho!i&' the re-e;a$uatio& o the 1a-'e re!ar- s)ste0 (o&te&t. The %ro'ra00er (he(?s the =ui3 out%ut to see i the re!ar- s)ste0 a((urate$) (o0%utes or the &u01er o (orre(t a&s!ers o ea(h %$a)er. /e-evaluation of contents also happens after the integration process as seen in the illustrations above. The programmer checks to see if the buttons and animations match the e+pected outputs of the team and the curriculum. Tests are also made to ensure that the 7ui1

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elements such as the 7uestions, the user4s options, and the buttons to choose from are functioning properly. %urthermore, these checks also go deeper within the programming of the buttons itself. The programmer here checks the codes behind the buttons to see whether the adding of points correspond to the correct answers to the 7uestions being asked by the 7ui1.

Desi'& Resear(h/ Co&($usio& Phase .ike stated earlier in the definition and e+planation of the Design /esearch 3ethodology, the conclusion phase involved the process of a sudden look back of the development team into the initial phases of the methodology. ;ere, discussions are made by the team that focus on the review of the whole proposed system and its prototype. The team members rechecked the overall progress of the development to see how far the development of the proposed system has gone6 the final output of the prototype itself is also compared to the proposal4s purpose and description as well as its ob8ectives. Ghen the team was satisfied with the results of all the discussions made on the comparison of the proposal and the final version of the prototype and found that the prototype4s outcome was at par with the ma8ority of the initial e+pectations for the proposed system, the team then proceeded on the finali1ation of this documentation in preparation for its recognition and presentation on the field. The team, in this phase of the methodology, also prepared the necessary steps to ensure the final product4s originality against similar e-learning software in the market. ,ince I-Turo was also developed to present *ationalism for the country through its

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&hilippine-based conte+t, the team made sure that the finali1ed release of the proposed software presents its uni7ueness and integrity to the general public.

DESCRIPTION O. T,E PROTOT9PE

P a g e | 146

A.

I0%$e0e&tatio& P$a& To ensure the effectiveness of the proposed software in the education of its users, the

development team has come up with designs which would ma+imi1e the use of both the product4s hardware and software features. These designs, made by the development team during the development phase of the chosen methodology, were made to give a visual representation of an appropriate placement of hardware and the development team4s recommended seating arrangement for the guiding parent and his or her corresponding children. The following are the actual sketched visual representations of the implementation plan design by the development team for the proposed productF

.i'ure 1E/ A& i$$ustratio& o the %ro%ose- i0%$e0e&tatio& or * (hi$-re& a&- 1 %are&t

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.i'ure 1F/ A& i$$ustratio& o the %ro%ose- i0%$e0e&tatio& or " (hi$-re& a&- 1 %are&t

.i'ure 1H/ A& i$$ustratio& o the %ro%ose- i0%$e0e&tatio& or 2 (hi$-re& a&- 1 %are&t

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.i'ure 2I/ A& i$$ustratio& o the %ro%ose- i0%$e0e&tatio& or a (hi$a&- a %are&t

B.

I0%$e0e&tatio& Resu$ts 2ontrolled test cases and evaluation made by the development team for the proposed

software are e+plained in this documentations Development and Testing section.

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RECO##ENDATIONS During the development team4s appointed interviews at the Department of 5ducation, ITuro4s concept was briefly presented to the officials the team had interviewed. Its concept was taken seriously by these officials and was given a go ahead signal together with their offer of support for the proposal since the Department of 5ducation itself values all efforts made by individuals especially the youth when it comes to the contribution of means to promote efficient 7uality education in the country. During the series of interviews made during the data gathering phase, tacit and e+plicit re7uirements were gathered and interpreted as seen at the /e7uirements #nalysis and /e7uirements Documentation section of this documentation. #s part of I-Turo4s concept of providing the means to educate young children through the use of modern day technology, the proposed software4s completion merely implies the partial achievement of its continuous purpose. The initial re7uirements for the software, as time passes and new knowledge become available to the 5ducation community, would change and grow each day of every year. In order for I-Turo to further continue its progress in serving its true purpose even after its completion, the development team would like to e+press its encouragements to future software developers and dedicated 5ducation advocates to help I-Turo and the 5ducation community here in the &hilippines and maybe even around the world to provide modern 7uality education to the youth. 5+plained further in this section of this documentation of the proposed software are 8ust some recommendations the team had debated upon and concluded for those who may be interested to continue I-Turo4s legacy of serving the general public.

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A.

The tra&sitio& to other har-!are 0e-ia #s e+plained earlier in this documentation, I-Turo4s development team had chosen 8ust

the right combination of development techni7ues in software development to allow the proposed software to have the necessary fle+ibility to adapt to other hardware media in terms of compatibility. The development team, even from the beginning, had always considered adaptation to similar hardware devices as a ma8or option for future software developers as the team conceptuali1ed and developed I-Turo. ,ince I-Turo was made to serve the general public, the availability of its components in terms of hardware and software was carefully analy1ed and taken into consideration during the development phase of the chosen methodology. #s discussed in the previous sections of this documentation, the team decided to develop I-Turo through the use of a programming language called %lash #ction ,cript 2. which allowed old software and hardware based even on the ' 4s technology and those from today4s available technology to run the proposed software. Through the use of this widely-used language in the field of information technology today, its capability and compatibility ranges from being run by the two ma8or operating systems in the fieldF 3icrosoft Gindows and 3#2 O, to mobile operating systems such as ,ymbian and #ndroid. %lash4s inter-platform capability and compatibility, as e+pected by the development team, may allow future pursuers of the proposed system to make a transition between the hardware media readily available to the general public today and even more in the future. This is a list of future possible hardware media transitions the development team recommends for the future developers of I-TuroF

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Transition of I-Turo to Tablet devices Transition of I-Turo to 3obile devices Transition of I-Turo to an internet-based learning application

B.

Co&te&ts U%-ate It was said earlier in this documentation of the proposed software that I-Turo4s curriculum

is based on the Department of 5ducation4s latest release of its pre-school curriculum for the year 2 !!. #lthough the Department of 5ducation does not release a new version of each curriculum yearly, the development team had also considered developing I-Turo to be fle+ible enough to at least be able to adapt to the constant changing environment of curriculums. #s learned from the interviews made at the Department of 5ducation during the data gathering phase of the chosen methodology, the government organi1ation took years to create an updated version of the curriculum. Though having such span of time to stabili1e the environment of contents, it does not mean that the software must be in the passive state of maintenance while no updates are being given out to public yet. In this scenario, the team believes that an e.earning software such as the proposed software I-Turo should always be in the dynamic state of waiting. Ly being in the dynamic state of waiting, the development team meant that I-Turo must be developed to allow content changes to happen readily at any given time. To support this type of characteristic, the team recommends that the future developers of the proposed software duly update the curriculum and contents of the software as new books and versions of them emerge in

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the commercial market and even on acknowledged education-based internet websites and that the future development team or developers use the same or a later version of the Integrated Development 5nvironment(ID5" that I-Turo4s development team had used in its overall development. Though still perceived and e+pected to be a time-consuming process, the development team had made all possible precautions to allow I-Turo to be updated with ease by future developers. The use of the same Integrated Development 5nvironment (ID5" named #dobe %lash 2,< or a later version would allow the future developers of the proposed system to do the necessary updates through the ID54s drag and drop feature and pinpoint programming functions. C. .eatures I0%ro;e0e&t a&- A---o&s In relation to the development team4s recommendation to update the contents of I-Turo, the development team also encourages future developers of I-Turo to consider developing feature updates or add-ons to the proposed software. These types of updates would further add to ITuro4s capability to catch the attention and interests of its users particularly the children whom it would be sharing knowledge with. The development team would like to remind I-Turo4s future developers that the effectiveness of the proposed software4s ability to reach out and share its contents to the children who would be using it would greatly depend on the proposed software4s uni7ue interactive features, themes, contents, and functionalities. The more interactive I-Turo becomes then the more the general public would recogni1e its capability of effectively helping pre-schooling the young generation.

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Developing e+tensions or add-ons as other people call it would also have a great effect to the proposed software4s impact to the general public. ,ince the commercial market consumers basically engage in consuming based on the @Lest-of-breed@ principle together with the fact that the proposed software was concluded to be a free and non-profit product to be released into the commercial community, I-Turo4s design and scope would also have to widen out and e+tend its features to be able to cope up with the market4s interest in such software. In doing such add-on developments, the development team would also like to have the future developers of the proposed software consider the use #dobe %lash 2,< or its later version to be their Intergrated Development 5nvironment (ID5". $sing the same development software the development team used, like said earlier, would allow the future developers to efficiently upgrade I-Turo4s features without having to worry about compatibility issues with file types and compiling.

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