Spex Educational Software for Children

Case Study No2

Spex educational software case study involving children aged 7 - 11 years in Technology, Graphic Products, Maths, covering topics such as orthographic and planometric drawing and designing.

Educational Summary

Spex is a lovely software package: it is easy and inspiring to use and well worth the purchase price. It is claimed to support 2D and 3D drawing, spreadsheets and budgeting, scaling and graphs, whilst enriching Mathematics, Geography and Technology. Drawing and designing is certainly the main thrust of the software, but the other topics are covered at a basic concept level. As with most software, though, there are ways in which it could be improved. An example is that a safety issue arose because it is possible to fit electrical sockets in a bathroom!

Teaching with Spex

The learning objectives I wanted to address using this software were to teach the difference between 2D and 3D, to teach the concept of the planometric drawing, to allow weaker drawers to create a successful room design, and to inspire and motivate less able children. The title covers all of these areas well, with the exception of the method of planometric drawing, which it doesn’t explain, and which will therefore need to be taught.

The program was used with one Year 11 pupil, as part of his GCSE coursework, and also with some Year 7 children individually at lunch times. This program gives a quick result without the longwinded process of drawing by hand. The results are also bright and colourful; this captivated the children and helped them to learn more effectively. The software also lets the pupil change the situation if they don’t like it, whereas when drawing by hand, it is harder to change and often a fresh start needs to be made.

No prior preparation work as such is needed, although the teacher will need to be familiar with using a computer and will need to use the program beforehand – roughly half an hour to an hour is needed. The program could lead to group discussions and another activity could be to draw the picture on paper from the room the pupil has created onscreen or alternatively to draw the same room from another angle.

This software also covers basic computer-aided design (CAD) of the ICT National Curriculum. This topic allows computer-aided modelling on computers in schools. The budget could also become the focus in a Maths lesson if desired, whereby the budget can be limited, and so on.

How I Organised the Classroom

Spex was installed on one standalone computer for the Year 11 pupil to use individually for his coursework. The Year 7 children worked in pairs and came in at lunchtimes, as the facility was offered for a period of several terms.

Use of ICT To Achieve Subject Objectives

The children don’t need to know how to draw a planometric drawing as the computer program does it for them and so in this way they can learn what a planometric drawing is, but the teacher will need to explain the techniques fully as the program does not do this. Key questions could be based on areas of size, proportion, colour schemes, and, if the situation was practical, questions such as, could the doors open? Everything that the title taught could be taught using another method, but the title was fun and colourful and quick and easy to use.

Our Year 11 pupil had a specific task – he had to design a bedroom for his GCSE project and therefore had certain specifications to follow. He used Spex to help him quickly produce a range of possible design ideas which he then went on to develop and finally produced a three dimensional model of his final choice. The Year 7 children, on the other hand, were asked to use the rest of the program to see what they could do and they were allowed to roam freely throughout the program. They enjoyed making their own designs.

The ICT Aspects of using Spex

If the children are familiar with playing computer games, additional ICT skills would not be needed. The children would have learnt a few skills from school, but the main learning would be from elsewhere. The program is fun to use and so it inspires the children. Some of the Year 7 children needed to be told a few things in order to use the program more effectively, for example, that a double-click rotates the objects.

Monitoring and Assessment

The progress of the Year 7 users was not monitored as participation was voluntary, although the printed outcome and the reward the children gained was obvious to see, and this in turn inspired their friends to come along. The Year 11 pupil was asked to produce ten different designs of a bedroom and then evaluate each and then finally draw his favourite by hand. The program let him save whenever he wanted so he could keep a record of his progress and his ideas. I could also access this to monitor his work.

Spex for Special Educational Needs

Special Needs Children could use Spex, perhaps requiring more help with some of the features. By zooming in, the images become larger so they are easier to see and place, a factor that could be helpful for visually impaired children.