AnybodyCanDance

Description
The AnyBodyCanDance CD-ROM is described as 'a comprehensive dance resource for use in schools (and youth groups)'. There are 12 sections in all, which are split into four sub-sections: A, B, C and D.
Section A is the ideas section and contains: 'Absolute Beginners' – a comprehensive tour of the software.'Anybody Out There?' – information about YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) and a link to YDance email, plus the YDance website and other dance-related websites.'Advice Bank' – useful hints and tips to help run dance sessions.
Section B is the getting started section: 'Body Warm Ups' – various information about warming up, animations of warm up exercises, explanations of what they are for and how to do them, plus printable teaching notes. 'Breaking the Ice' – descriptions of ice-breaking games, explanations of how to play them and printable teaching notes. 'Basic Workshops' – descriptions of various dance workshops and explanations of how to teach them.There are also printable teaching notes and ready-made class handouts.
Section C looks at dance in more detail:'Choreographers' – profiles of choreographers from Scotland and further afield.'Canned Dance' – dance video material of 'normal' school children in their PE lesson. 'Captured Images' – collections of dance photographs (some school children from PE lessons and some professional dancers) intended to provide inspiration and a starting point for dance ideas.
Section D – tools for creating your own dances.'Dance Combinations' – an interactive tool for creating 3D dance animations.'DIY Music' – an interactive tool for creating music for dance.'Dance Planner' – an interactive lesson planning tool for dance.

AnyBodyCanDance shows ways in which dance can be explored without children having to change into their PE kit. It is also a useful tool for demonstrating various moves and ideas. The CD-ROM can be used to create dances outside of PE time, enabling dances to be practised straight away.

Both Quick Time and Adobe 5.05 or higher are needed to run the software to its full capacity.

Supporting Documentation
The software is accompanied by paper-based comprehensive loading instructions, for both Mac and PC. However, the program itself has a very detailed Help section which tells you all you need to know. The only thing it doesn't do is actually tell you where it is! However, the '?' icon is fairly universal and once you click on it you can access the comprehensive Help available. I was unable to download the updated version of Adobe Acrobat needed to view the printable resources and after several attempts had to give up.

Technical Support
The program contains a detailed introduction to each section. It also has additional instructions in the relevant Help pages, one for each section, plus additional instructions for things such as loading, downloading, and so on.

There is no specific section dedicated to technical support. However, I found Scottish Youth Dance incredibly helpful when I emailed them regarding a problem I had running the software. There is a website that you can access from the software but this is not really concerned with the technical side of the software.

Curriculum Relevance
Purpose of the Program
The CD-ROM case states that the program is a resource that gives teachers (and group leaders) the ability to explore dance through its different applications. It allows teachers to create and save dance combinations, new music, class plans and choreography.

Curriculum Relevance
Although there are no specific links to the Curriculum stated within the software, it is appropriate for the dance section of the PE National Curriculum.
Extent
The sections of the PE National Curriculum that the software links to are as follows:

1a) Pupils should be taught to consolidate their existing skills and gain new ones. 3) Pupils should be taught to: a) identify what makes a performance effective b) suggest improvements based on this information.

4b) Pupils should be taught to warm up and prepare appropriately for different activities.

5a) During the Key Stage, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through dance activities.

6) Pupils should be taught to:a) create and perform dances using a range of movement patterns, including those from different times, places and cultures b) respond to a range of stimuli and accompaniment.

Analysis of Contents
Appropriateness
The content is generally appropriate for the target audience. However, some of the interactive tools in section D are fairly complicated and would require a considerable amount of explanation for even the oldest Key Stage 2 children to use them. It is likely that children would need the support of an adult who had previously spent a significant amount of time familiarising themselves with the various different functions.

The vocabulary is suitable, particularly as it is used in conjunction with the diagrams.

The 'physical' activities are suitable for Key Stage 2 children. The inclusion of the photographs and video clips of KS2 children are a great way to not only demonstrate dance to the children, but also to encourage and inspire them.

Quality
The quality of the images, video, animation and sound are excellent and ran really smoothly, with no jumping or skipping (other than as intentional moves in the various dance sequences!). The program supports inclusion, but there are only a few pictures of people from different ethnic backgrounds in the 'Captured Images' section. Spellings are British English.

The Internet links operate smoothly, but I didn't think they were very useful for Key Stage 2 children as they are more about booking dance lessons, etc. They are also predominantly about dance lessons in Scotland.

Differentiation
The publisher does not make any claims that the materials are differentiated. However, the software could be used in a number of different learning circumstances. One of the more obvious being it allows non-able-bodied individuals to put together and present dance sequences. The software can also be used in a variety of ways, enabling it to be used by children of differing abilities.

Summary
This high quality program is a classroom-based inspiration, for a very practical subject, but it works and could be used in a variety of different learning contexts. Some sections could be used almost immediately, for example 'Body Warm Ups', 'Breaking the Ice' and 'Basic Workshops'. Others such as 'Dance Combinations', 'DIY Music' and 'Dance Planner' would invove spending a fair bit of time learning how to use them properly. The software could be used by children, but it has a wealth of material and ideas for the teacher. I would use it both with groups but also for demonstrations on an interactive whiteboard during PE Lessons. The program includes teaching notes and ready-made class handouts.

Installation & Access
AnyBodyCanDance (ABCD) installed automatically with no difficulty. Full instructions for installing on to both PC and Mac are provided. I used the full installation option, as recommended by the publisher, in order to get the best performance from the title. The CD-ROM needs to be in the drive for the software to work. My only niggle with using the software was the need to type in my customer number each time I used it. I could not gain access to the printable resources as the software did not respond to my version of Adobe Acrobat.

Planning Classroom Use
What This Product Offers
The software includes photographs and video clips of Key Stage 2 pupils demonstrating dance moves. This helped to encourage and inspire my class and it is a great idea to use peer demonstrations as part of the title. AnyBodyCan Dance uses high quality video, animation and sound to motivate and instruct. It helps children to create and perform dances using a range of movement patterns.

Purpose of Using This Product
This title can be used to develop dance skills by exploring choreography, dance combinations, new music and enabling the creation of class plans. Teachers can build a single workshop or a whole programme of dance. The work can be saved and built on in order to create a library of dance ideas. The publisher suggests that the dance ideas can be emailed and shared with other ABCD users.

Differentiation
The publisher does not make any claims to differentiation in the title. However, the software can be used in a variety of ways, enabling it to be used by children of differing abilities. Many of the activities, such as warm-ups are presented at three different levels.

Classroom Experience
Classroom Organisation
The program can be used individually or in groups, depending on the facilities available. I introduced the software to the whole class, using a multimedia projector and whiteboard. We began in the classroom and then moved into the hall to practise the moves.

The 'Body Warm Ups' section gives information about warming up a group and provides animations of warm-up exercises, explanations of what they are for and how to do them, and printable teaching notes. The moves are viewed in 3D with side-on or front perspective at three levels of difficulty. Being able to stop each part of a move on the beat was a great way of showing how a warm-up develops. The children helped to choose the warm-up moves they would practise in the hall. In the first lesson this worked really well; we then used two different styles of music to explore simple movement patterns (also described in the software).

For the following three lessons we worked on Section C which looks at dance in more detail: 'Choreographers' – profiles of choreographers from Scotland and further afield. 'Canned Dance' – dance video material of 'normal' school children in their PE lesson. 'Captured Images' – collections of dance photographs (some of school children from PE lessons and some professional dancers) intended to provide inspiration and a starting point for dance ideas. I was particularly pleased that children of differing abilities, shapes and sizes were used to illustrate dance sequences. It helped a wider variety of children to visualise themselves attempting dance moves.

Context of Use
I began my use of the title by concentrating on Section 4b of the PE Curriculum – Pupils should be taught to warm up and prepare appropriately for different activities. After the first lesson I moved on to include Section 6 – Pupils should be taught to: a) create and perform dances using a range of movement patterns; b) respond to a range of stimuli and activities. I used the program with a mixed Year 5/6 class over a period of four lessons.

Ease of Use - Design & Navigation
High quality graphics, sound and animation help to make this software simple to use. Diagrams are clear, information can be easily accessed and the video-style buttons are also simple to use. The various sections of the software are logical and progressive. While the Internet links work smoothly they are mainly about booking dance lessons with the Scottish Youth Dance Company and are not particularly useful for this Key Stage. The interactive tools area of the software is more complicated and any child using this section would need a great deal of support. The adult helper would need a thorough understanding of the different functions and this would take an investment in time and effort. However, if such an effort was made, these functions would be a useful addition to helping to deliver dance in a lively and imaginative way.

Monitoring & Assessment
Although there are no specific links to the Curriculum stated within the software, it is appropriate for the dance section of the PE National Curriculum. This states that pupils should be taught to: a) create and perform dances using a range of movement patterns, including those from different times, places and cultures;b) respond to a range of stimuli and accompaniment. In this unit children focus on creating and performing short dances that communicate different moods, feelings and ideas.

In dance as a whole, children should think about how to use movement to explore and communicate ideas and issues, and their own feelings and thoughts. As they work, they develop an awareness of the historical and cultural origins of different dances. When assessing dance most children will be able to: perform body actions with control and coordination; choose movements with different dynamic qualities to make a dance phrase that expresses an idea, mood or feeling; link actions; remember and repeat dance phrases; perform short dances, showing an understanding of expressive qualities; describe the mood, feelings and expressive qualities of dance; describe how dancing affects their body; know why it is important to be active; suggest ways they could improve their work.

Assessment was ongoing as the dance workshop progressed. The software gives the busy classroom teacher or non-specialist an opportunity to see what groups of children can produce as dance.This title certainly gave me an opportunity to observe how to develop dance with the class and a clearer awareness of what I was monitoring.
Feedback from Pupils and Other Staff
Comments included: 'Great'; 'Oh look, can I see that again, please?'; 'That was fun'.

Summary
Ease of Use
AnyBodyCanDance is easy to navigate. The videos and captured images can be viewed at full screen and the warm-up section can be paused on any of the beats, making the program a very useful teaching tool. I began with the simpler sections such as 'Body Warm Ups', 'Basic Workshops' and 'Breaking the Ice', as they could be used almost immediately. Other sections such as 'Dance Planner', 'DIY Music' and 'Dance Combinations' need more time to master in order to be used effectively, but such an investment in time would result in using this software to its full potential. The software could be used by children but is perhaps better suited as a teaching tool as it contains a vast amount of ideas and material. An interactive whiteboard is a great way of demonstrating dance to classes and if you are in the fortunate position of having an interactive whiteboard in your hall, it would be like having another dance group working with you. This is a great way of using the expertise of the Scottish Youth Dance Company to stimulate enthusiasm for dance.

Classroom Experience
I used this software with a mixed Year 5/6 class over a period of four lessons. We began in the classroom and then moved into the hall to practise the moves.

In the first lesson we worked through the 'Body Warm Ups' section, with the children choosing which of the warm-up moves they would practise in the hall. The section provides information about warming up a group, animations of warm-up exercises, explanations of what they are for and how to do them, and printable teaching notes.

In the following three lessons we looked at dance in more detail including profiles of choreographers, dance video material of 'normal' school children in their PE lesson, and collections of dance photographs intended to provide inspiration and a starting point for dance ideas. Some of the photographs showed children of differing abilities, shapes and sizes and this helped a wider variety of children to visualise themselves attempting dance moves.

By the end of the four-lesson session the children had grown in confidence (as had I). This program is a very good way for the non-specialist to demonstrate dance in PE lessons. It allows classes to discuss and view dance sequences in a classroom setting. If you think you need classroom-based inspiration for a practical physical activity this could be the software for you.