Dazzle 03

Description
Dazzle 03 is Indigo's latest version of their practical and user-friendly art and design package. It enables pupils to draw and paint with a variety of tools, use and create stamps, rotate or create symmetrical shapes, add text and create pictures of their own, built up from independent layers.

Supporting Documentation
Dazzle 03 was easy to install on a standalone machine. It starts automatically when the CD-ROM is inserted in the drive and the onscreen instructions are clear.

The package consists of a CD-ROM and a Quick Guide to the program. The guide is a handy, easy-to-use, ring-bound pocket book that contains all the relevant information you need to start using the software. Information includes installation instructions, features of each of the tools (which are clearly explained), details on how to customise the software to suit individual needs, tips on loading, saving and printing and an 'Activities Guide' which contains 14 practical ideas and activities for using the software in a variety of Curriculum areas from Foundation Stage to Year 6.

Technical Support
The CD-ROM contains help files as well as eight tutorial videos to help the first time user get started. (You will need to view the videos in Internet Explorer and have a recent version of Microsoft Media Player installed.) The videos cover customising the program, colour ranges, fill tools, layers, stamps, text and using the program with a graphics tablet. There is also a useful website (www.indigolearning.com) demonstrating ways in which the program can be used, as well as links to sites which contain practical suggestions and examples of how the program can be used by teachers or has been used in the classroom.

Curriculum Relevance
Purpose of the Program
Dazzle 03 is a drawing and paint package that can be used by children of all ages and abilities to support the requirement for using a paint package to produce images and develop drawing skills. They can also create pictures in the style of well-known artists and create tiles and images and translate them or make patterns by rotating shapes. Dazzle 03 can also help to reinforce children's understanding of shape.

Curriculum Relevance
Dazzle 03 enables pupils to develop familiarity with paint and object-based drawing software. ICT skills covered include: select, drag, drop, re-size, rotate, layer, zoom, undo, redo and clear screen, as well as select and use spray tool, flood-fill tool, painting stamps, copy and re-size pictures and use visual effects such as reflection or symmetry.

Extent
Dazzle 03 covers programmes of study for Foundation Early Learning Goals and Key Stages 1 and 2. The ICT skills developed by Dazzle 03 also link to uses in Art and Design, History, Geography and Numeracy. Children can use Dazzle 03 to organise and communicate their ideas through pictures and combine graphics and text to communicate information.

Analysis of Contents
Appropriateness
Dazzle 03 develops mouse skills and early drawing skills and has ample standard features to cover both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 requirements. The toolbar has a good range of tools (pencil, brush, chalk, airbrush, spray can, as well as fuzzy, wash and smear brushes). The children liked the colour cycling which involves using a range of colours (either preselected or created) that can be dragged to create various effects and the way pictures are built up in layers that can be adjusted before ultimately being combined as a final composition. Using an image from a file or the Internet as the first layer meant they were able to trace the image onto the second layer and then build up their own diagram.

Quality
This package enables the user to create a variety of work of an impressive quality, including simple visual presentations, making patterns using symmetry, tessellation and translation, and creating diagrams. The graphics produced by the software are clear and of a high standard. The available stamps are fun and can be easily expanded by copying and pasting or children can design their own. Using the layer feature to trace any image pasted from file or the Internet to create diagrams or templates is a useful feature for precision drawing – especially for less able students.

Differentiation
Toolbars can be simplified by removing unwanted tools. The icons are simple and clear and can be enlarged. Tool spacers can be used to make mis-selection unlikely. Toolbars and windows can also be locked. The Foundation and Key Stage 1 screens are uncluttered and therefore suitable for young children or the visually impaired. The videos are spoken and can be paused by clicking, although there is no facility for the help option to be spoken.

Summary
Dazzle 03 is an excellent, flexible paint package which lives up to it's publisher's claim 'to inspire creativity'. Children were enthusiastic about experimenting with colour, size, stamp images, symmetry, rotation, auto shapes and text in order to create their own designs using a computer.

Installation & Access
Dazzle 03 installed onto a series of standalone computers without any difficulties and it was also simple to uninstall using the Add/Remove Software option in Windows. It was not possible to test the product on a computer network although the Quick Guide gives comprehensive instructions as to how this can be done. The program could be viewed correctly at a resolution of 800 x 600.The program can be loaded quickly through the programs menu, or a shortcut can be placed on the desktop.

Planning Classroom Use
What This Product Offers
Dazzle 03 is a comprehensive graphics program which can be used effectively across the whole Curriculum to paint, explore shapes and create diagrams. It has many features that make its use ideal in the Primary classroom including simple customisation of the screen, multiple stamp banks and layers. Other elements of the program include moveable stamp banks, flexible text and gradient fills.

'Customisation' is a particularly useful feature, especially if the program is going to be used with younger children. By using this menu, teachers are able to quickly and simply restrict the tools available to the children.

The Indigo Learning website (www.indigolearning.com) also contains a large number of suggestions on how to use Dazzle 03 in the classroom. The site contains lesson plans, additional resources and links, all of which provide the user with extra information on how to use the program in an effective manner. The website also contains suggestions on how Dazzle 03 can be used across the Curriculum.

Purpose of Using This Product
I used the program in a series of Art lessons linked to the QCA Unit 6A (People in Action). In this unit the children are asked to represent figures and forms in movement. I used Dazzle 03 as a tool to help me to teach the children how to create a picture of a moving figure using different tools and techniques for showing movement (this learning objective was taken from the Dazzle Quick Start Guide). Prior to the lesson, I introduced the children to the program through the classroom computer and modelled the use of some of the tools; the children were then able to investigate the program in their own time – producing simple pictures of static people.

Differentiation
Dazzle 03 comes with four predefined levels that have been designed to suit the needs of different age groups. Each level has a different configuration of tools that have been chosen to match the skills and abilities of the pupils in that age range. As already stated, the Customisation feature can be used to restrict or enable children's access to particular features of the program. All of the text on the page is suitable to be read to the children.

Classroom Experience
Classroom Organisation
I used this program during my art sessions. The children were introduced to Dazzle 03 at the beginning of the unit and were allowed to investigate the features by creating pictures of static people. The introduction was done by gathering the children around the main classroom computer and showing them the different tools. The children then worked in pairs to produce their work.

Context of Use
We started the unit by looking at the work of Lowry and then, as suggested by the Quick Start Guide, looked at Marcel Duchamp's 'Nude Descending a Staircase'. As a class we analysed how Duchamp showed movement through overlapping repeated patterns and by using lines. For homework the children were asked to see if they could find any other pictures in which this technique was used. During the first session I used the classroom computer to model the creation of a walking figure in Duchamp's style using the shape tools. I filled these shapes and then used the pencil to draw lines to indicate the movement of the legs. The children then worked in groups to create block pictures of a walking figure.

The second session involved me modelling how to select and save the image that I had created as a stamp. I then stamped the image repeatedly, moving each image slightly downwards and to the right each time. This gave the impression that the figure was moving down the screen.

During the third session, I demonstrated to the children how to use the copy brush tool. This tool helped to build up a sense of movement in the picture. We then used the fill tool to change the background colour and to draw different angular shapes under the figure, to give a greater sense of movement. We finished our pictures by using the smear tool to give the impression of brush strokes.

Ease of Use - Design & Navigation
Dazzle 03 is quite simple to use and the icons clearly indicate the tools that they represent. However, some of the children in my class found the copy brush tool very hard to use – it had taken me a lot of practice prior to the lesson to be able to use it successfully. The undo button therefore proved to be very useful! The fact that the children can be given restricted access to tools is useful, particularly for children who find motor-control hard. The speech facility was also useful.

Monitoring & Assessment
The children printed their work on completion and wrote 'I can …' statements underneath them. This enabled me to monitor the progress of the class. However, the program itself does not offer any assessment or monitoring facilities.

Feedback from Pupils and Other Staff
The children enjoyed using the program and were keen to develop the skills that they had learnt during use of a graphical modelling program last year. The program provided a suitable level of challenge for the more able children and there were plenty of opportunities for extension work. However, the teacher must have a good understanding of all the tools before attempting to work with a class, as some elements can be quite demanding.

Summary
Ease of Use
Dazzle 03 is a comprehensive graphics program that can be used effectively across the whole Curriculum to create graphics, explore shapes and make diagrams. It has many features that make its use ideal in the Primary classroom, including simple customisation of the screen, multiple stamp banks and layers.

Dazzle 03 is relatively simple to use and the tool icons are clear and easy to understand. However, the teacher must have a good understanding of all the tools before attempting to work with a class as some elements can, at times, be quite demanding. Dazzle 03 comes with four predefined levels that have been designed to suit the needs of different age groups. Each level has a different configuration of tools that have been chosen to match with the skills and abilities of the pupils in that age range.

Classroom Experience
I used the program in a series of Art lessons linked to the QCA Unit 6A (People in Action). In this unit, the children are asked to represent figures and forms in movement and in particular we looked at Marcel Duchamp's 'Nude Descending a Staircase'. The children were introduced to Dazzle 03 at the beginning of the unit and were allowed to investigate the features by creating pictures of static people. We then moved on to looking at using other tools to create a feel of movement, including the stamp tool and the copy brush. These elements provided the children with the challenge they needed in order to extend both their art and ICT skills.