Using 2Simple City to Encourage Independent ICT Work in the EYFS

The beauty of 2Simple City is something I often forget - not least because I see it being used and enjoyed so regularly by the children in my school.

I would go as far as to say that it's a perfect program for early years and an essential piece of software for encouraging young children to independently use ICT to support their learning.

In a nutshell it offers children a virtual city (as I like to call it) to explore. They can visit a range of exciting locations in it - from the doctors and vets to the garage and park - and in each one engage in several nice activities to help better understand the environment:

When I introduce 2Simple City to children I only give them a brief summary of how to navigate around it before letting them go off and explore it on their own - that is how intuitive and simple it is to use. On many occasions I've been pleasantly surprised by the levels of concentration children have had when playing on the program and indeed how much good vocabulary it has also stimulated when they have been eager to talk about and discuss their own personal experiences of visiting different places in real life when compared to those presented to them on the computer.

I usually allocate two sessions in the ICT suite for using 2Simple City each year (one in the autumn and one in the spring) to ensure that every reception child has been: shown its capabilities, taught how to operate its video controls and given some direct guidance in how to use the program to maximum effect (e.g. highlighting to them how to click on some of the objects in the drag-and-drop scenes to make them animate). Most of them go away and use the program with growing independence and capability afterwards - this year I even had one child come to the weekly afterschool Internet club I run and want to teach his dad how to use it!

Yet another brilliant piece of software by 2Simple Software for encouraging independent and creative ICT work!

Comments

[Mandy Barrow]

My 3 - 5 year olds love 2Simple City and can all now navigate to it from the Purple Mash homepage. It has really helped improve their mouse skills. The boys favourite is the recycling centre whildt the girls seem to like the vets. I was really chuffed today when one 3 1/2 year old dragged down the letters to spell her name all by herself and without being told.

[Reza]

Wow! Simon Haughton is great!