Hollywood software
From LIS 460 Summer 2007
Contents |
What is it
[Hollywood]is a multimedia program that encourage students to explore writing as an expressive activity that not only improves their writing fluency but also encourages them to be open to new ideas and ways of expressing themselves Students can create animated multimedia productions about their life, their best friends, or their favorite book and script it into a play.
Background
Hollywood was produced by Theatrix Interactive, Inc a now defunct company, that was based in Emeryville, California. Founded in 1982, Theatrix had developed over 50 software titles, including Edmark's award-winning Early Learning series [Millie's Math House] and Bailey's Book House™, the Cruncher™ for Davidson, and Write, Camera, Action™ for Broderbund. In 1995, with the launch of Hollywood, Juilliard Music Adventure™ and others, Theatrix began developing its own titles. Theatrix focused on helping children, ages 8 to 14, develop reasoning, problem solving, and creative skills through highly engaging products. In 1996, Theatrix took home three [Codie Awards], more than any other publisher of educational or entertainment software. Hollywood, the forerunner to [Hollywood High], was named Best Home Creativity Software Program. In 1997 Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Corporation acquired Theatrix which was later sold to [Tom Snyder Productions], a Scholastic company.
How it Works
When the program opens, students select a scene and their character(s). The characters can be customized by changing their name, role, and hobby. Students can also change their characters’ voice and emotions.
When the students are ready to write they will go to the script button and begin adding text to their characters. There is text to speech built into the program so the characters will speak the dialog the students give them. It's also a great way for students to hear or listen to what they write. When it comes to editing, students can hear if they typed in something grammatically incorrect or if they omitted punctuation. Each character has actions that can be assigned to them from opening a laptop, and writing in a notebook, to eating French fries.
The tools palette allows students to add sound effects from categories such as crowds, cartoons and science-fiction, to transportation or weather. Embedded into the program is an idea machine. When the students go to the idea machine ( a light bulb icon) they have the ability to be assisted with a story starter. Within the idea machine is also a plot twist which will throw an unexpected direction to the story. When the play is finished the students can click on the theater button and their entire play will begin to run. The sound effects will be there along with any action or movement the students gave the characters
Applications in a School
The applications for Hollywood in an elementary school are numerous. Some ways I have utilized this software are:
•use with students to explore appropriate social behavior, having them script out different scenarios.
•begin reading a short story aloud and have the students script their own endings
•place two students at one computer and have them create dialogue between characters they select
•students write book reviews and have a character deliver the review
•“Who am I?” Students research a famous person, have a character from Hollywood describe them and let classmates guess the identity (also works for autobiographies).
•Old-time radio show- using only sound effects, dialogue, and a great deal of creativity, the students present a radio show.
The script itself can be printed out in hard copy so students could create plays for other students, then have the different groups act them out. It's a fun motivating way to develop creative thinking, communication, and writing skills. They are extremely enthusiastic about Hollywood and enjoy sharing their finished production with the class.
Questions regarding software
My question: Under [System Requirements] it does not list Windows XP operating system. Are there problems with this system?
Frequently Asked Questions "I am experiencing freeze-ups or crashes on my PC . What can I do about that?"
A: This sort of misbehavior is rare on the program's supported Windows operating systems (Windows 95, 98 & ME), and typically only comes up on Windows 2000 and Windows XP installations. The best fix for freeze-ups or crashes is to reduce either your PC's Graphics Hardware Acceleration or Sound Hardware Acceleration . In some cases a combined reduction of both Graphics and Sound Hardware Acceleration may be required.
For more Frequently Asked Questions click [FAQ:]
