Upgrades

Updates

The Dolphin System is being regulary upgraded as new materials are created. This page gives information about the current materials and shows the changes and improvements that have been made to the product over the last two and a half years.

Current Versions

Online Version (for direct access over a broadband connection)

The current Online version is Version 5.1 which was released on 12th August 2007.

CD Version (for installation on your own system)

The current CD version is Version 5.1 which was released in October 2007.

For schools with a current licence and broadband connection, an upgrade wizard (that will seamlessly add new features to your existing version) can be downloaded free of charge from the Dolphin System website. Please email support@dolphinlearning.co.uk for access details.

Alternatively you can run the upgrade wizard from the Version 4.6 CD, which can be ordered for £15 incl p&p.

Since the release of version 4.6, various improvements have been made as outlined below. These are already live in the online materials: for schools with a locally installed version, an upgrade wizard will be released later in the Session.

List of additions and improvements over previous versions

Version 5.1: August 2007

Version 5.1 sees a number of further radical improvements:

Dolphin ICT Survival Guide:
The Dolphin ICT Survival Guide is designed to give all the basic information on how to use Dolphin successfully. It is presented as a series of A4 Word Documents on a variety of topics.

It is suggested that those required are printed and then laminated (paired back to back where appropriate) and made available to appropriate members of staff.

A small number of pages from the Survival Guide!
Totally new teacher and admin features:
A whole raft of things too numerous to mention:
- Cross-curricular projects can be integrated throughout
- Whole-year-group curriculum planning
- Simplified system for moving classes and curriculum on each year
- Teachers' notes embedded directly in the pupil pages when a teacher logs on
- etc etc
Curriculum Year Plan

Skills List

In addition to the above:

One completely new module has been added: Threaded Discussion (Step 6) explains how to use a threaded discussion area such as that found in 'Studywiz'.
New helps for Windows Moviemaker have been added to the Video Editing module on Step 8.
The two modules about spreadsheets have been renamed: 'Tables and Charts'(Step 5) has become 'Number Charts'; 'Spreadsheets'(Step 7) has become 'Money Charts'.

Online Version 5.0: 3rd December 2006

Version 5 has two key features designed to further increase the flexibility of the materials.

Alternative entry points to the pupil materials:
In addition to the Ladder of Success (the previous entry point) there are also now the Themes page and the Dolphin Island, both of which group modules by topic rather than by skill level. These allow for easier selection of modules for cross-curricular work.

Ladder of Success

Themes Page

Dolphin Island
User-switchable helps:
For some time teachers using Dolphin have been able to switch the helps for certain modules to support different software programs (eg Textease/Microsoft Word). In previous versions, preferences were set for the whole school. In the new version, it is possible to set different preferences for different year groups, and also for pupils to set their own preference for a particular lesson.

Control Panel

Pupil Materials

Online Version 4.77: 16th April 2006

Improvements to the skills pages, helps and/or teachers notes have been made to the following modules:

Finding Your Way Around (Step 1)
Windows (Step 1)
Story Writing (Step 2) - renamed 'Writing in Paragraphs'.
Words and Pictures (Step 2)
Looking After Your Files (Step 3)
Making a Slide Show (Step 4)
Sharing and Sorting Files (Step 5)
Pictures and Text Boxes (Step 5)
Scanning Pictures (step 5)
Photo Editing (Step 6)
Simple Report Writing (Step 6)
Tables for Layout (Step 8)
Video Editing (Step 8)

Online Version 4.76: 21st October 2005

Significant improvements have been made to the content and to the teachers' notes of the following modules:

Lists and Poems (Step 2)
Story Writing (Step 2)
Editing (Step 3)
Screen Turtle (Step 5)
Crystal Flowers (Step 8)

Online Version 4.75: 5th August 2005

This month saw the release of a brand new illustrated User Guide, which includes a revised version of the Guided Tour.

Various improvements to the navigation structure have also been made to make it easier for pupils to access the various record sheets and carry out their self assessment.

Further additions and alterations have been made to the content as follows:

Knowing Your Computer (Step 3) has been improved.
Writing Games (Step 3) has been improved and renamed ‘Editing’.
Tables and Charts (Step 4) has been improved.
Researching a Topic (Step 4) has been further improved.
Using Formulae (Step 7) has been improved and renamed ‘Spreadsheets’.

Four completely new modules have been added:

Mind Maps (Step 3) explains how to use ‘Kidspiration’.
Working with Sounds (Step 4) teaches how to record and manipulate sound files for inclusion in other programs.
Tables for Layout (Step 8) shows how to use tables in Microsoft Word for desk top publishing.
Video Editing (step 8) introduces the manipulation and editing of video clips using Pinnacle Studio 9.

Online Version 4.7: 20th April 2005

April 2005 saw the release of a new version of Dolphin for the Netware platform. To accompany this upgrade, the following improvements were also made to the content:

Helps have been improved for Screen Turtle (Step 5)
New helps have been added for the Sony Snapshot camera for Step 4: Digital Camera
Photo Editing has been moved from Step 8 to Step 6 and the helps have been improved
The modules on the internet - Step 2: Using the Internet, Step 4: Researching a Topic, Step 6: Internet Searching have all been rewritten
Pictures and Text boxes (Step 5) has been improved
Creating a Website has been renamed 'Tables and Frames'. This module and the earlier one on Simple Web Page Design (Step 6) have both been improved.

CD and Online Version 4.6, Oct 2004: Improvements over previous versions

Version 4.6 introduced several innovations designed to streamline the use of the materials for both teachers and pupils:

New icons have been added to the pupil navigation bar to allow direct access to record sheets showing the pupil's progress.
In the teacher's manual:
- A new spanner icon has been added to the main navigation bar to give teachers direct access to the control panel
- Drop down menus in the class planning grids have been added to allow easy switching between classes and teaching blocks.
- Classes can now be allocated to year groups and a new version of the curriculum year plan has been created showing just the classes in a particular year.
- The module and skills progress grids by block now show the modules allocated for the whole year on a single page, so it is easy, at the end of the year, to print a class progress record showing each pupil's self assessment for the entire year.

In Addition:

New helps have been added for the following programs:
- RM Information Magic: Step 3 - Using a Database; Step 6 - Creating a Database
- Longman Logotron Imagine Logo: Step 5 - Screen Turtle; Step 8 - Crystal Flowers
A new module, Writing Games (Step 3) has been created and now contains some material that was previously in 'Story Writing' (Step 2)
Editing Data and Graphs (Step 4) has been removed and the skills have been added to Using a Database (Step 3)
Sharing and Sorting Files (Step 5) and File Types and Sizes (Step 7) have been combined into one module - File Types and Sizes (now on Step 6).
The following modules have been moved:
- Managing printing - from step 4 to step 5
- Knowing your computer - from step 3 to step 4
- More about windows - from step 6 to step 7
- Using email - from step 4 to step 5
- Simple report writing - from step 6 to step 5
- Letter writing - from step 5 to step 6
Minor improvements have been made to the following modules:
- Using Formulae (Step 7)
- Playing with Multimedia (Step 3)
- Playing with Shapes (Step 3)
- Words and Pictures (Step 2)
- Using the Internet (Step 2)
- Pictures and Text boxes (Step 6)
- Looking After Your Files (Step 3)
- Pictures and Patterns (Step 4)
- Knowing Your Computer (Step 4)
- Cutting and Pasting (Step 4)

Version 4.2, Mar 2004: Improvements over previous versions

Links from the 'I can' sheets to new pupil progress sheets.
New style progress sheets for teachers to view class progress - accessible from the Control Panel.
Improved modules:
- Step 1 - Making Notices
- Step 3 - Looking After Your Files
Helps added for Microsoft Publisher to:
- Step 1 - Clip Art
- Step 2 - Words and Pictures
- Step 5 - Pictures and Text Boxes

Latest Improvements: 13th December 2003

The following modules have been modified:
- Step 1 - Making Notices
- Step 2 - Playing with Shapes, Using the Internet
- Step 3 - Pattern Making, Knowing your Computer
- Step 4 - Digital Camera, Tables and Charts, Multimedia Presentations
- Step 5 - Pictures and Text Boxes, Scanning Pictures, Sharing and Sorting Files
- Step 6 - Simple Web Page Design

Version 4.1, Sep 2003: Improvements over previous versions

Teachers' Manual

A new interface has been created for the teachers' manual to allow fast and easy access to all pages.

Names and Sequence of Modules

A number of changes have been made to the module sequence to improve the skills progression as follows:

Creating Pictures and Creating Pictures 2 (both step 1) - combined into one module.
Crystal Flowers - moved from Step 5 to Step 8.
Digital Camera - moved from Step 6 to Step 4.
Editing Data and Graphs - moved from Step 4 to Step 5.
Floor Turtle - moved from Step 2 to Step 3.
Intermediate Databases (Step 8) - renamed Complex Searches.
Intermediate File Management (Step 7) - renamed File Management and moved to Step 8.
Internet Searching - moved from Step 7 to Step 6.
Knowing Your Computer - moved from Step 2 to Step 3.
Managing Printing - moved from Step 3 to Step 4.
More About Email - moved from Step 6 to Step 7.
More About Files (Step 6) - renamed File Types and Sizes and moved to Step 7.
More About Windows - moved from Step 5 to Step 6.
Multimedia Presentations - moved from Step 5 to Step 4.
Personal File Management (Step 5) - renamed to Sharing and Sorting Files.
Scanning Pictures - moved from Step 7 to Step 5.
Screen Turtle - moved from Step 4 to Step 5.
Simple Picture Editing (Step 6) - renamed Photo Editing and moved to Step 8.
Simple Report Writing - moved from Step 5 to Step 6.
Simple Web Page Design - moved from Step 7 to Step 6.
Tables and Charts - moved from Step 5 to Step 4.
Text Editing (Step4) - renamed to Cutting, Copying and Pasting.
Text Editing Tools - moved from Step 6 to Step 7.
Using Email - moved from Step 4 to Step 5.
Using Floppy Disks - moved from Step 4 to Step 6.
NEW MODULE - Creating a Web Site - Step 8.

Please note that the following newer modules (for which helps had not yet been written) have been temporarily removed from the list until we have identified the programs that schools would like helps written for:

Branching Databases (Step 4)
CD-ROM Encyclopaedia (Step 3)
Fun with Graphs (Step 1)
HTML 1 and HTML 2 (Step 8)
Making Music (Step 3)

Module Content

The following modules have had their content significantly improved or modified:

Using a Database (Step 3)
Tables and Charts (Step 4)
Editing Data and Graphs (Step 5)
Creating a Database (Step 6)
Complex Searches (Step 8)

A number of other modules have had their teachers notes amplified, or had minor adjustments made to the wording or sequence of some of the skills:

Knowing Your Computer (Step 3)
Lists and Poems (Step 2)

If you have made printed copies of the teachers' notes for any of these modules, you may wish to print these again in advance of teaching these topics to take advantage of the new information in the teachers' notes and to ensure that the skill numbers match those in the pupil instructions.

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