1. Introducing A fresh new way to create digital portfolio software for early childhood 18 March 2006

2. I would like to introduce a program that has been specifically designed to meet the needs of early childhood practitioners when making important everyday observations and documentation of the young children within their care. Introduction

3. The Story “The idea’ was born in March 2005,.when asked about the kind of software that could truly benefit the early childhood sector. The answer was: “A software program that could replace or complement traditional individual portfolios and day presentations and allow practitioners to create these important documents in half the time, whilst still honouring the integrity of children.” “A program that would allow early childhood teachers to make their programs more transparent to families and allow parents to truly see what we value within the classroom.” “A program that would enable children to revisit their own work and play and to add their own ‘interpretations’; their own voice, to what matters most to them.”

4. The team Craig - the software designer (and dad ), from New Zealand Bevin - the computer guru (and dad to be), from Melbourne Shini - the branding expert (and mum), from Sydney Sue - the early childhood teacher (and mum), from the Sunshine Coast

5. The Pilot Five early childhood centres across QLD and NSW were invited to pilot Daisy. Our team decided that it would be vital to receive feedback from various service types within the sector to create a program that reflected the people that would use it. We would like to thank –Condy Park C and K Kindergarten, Hervey Bay –Milford Lodge Childcare Centre, Buderim –Dorothy Waide Centre for Early Learning, NSW –The Cubby House Occasional Care Centre, Griffith –FARMS Mobile Children’s Service, Albury

6. The Pilot (continued) The pilot has been operating for 4 months and the feedback received from the pilot sites has been invaluable in the creation of the operational features of the software.

7. Day presentations The program allows professionals to collate the digital photographic observations they take of children each day onto a ‘day presentation’ slide show that can be played to children and their parents at the end of each day. The ‘day presentation’ can be a combination of important digital images, a caption, a commentary and the teacher’s or children’s voice over.

8. Individual Children’s Portfolios The practitioner is able to send the relevant images and associated information to each individual child’s portfolio. The individual portfolios build over time as the teacher sends observations and documentation relating to that child. The program has been designed to acknowledge and display the date and the exact age of the child when the observation was taken.

9. The advantages Allows children to revisit the meaningful moments that happen for them throughout the day and allows them a ‘voice’ for sharing these moments with their family and their peers. Children can have input into the creation of the program, adding their own comments about their experiences - a whole new slant on information communication technology for the early years. Builds relationships between educational settings and families allowing a more meaningful and transparent dissemination of information daily and at interview times.

10. The advantages (cont) Allows teachers to also file student notes, teacher notes and important family information regarding each child. The categories within student notes and teacher notes are self selecting so individual teachers can decide on their preferred method of organisation. Saves costs on printing, gluing and photocopying

11. Thank you