helping kids with html and web based stuff

[wetland]

Hey alternative nation

I work with children - some with learing difficulties - teaching them how to manipulate graphics, build simple websites, anything web based that's going to keep their attention really.I'm interested if anyone has any ideas for classes I run and which software packages I could use...

Classes run for an hour or so. In this time we like to have an outcome, something that the kids have learned and usually more importantly something to show for the time spent with them.In the past I have used greeen screen technology to impose their pictures on different landscapes, photoshopping them in different scenarios. We teach many classes, video production, radio station, simple IT lessons...

Has anyone any recommendations for simple to use Mac based software that could assist us with these lessons?

I currently use Macromedia Fireworks, however this is beyond the grasp of many of the trainees, especially with short attention spans.

For example, we have some kind of comic strip creator package that the kids can fire up, it has an easy to use drag and drop style interface, and we can create classes around it so the kids come out with their own newspaper article or comic strip at the end of it.

I'm after any recommendations of simple to use programs such as this.

Thanks for all your time

[Zero]

iWeb is good for making simple sites.

Depending on their age, you might also want to look at Kid Pix for graphics.

[wetland]

Thanks Zero, iWeb looks pretty neat. I'm hoping to have the simple html lessons covered by coding a few simple css and html templates and letting them change them in SeaMonkey. (However it's not so important that they come out of the class with a future in internetworking, more that they've spent an hour interacting, working as a team and most importantly building confidence.)

Kid Pix looks good and user friendly, however most of the trainees are in their teens, some late teens, I think I'd be told where to shove it heh!

Flash based stuff would be great as well. Maybe even online resources. Like that site you put your head on and do the cancan! Has anyone seen any good examples / or directories containing these sorts of applications?

What about "dumbed down" versions of Flash... Is that Swish application any good? Anything like that? I guess that's the idea, simplified versions of graphic, flash manipulation.

Thanks