Useful question and preparation
“Which thing does this entry represent, and where does this record say it is?” A guide helps a willing reader find the right represented item. It does not guarantee a real object is still in that place. An old record can remain accurately dated while a new one reports a change.
Prepare three locally approved broad familiar objects, such as a closed book, a clean cloth and a broad empty cardboard box, or a different manageable approved set. Adult handles/places items if needed. No purchase, child cutting, forced touch, food, sharp tool, private household object, identifying photo or recording is required. Agree a reachable view/description route and three labelled tabletop positions: LEFT, MIDDLE, RIGHT. These are positions on this guide, not instructions to travel or a real public navigation/safety system.
A real book/cloth/box is an object-data item. A drawn book/cloth/box picture represents it in picture form; a large agreed shape represents it in symbol form. A screen picture of a book is not the physical-object form. Broad safe raised outlines/exact spoken descriptions may support identity/order, but touch is optional. If a learner directs an adult or works from an attributed report, record that route rather than inventing direct observation.
Source A · original invented snapshot
Title TABLE GUIDE A. Source/type: SubjectNest original computer-created teaching model. Pretend snapshot label MODEL TIME A; no actual classroom/date/outcome.
| Entry | Supplied object identity | Supplied position |
|---|---|---|
| BK | BOOK | LEFT |
| CL | CLOTH | MIDDLE |
| BX | BOX | RIGHT |
Original model pictures: closed book with two broad cover lines; cloth shown as one broad wavy-edged square; box shown as a broad open-top rectangle. These are labelled illustrations, not photographed real objects. Read identities/positions exactly through an available route.
Source B · agreed guide key
CIRCLE means BOOK. SQUARE means CLOTH. TRIANGLE means BOX. The symbol meaning is agreed for this guide only, not universal. Labels/exact words accompany every shape. Source A's symbol position row is CIRCLE at LEFT / SQUARE at MIDDLE / TRIANGLE at RIGHT. A learner can choose a different own key with one distinct meaning per symbol, documented accurately; keep that key with its guide.
Source C · later invented snapshot, same identities
Title TABLE GUIDE C, label MODEL TIME C. BK/BOOK at RIGHT; CL/CLOTH at MIDDLE; BX/BOX at LEFT. Only BOOK and BOX positions changed relative to A; CLOTH position stayed MIDDLE. The key did not change. These are two supplied invented rows, not observed classroom movement. Source A is retained as the earlier model record rather than silently overwritten. No reason for the move or real reader success is supplied.
Source D · incomplete record
Title TABLE GUIDE D, label MODEL TIME D. BK/BOOK at LEFT; CL/CLOTH at MIDDLE; BX/BOX position NOT RECORDED. NOT RECORDED does not mean no box exists or that it is RIGHT. A reader may ask for a checked current entry; a guess stays a guess. The planned finder must show this uncertainty rather than invent a location.
Actual local guide route
Educator approves the familiar objects, reachable view/descriptions, named position convention, source/date and manageable task. Child chooses what to represent and how. Preserve actual object identity/position evidence, picture/symbol key, exact child decisions, attributed support/report, actual source/date and any later observation separately. If the actual set differs, make a new record; never use model data as a real result. Locally naming LEFT/RIGHT may need explicit support or different agreed position labels; that is an access choice, not a Digital Technologies attainment test.
Ask one real willing reader to use the child's guide only if the child wishes. Record what the reader actually selected/noticed or NONE. Planned sharing and imaginary reader success are not events. Keeping the guide private is respected; no public display, name, upload or account is needed.
Own data without collecting details
Use empty category cards MY OWN NAME, A PHOTO OF ME, MY OWN DRAWING, MY OWN GUIDE KEY, SUPPLIED MODEL KEY. Never fill identifying values, inspect family photos or ask for a real recording. Learner may identify categories or pass. Own drawings/guide keys can be child-created data without identifying the child; identifying details and created/owned data are related but different ideas. A supplied adult model key is not the child's creation just because they read it. Record actual own-data recognition; no legal ownership/publication permission judgment follows automatically.
Offline finder and paper equivalent
The fixed-choice finder offers Sources A/C/D, one requested item and Pictures/Words/Symbols views. Its result says THE SUPPLIED RECORD SAYS, with model source/time and exact position or NOT RECORDED. It does not label a model location as a real current observation or call screen pictures physical objects. Complete paper route: choose a source table above, select BOOK/CLOTH/BOX and read the corresponding row with its key/source/time. No JavaScript/device is needed for representation decisions. Actual hardware/software exploration requires the separate device gate.