![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpKV5W0oVK2wrWZ5Hy0ajUORYodfoEni57FklckUhQfpYn4icsUjxdq-ue1hOuU-pyRN6HAIQen10jSU2NeSjLGP6n35Hr0K8kIobKi79fRliq9aXC72LNNqo6Oo5R0xU45DZsxRL8Go/s400/Picture+1.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPGx-gqMnY-E2ENZRQctdG69j5TBQbn889tAUYH_Wz-HL8x-CY3mxT78c6HbowW-I-gXf-2hOyIM-AvXxiR8HXnn6OHaXeiQaCUGTBaVnKU5RHnDiKWCeXlw6D9ZPO0Z40WikWJZpixc/s400/Picture+4.png)
We have 5 lovely new iMacs in each of the Kindy classrooms. I wanted to set them up so that the students can use them independently as much as possible. Given that the users are as young as 3 years old I needed a strategy ...
First I changed the iMac settings for the desktop changing the icon size to the biggest one and increasing the text to 16pt.
Next I asked the Kindy teachers to send me links of sites or flash game files that they wanted to put on the computers. I also changed the dock so that only the most commonly used programs were shown there and I increased the size as well. A bigger size makes it an easier target for young users to click on.
Then I went into the requested sites and games and
took a screen capture to be used as the icon for the game. This screen capture was dropped into Img2icn to create an icon for the shortcut.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorAKO9vljnzFndLMPYjSUtXz6uAc2pNSQVcK6dBCy1YJYVGzFNKiteuaqunCifNT0S1vfSmUJZ3GnFq5wV1v703s9IcMQ51D_JXMnY4o-9bG1_K_1jQtB74h6I625x3pT2PPbi7IAKr8/s320/Picture+3.png)
You can see the Img2icn in the picture above. Download it here
IMG2ICN![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7v1-HHI6LsoPR67RnSQQcYMDeo-uf5SQIduh6l_40CI_MQSM6DoKxOiFLxu_IZq1cDngc21KMRdI_9mLNdyXfVzONKwOElB-bF23LmfbCj1nRq4LfFDLyq1F4ryQNYHLoo5qb8Y9Uhs/s400/Picture+7.png)
Next I dragged the link to the desktop to make a shortcut.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUle7xWoVHusk1nkH4RT41ouVcalBVmLK0I4nd9NfBcRyC2BB97miplIA7bPS1yzRMiOU5f7-8kN4hM_Rg3WbTC4mlmq_-nUHZKPj9hyphenhyphenrUXFDxL1I4ghN2Ye5wY-x05yqC8eUi-bAYs4/s400/Picture+6.png)
Then I right clicked on the new shortcut and selected "Get Info".
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8FxqIWUAKaI_4C1z2dRcYOINC4wNcrfjkLtGA7pgKihaWvA0u304Q3AcnzT-Nz4DKCJUWl9EIyA6kRqeN4V0BnzkqNnLooDotbY60DkiX22a7vfL-oKd9uOi3dvq7aJ6xDnjD79n3CU/s400/Picture+9.png)
Next I took the newly created icon and dragged it onto the thumbnail until it changed the image.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7WcLLBUxSM9jLKaiEo4D_fnfPqME01dB2bSJCYCPN9NtDNr-Ury8qpbsT3Wxmrtx-u9Og7lLSOoG3IL_H_FOaovlTKP4k7AiIqXexgXRHHtEMtF_SkRWl8eiJXA8UeqW3NDhpoBfc80/s400/Picture+10.png)
Finally changed the name into something short and there you have it, a lovely shortcut ready for the desktop. Now all the students have to do is double click to go to that website. These shortcuts can be kept in a documents folder so that teachers can drag out only the sites to the desktop that they want their students to access for the lesson. It takes only a few seconds. This way the young students can use the iMacs much more independently.