246 aaa00000ff00fe0080333fff70f ^4EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ^6@2LEARNING AND PLAYING.@ ^4EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ^1 Most people will agree that as time goes by, more and more use is ^1being made of the computer's ability to help teachers in the ^1classroom. Indeed computer literacy is a very important skill in ^1many aspects of life. ^6 Children these days do not hold computers in awe as older people do, ^6they are not afraid to touch the keyboard, they know that it will not ^6bite! ^1 So, what better way to reinforce the skills they need to achieve ^1than by letting them use the Amiga at home. Thanks to Amos, there is ^1now more educational software available than ever before, and most of ^1it is at a realistic price, thanks to Déjà Vu Software. ^6 Over the last year Sandra Sharkey has gathered a good variety of ^6programs, some are Licenseware, some are Public Domain. We shall ^6have a look and tell you what we think can be learnt by playing ^6/using them. ^2 As you've probably guessed by now, we enjoy writing educational ^2programs, even the ones not intended as such, seem to have been ^2included in educational reviews! Still, it has been said that you ^2can find something educational in lots of games. (ref Pat Winstanley ^2in Amiga Shopper's education spot). ^7 We are interested to hear about any other educational software ^7written with Amos, so if you find some, please drop us a line/file ^7with a description and what you think of it. ^6[3LPD 1 [1^2Colouring Book by Trevor Prince[0 ^1 This program is for the little ones who go through colouring books ^1faster than you can buy them! Here they can colour in any of the 6 ^1pictures over and over again saving the best to disk, all for the ^1cost of £3.50p ^6[3LPD 2 [1^2Arc Angel's Maths by Arc Angel[0 ^1 This is a maths program for beginners, the presentation is clear ^1with a graphical display of the sums. It's not the most graphically ^1pleasing program, but it does serve its purpose, we are told that a ^1second version may replace this one in the future. ^6[3LPD 4 [1^2Thingamajig by Sparx[0 ^1 This is an introduction to jigsaw puzzles, and as the teaching of ^1reading revolves around recognising shapes, it can help here. There ^1are 24 puzzles to choose from and 2 levels of ability for each. The ^1easy option gives a screen with the outlines of the shapes for you to ^1match with the shape on the pointer, the hard option gives you a ^1blank puzzle tray, and you have to do the rest. ^6[3LPD 5 [1^2Jungle Bungle by Sparx[0 ^1 This is an adventure game where you are left in the jungle after a ^1plane crash, and have to find your way out by solving problems. This ^1encorages logical thought and decision making. You have to remember ^1to gather food and water at the same time as finding out the items ^1that you need to exchange with the people you meet for information. ^6[3LPD 8 [1^2Work & Play by Sparx[0 ^1 This is a set of 3 learning programs on different themes. The ^1first, Fun Times Tables, deals with the times tables by the means of ^1a board game which can be 1 or 2 player, each player being able to ^1play at their own skill level. ^1 The second, Let's Go Shopping, is a mental arithmetic trainer where ^1you are asked questions about money and what it can buy in different ^1ways. ^1 Lastly, there is a game to teach the time, both with an ordinary ^1clock and a digital watch, you choose one type to set, and the other ^1one changes time with it. Every time you answer correctly, the mouse ^1creeps past the sleeping cat to get the cheese, the cat wakes up ^1after a wrong answer. ^6[3LPD 10 [1^2The Word Factory by Delwyn Farr[0 ^1 This is a novel way of getting kids to learn spelling. You are ^1given 5 seconds to look at a word, then you are taken into the word ^1factory where you must select the correct letter blocks and put them ^1onto the conveyor belt for loading into the truck. ^1 The program is totally joystick controlled so you won't have to ^1worry about sticky fingers on your keyboard! ^6[3LPD 14 [1^2Play It Safe by Sparx[0 ^1 This program tries to teach both children and adults about the ^1dangers that can be found around the home and garden, in the car, on ^1the street and in the park. The idea is that these places have been ^1invaded by beasties which have made them unsafe. You have to help ^1the Teddy to find 5 hazzards in each place so that the family can go ^1back home. There is a random factor so that the dangers are ^1different each time you play. ^6[3LPD 15 [1^2Arc Angel's Shapes by Arc Angel[0 ^1 Fuzzy Felts have been around for a long time, and will be for a long ^1time yet, I imagine. The only thing I've never liked about them is ^1that those little coloured shapes never stay in their box! Now all ^1that has changed with Arc Angel's shapes. Here the shapes are all on ^1the screen and they can be put down and changed around without losing ^1any. Little kids will love making pictures with this program. ^6[3LPD 18 [1^2Touchstones by Spence Davies[0 ^1 If matching shapes is an aid to the learning process, then ^1Touchstones can be classed as an educational program as well as a ^1rather addictive game. You have to place a patterned stone down on ^1the game board so that it make a match with the adjacent stone on at ^1least one of its sides, the more sides that match, the more points ^1you get. The aim is to place all of the stones before running out of ^1matching places. Logical thought comes in as well as the next few ^1stones in the pile are shown so that you can plan your moves. ^6[3LPD 21 [1^2Quingo by M.J. Fascione[0 ^1 Brush up on your general knowledge with this hybrid of a Quiz and ^1good old Bingo. You answer questions in order to mark off numbers on ^1your card. There are 3,000 questions, so there won't be a chance of ^1boredom from endless repetition of the same questions. ^6[3LPD 26 [1^2C.Y.A.D. by Jamez Newcombe[0 ^1 This is another game which could be classed as having an educational ^1application. It involves moving C.Y.A.D. around the various mazes, ^1collecting diamonds. The tricky bit is making full use of the ^1switches and special features which you will need to complete the ^1game. If you know you've blown it, you can quit a level and start it ^1again without losing the scores from any already completed. This ^1game teaches logical thought and aids memory, as it helps to remember ^1where you went wrong last time! ^6[3LPD 27 [1^2Flower Power by Sparx[0 ^1 This game was never meant to be more than a bit of fun, but other ^1people seem to see it from a different angle. It does involve ^1thinking through events in the right sequence, so it does teach ^1something. The gardener in the story has to grow flowers to enter ^1the local show, he must dig the earth, sow the seeds and water the ^1growing plants before he can pick them and take them to the show. As ^1in all gardens, there are pests who will eat your prize blooms, you ^1don't kill them, you just scare them away. ^6[3LPD 29 [1^2Big Top Fun by Sparx[0 ^1 The setting is the circus, and there are four `acts' here for you to ^1choose from, each with its own progam on a theme of words and ^1pictures. ^1 The first act is the juggler, you have to help him balance on his ^1unicycle by matching the word he is holding with a picture. If ^1right, he cycles off for a new word, if wrong he wobbles and drops ^1the picture. ^1 In the next act, you have to turn over two cards to match either two ^1pictures, a picture and a word or two words, as in the traditional ^1pairs game. ^1 In Sealagrams, a clown throws balls onto the noses of seals. Each ^1ball has a letter and by clicking on the seals' heads, the letters ^1can be changed around until a word is spelt. Help is available if ^1you're stuck, you can have a quick look at a picture of the word you ^1are trying to make. ^1 Balloon burst is another spelling game, you are given a picture and ^1a line of balloons float onto the screen. You have to make the clown ^1shoot the balloons which have the letters making up the word in the ^1picture. They do not have to be in the right order, and there is no ^1penalty for a wrong choice. This game will help children to pick out ^1letters which make up a word. ^6[3LPD 30 [1^2Shymer by Jeff Tullin[0 ^1 Shymer is an adventure for kids. It is an illustrated text ^1adventure, very colourful and full of little problems to be solved. ^1It is set in the land of Nursree, and the task is to sort out all the ^1nursery rhymes which have been muddled up. There are plenty of ^1places to go and many people to talk to. ^1 Adventures can teach a lot, logical thinking, problem solving, ^1understanding directions.....and patience! If played as a group, an ^1adventure will encouage co-operation and communicating skills. ^6[3LPD 37 [1^2Rocket Maths by Delwyn Farr[0 ^1 Rocket Maths is a program set out into four parts, Take Off, The ^1Star Map, The Rock Storm and The Landing. ^1 You have a choice of add, taking away, multiply and divide, also ^1three skill levels and four lives to complete the program. ^1 You lose a life for giving the wrong answer, but if you are right, ^1you will see your spaceman enter his spaceship and take off. In the ^1Star Map section you can move from planet to planet by getting the ^1questions right. When in the rock storm, you must avoid the rocks by ^1getting the sums right, a wrong answer means that you collide with ^1them. The last part of the program is a bonus level, you can get ^1extra points by landing your craft correctly. ^1 This is a good way of getting children to learn as they play, they ^1will enjoy the game and not realise thsat they are doing the work ^1they don't always enjoy in school! ^6[3LPD 45 [1^2Music Box by Colin Naylor[0 ^1 This is a great program to teach kids, or anyone else, the basics of ^1music. Music Box includes a teaching section, which gives some basic ^1information on music, set out in a very clear way. There is a ^1section on how to use the program itself, and the actual program. ^1 The program gives you a sheet of music, and you can make your own ^1music by clicking on the note length and placing it onto the page. ^1You can hear the note, even have it labelled with its name, and mix ^1your own combination of instruments to play your tune. There are ^1several tunes on the disk for you to load and play, so you can see ^1what can be done with this lovely program. ^4[3APD 2 [1^6Treasure Search by Peter Hickman.[0 ^2 This educational game is by Peter Hickman, and as you can see from ^2the disk number, has been around since the start of AMOS. ^2 Unfortunately, I haven't seen this game myself, so have had to rely ^2on other sources for the information. ^2 Quote from Sandra's PD catalogue, Nov 1990. ^2 "Hunt for treasure in this clever educational co-ordinates game. ^2Excellent sound and graphics make tis game fun for everyone from 2 to ^292!" ^2 Mapping plays a big part of maths these days, so Treasure Hunt would ^2be very useful to reinforce what is being learnt at school. ^4[3APD 135 [1^6Simon Says & Space Maths[0 ^2 This disk contains two programs. ^2 Simon Says is a version of the popular electronic game, where you ^2have to remember a given sequence of colours, and click on the ^2colours in the same order to progress onto the next sequence. The ^2number of colours in the sequence increases every time you get it ^2right. ^2 Space Maths caters for all ages, from the under 5's to over 16's. ^2You can choose your type of sums, and the amount of sums that you ^2answer. If you choose to answer 5 or more, and you get them all ^2correct, you can gain extra bonus points by shooting the alien. ^2 This program is a straightforward question style game with the added ^2touch of a mini game at the end. ^4[3APD 136 [1^6Maths Calculator[0 ^2 The maths calculator contains quite a few features, some of the ^2options give you ten sums to answer, e.g. addition, subtraction, ^2fractions to percentages etc. while the others calculte the area and ^2volume of shapes for you. It's a good idea, but some parts can be ^2used to do your homework for you rather than checking your own ^2calculations! ^4[3APD 237 [1^6Shapes by M. Archer.[0 ^2 This is an excellent puzzle game which will stretch your little grey ^2cells. The aim is to fill the black area of the screen using the ^2shapes displayed at the bottom of the screen. You have a limited ^2number of each shape, you can take the shapes out of the frame and ^2rearrange them but you have to remember that you have a time limit. ^2 Puzzle games are always fun and can teach various skills depending ^2on the type of puzzle. This one helps to teach awareness of shapes ^2and how different shapes fit together to form a new shape, as well as ^2that, it's fun! ^4EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE \