VISIONS OF REVISION

There seems to be a growing interest in serious revision software. The Vision Software packages reviewed in Issue 39 are attracting plenty of interest, according to the distributors, Disney. So far, the following subjects have been covered by Vision; biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, French, German, geography, history and information processing. These broad subject areas are divided into units which retail at different prices. Prices for the units reviewed this month are given below, but a full catalogue and order form can be obtained from Disney Ltd, 6 Pilkington Avenue, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B72 1LA.

Each of the 29 units uses a single program with the screen and user interaction being driven via individual data sets developed for each unit and subject. The software is intended to be used as a flexible resource - for example, as a library facility for students to work on modules of their own choice, or as an activity for small groups under the guidance of a teacher.

Many different presentation techniques have been used in each unit to provide variety and to enable a very wide range of material to be displayed, explained and answered, with different levels of difficulty.

A particularly useful feature is that each question set is given an A to C grading in the user guide (A is the most difficult). Each subject is covered in some depth and all the units are suitable for students taking CSE, GCE. 16 + and GCSE courses, as well as providing a revision aid for study after leaving school.

The Vision Software programs don't use graphics, nor do they make much use of colour, but they are very good as serious study aids to be used as reinforcement for specific coursework.

UNIT TWO - ACCOMMODATION AND MEETING PEOPLE

Producer: Vision Software
Retail Price: £10.95

If you've got through Unit One of Vision Software's German course, you're ready to tackle the two themes of Unit Two: meeting people and arranging accommodation. It offers games based on a town plan found in the user's guide.

The section called Meeting People deals with conversational phrases and general information, and introduces the user to a letter in German. It then goes on to deal with writing letters to book accomodation in campsites, hotels and youth hostels. The final section provides useful practice on German verbs, covering various tenses as well as impersonal and separable verbs. The package contains a keyboard strip for producing the characters in the German alphabet not found or the English keyboard.

This is a comprehensive and interesting suite of programs which would be a useful revision aid for examination purposes, as well as helping the holidaymaker brush up on his long-forgotten school German!