Producer: Heinemann
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £9.95
Author: Five Ways Software

This package contains two games, Punctuation Pete and Word finder. Wordfinder provides three separate smaller programs, the first being the wordfinder itself, a sort of mini-Thesaurus with about 1,000 words in it. The theme is travel and the screen presents you with a list of words related to various forms of travel. From this list it is possible to investigate similar words, find similar words and make connections between words. The wordfinder is then incorporated in the following two games, Anagrams and Hangman. Anagrams mixes up the letters of the words in wordfinder and asks you to unscramble them. It is possible to interrupt, go to the wordinder and search for the word if you get stuck. Amazingly, even the most obvious of words can cause confusion. What would you make of C-C-L-E-Y? It took ages to discover CYCLE. Hangman is a guessing game where you must create the chosen word from nothing, with the computer placing correctly guessed letters in the right place, or drawing one more line of a hanged man for incorrect ones. This guides children to the use of vowels as major building blocks. It is possible to give up and see the correct answer.

Punctuation Pete presents the problem of punctuating quite long pieces of prose. Seven lines are displayed on screen, usually a very short story. Punctuation Pete can be made to walk along the lines, and by using the punctuation keys of the Spectrum, the correct punctuation may be added where it should be. On the higher of the three skill levels, this will include quotes for speech with all the attendant problems of whether full stops or commas come before or after the quotes. When a piece is completed, Pete will return to the top of the screen and point out any mistakes, which may then be corrected. Afterwards, he will return to the top and check every line, jumping for joy if everything is correct.

The game contains many neat touches; Pete is very well animated for instance. It is essential to change lower case letters into capitals where required, and when this operation is carried out, Pete gives the offending letter a casual kick with his foot to alter it.

CRITICISM

Wordfinder presents some tough problems and looks like being a real aid to learning the meaning and association of certain types of word. Punctuation Pete is just marvellous. The polish on this piece of software is evident, and the animation of Pete himself should delight younger children, and amuse adults. In fact the exercises provided should prove valuable to adults as well, and this is not a patronising game at all. The back-up booklet provided in with the package contains 18 pages devoted to the history of writing, comments on writing stories, place names, playing with words, code breaking and the simple background to printing. Despite its rather high price, Punctuation Pete is a worthy game with probably more usefulness as a learning aid than many so-called educational games.

COMMENTS

Control keys: punctuation keys, well described in book
Use of colour: simple
Graphics: very good
Sound: none

Producer: Hill MacGibbon
Retail Price: £9.95
Age Range: 7-12
Author: Five Ways Software

As a teacher, I know how difficult it can be to teach the conventions of punctuation to young children. And most of the drill and practice programs that I've seen on this topic have not been particularly useful. Punctuation Pete however, is different. There are two programs on the cassette. On one side is the punctuation program containing a wide variety of passages for the child to punctuate. The menu offers four levels of difficulty based on the reading levels of the passages, then the child has to choose which type of scribe he is. The passages aimed at the junior scribe require full stops and capital letters; those for the master scribe need quotation marks, question marks and commas, while, if you are a super scribe, you have to insert all the missing punctuation marks.

An example of a passage at junior scribe level is: "soon the train came it was nearly empty anna got in it was her first journey away from home 'your father will meet you at the station at naira,' her father said 'be careful now, anna don't talk to any strangers'. The train started suddenly". The child has to move Punctuation Pete along the lines stopping at points where a punctuation mark is missing.

A keyboard overlay placed on the top row of keys gives the option to move Pete left, right, up or down. Capital letters may also be inserted and mistakes deleted. Punctuation marks such as commas, full stops, quotation marks and question marks are inserted using the normal keys. When the child has finished punctuating the passage, Punctuation Pete checks it over and moves to any mistakes he finds. The child has three chances to correct the error before the correct answer is given. When the passage is completely correct, Pete waves and jumps about, and another passage can be attempted.

This is a useful program which will motivate children to improve their skills. On the other side of the tape is Wordfinder a kind of thesaurus containing about a thousand words aimed at encouraging children to make links between words. The first screen lists the categories air, water, land, how you move and needs of the traveller under 'Travel' with a downward arrow beside each. Pressing the downward arrow key takes you on to a further list of words and phrases to do with travel. Some words have horizontal arrows beside them and pressing the corresponding arrow key causes the screen to move sideways to another page of connections. Again, a keyboard overlay is provided, and it also offers the options of playing anagrams or hangman.

Anagrams uses words from the thesaurus and the child has to rearrange the letters to make the correct word. The player can return to the thesaurus at any point to search for the word, or, by pressing the Help key, can call the word onto the screen. Letters not used in the word to be guessed are shown on the screen as the child suggests them, which is a very useful feature. Hangman is a game children love, so they will enjoy this computer version.

Included in the package is a 16 page booklet with information on the history of writing, and the origins of place names, printing and communications. There are also a variety of tasks for the child to complete, including writing a dialogue, completing a crossword and breaking codes. This is an excellent package, particularly for use in the classroom.

COMMENTS

Control keys: a keyboard overlay for each program simplifies the commands
Keyboard play: good
Graphics: limited to Punctuation Pete and the Hangman graphics, but very good
Use of colour: very good

SPECTRUM LESSONS

Mike Edmunds continues his quest against ignorance and assesses some of the latest educational software packages.

Educational software has, to date, been of a very mixed quality, with often only a limited use in the classroom. Now, with the advent of material such as the Dudley Programs, we find software intended for use right across the curriculum.

The programs, all with the theme of travel, have been designed specifically for use in schools by a team of 24 teachers and advisers from Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in conjunction with Five Ways Software.

Each of the four titles; Punctuation Pete/Wordfinder, Car Journey, Special Agent and Ballooning is a complete package in itself or can be used in conjunction with the other titles to provide a really comprehensive series of resource materials.

Each package comes in an A4 folder with a detailed guide/workbook which not only outlines the aims of the program but also suggests numerous associated activities to be carried out using either the program or the workbook material. There is also a set of keyboard overlays, a summary of instructions and a 'run card'. Loading is straightforward and the pupil is greeted by an illustrated title screen detailing loading time. As with the workbook, the programs are colourful and visually attractive, good use of graphics being maintained throughout the series.

The first package, Punctuation Pete/Wordfinder, is really two for the price of one. Pete lives inside your computer and it is his job to keep everything tidy. Your job is to help him sort out sentences that have lost their punctuation. Although this type of program has been around for quite a while, this version is a step ahead of the others by virtue of its graphics. A delightfully animated Pete is guided around various texts to correct the mistakes (often physically kicking them into submission it seems!)

This is aimed at reasonably able readers and provides various texts, chosen at random from a large bank, all on the theme of travel. The child can choose his own level, beginning with Junior Scribe (full stops and capital letters). If he can master this level he may wish to aim for higher status, where the exercises are correspondingly more difficult. Mistakes by the child are indicated by Pete and a second try is invited. Continuing errors are eventually corrected by the computer.

Wordfinder, the second half of the pack, provides an extensive thesaurus on the travel theme, its aim being to develop vocabulary. Words can be selected from a comprehensive list and all linked possibilities then examined. This is a novel idea and it would be nice to think of this program 'sitting' at the back of a classroom available for constant referral as a source of vocabulary, stimulation and ideas, especially for subjects such as creative writing, topic work etc.

TO CONCLUDE

Taken singly, each of the programs in this series is excellent. Put together, as a complete resource package, they are outstanding - each having the right blend of interest and skill to ensure continued usage. The programs are well written and overall presentation is of a high quality.

As a theme package they test the child's abilities in all areas. Marvellous - fun whilst learning!

Each of the packages reviewed above costs £9.95 and is published by Heinemann Computers in Education Ltd, 22 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3HH.