Totally AMOS/Totally AMOS - Issue 1 (1991-11)(Tucker, Len - Tucker, Anne).adf/reviews/learning_and_playing.seq

Text File | 1991-09-02 | 14KB | 249 lines

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                        ^6@2LEARNING AND PLAYING.@

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^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!

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