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 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN
 LIMA NEWSLETTER -- 1993

     ~~~~~ TI-101 ~~~~~

     OUR 4/A UNIVERSITY

     by Jack Sughrue
     Box 459
     E.Douglas MA 01516

      #7 MODULATING ACADEMIC LIFE

     The TI, Class, in case you
 haven't been conscious the previous
 six classes, is unique in the
 computer world.  Not only were there
 hexbuses and something like wafer
 tape available or almost available
 for awhile in its erratic history.
 No, Mr.^Shakespeare, not erotic!  I
 said erratic.
     Anyway, Class, not only were
 there exotic forms of connection -
 No, Mr.^Shakespeare, I said "exotic!"
 - and storage, but the variety of
 usable storage forms still exceeds
 anything out there for any computer.
     In addition to hard drives, both
 size floppies, a variety of RAM
 disks and supercarts and gram
 devices, and specific modules (and
 things that plug into or are soldered
 onto all kinds of places), the TI
 also uses ordinary cassette tape as
 storage/retrieval.
     Now this may seem a surfeit of
 options, but there are TIers out
 there who are using each and every
 one of these items on a daily basis,
 and their perception of our wonderful
 machine is viewed through these
 devices.
     Because you are all taking this
 course to find out how best to use
 the TI as an educational tool for
 yourself, your friends, your family,
 your new TI converts, your own
 classrooms, we will explore ways in
 this session to modulate your TI to
 suit your needs.  As most of you here
 are parents, grandparents, or
 classroom teachers and your concern
 is with the 4A as learning tool,
 let's first review your notes.
 You'll find that newsletters, user
 group friends, TIGERCUB, local fairs,
 and MICROpendium are your immediate
 best sources for what is
 educationally available for the TI.
 The magazine carries the classifieds,
 as well as ads for ASGARD,
 COMPRODINE, TEXCOMP and other agents
 for educational materials.
     If you look at my greying temples
 you will probably understand that I
 have been at this computer game for a
 bit.
     Ho!  Thank you, Ms.^Bronte.  I
 wondered if anyone got the humor of
 that.
     Well, being around a bit -
 particularly teaching these kinds of
 courses to teachers - I have learned
 that the old is not necessarily the
 worst, even in the whizzly world of
 electronics.
     By a show of hands, how many of
 you have more than one console?
 Okay, that's most of you.  How many
 have more than one P-Box?  Ah, so
 there are many consoles not being
 used.  How about tape recorders?  So
 you all still have your tape
 recorders.  Good.
     Write today (and send $10) for
 Mickey Schmitt's (196 Broadway Ave.,
 Lower Burrell PA 15068) fantastic TI
 cassette book, GETTING THE MOST FROM
 YOUR CASSETTE SYSTEM, and another $5
 to Jim Cox (905 Edgebrook Dr.,
 Boylston MA 01505) for MUNCH's
 incredible disk of the ultimate in
 cassette programming (Disk 89, which
 also includes all of the cassette
 utility programs in the book, as
 well as others from all over the
 world). It has loads of samples, too.
 Did you know, for example, that you
 can use your cassette to actually run
 dumped modules like "Yahtzee?" Or
 that you can program your cassettes
 to locate at high speed from a
 cassette menu?  And then run the
 programs automatically, whether XB or
 EA?  Those programs are all on MUNCH
 Disk 89.  And with cassette programs
 loaded and running there is no P-Box
 fan noise, because there is no
 P-Box!
     I say all this, Class, because in
 looking through my notes after last
 session's discussion of textware, I
 uncovered a box containing cassettes.
 It was marked "Education for Home and
 Classroom."  It should have been
 marked "Treasures."
     So many of my teachers from the
 past couple years have told me that
 they are still using cassettes in
 their classrooms (mostly elementary,
 I might add), that I asked if they'd
 bring in a few for demoing.  That's
 when I learned about all these new
 ways of cassetting.  But, more
 importantly, I had a chance to renew
 my acquaintance with some of the best
 non-cartridge, non-disk learning
 material available.  A lot of these
 great programs have been translated
 to disk, however, and are still in
 classroom and home use in that form,
 too.  Most of these disks can
 probably be gotten from Jim Peterson
 of TIGERCUB (156 Collingwood Ave.,
 Columbus OH 43213).
    In this little box of treasures,
 though, were some extraordinary
 things I'd like to share with you. To
 begin with, there were some KIDWARE
 tapes.  All KIDWARE tapes are superb.
 I pulled out "Lemonade" and played
 it.  This is a thinking activity for
 running a lemonade stand.  All kinds
 of decisions must be made by the
 players. I've played versions for
 other computers that have more toots,
 but this is more realistic and
 intelligent.  I'd forgotten how great
 the KIDWARE educational tapes were.
 They still are.  Collect all the
 KIDWARE programs you can.
     That goes for a couple other
 companies, too, who made educational
 tapes specifically for the TI.  Two
 of the biggest and best were SUNGEM
 and INTELLESTAR.
     The former had the most
 extraordinary setups.  In almost all
 their games, SUNGEM allowed you to
 use your console to the maximum.  The
 opening menu asked if you were using
 BASIC or XB or Speech Synthesizer or
 TEII.  It would build its high-level
 sound around your personal
 configuration.  They had some monster
 tapes that haven't been equalled even
 today (for tapes, that is).  Things
 like "Searcher of the Solar System,"
 which is still one of the best ways
 to actively involve a learner in a
 challenging, creative, informative
 way about the planets.  I know a lot
 of teachers who are still using their
 "Telling Time" program which not only
 shows the hands on a clock but speak
 the exact time in a series of
 build-upon activities.  Their "Math
 Challenge" graphically challenged the
 students in addition, subtraction,
 multiplication, and division.  There
 were other math and spelling and
 social studies games, too.  Quite a
 company for educators and parents.
     And, of course, kids.
     INTELLESTAR's approach was quite
 different.  First, they had science
 tapes, which nobody else had.  These
 included the classic "CELLS: the
 Building Blocks of Life," which is
 one of the greatest things ever done
 on tape.  Actually, it is on three
 tapes.  Also in their Life Science
 series was "Inside Frankie Stein," an
 interactive trip through the human
 body, and "Heart Attack," where you,
 as doctor or nurse, must monitor a
 patient to prevent an attack.  Other
 science and math activities included
 "Fireball" and "Vyger" (their
 spelling).  "States Alive" was their
 social studies contribution.
     But their masterpiece is "E.T." -
 "The Everything Teacher."  This
 6-tape educational gem should be in
 every teacher's classroom, in every
 home where there are children.
 Basically, there is a file editor.
 This creates the master data base for
 all the programs that make up this
 classroom environment.  The four
 one/two player or team games include
 "TV Sweepstakes," which is a game
 show that uses the created files.
 It's a funny and fast-paced and
 graphically well-designed show that
 requires quick thinking on the part
 of the participants.  "Baseball" is
 just that.  Graphically the "batter's
 team" hits and scores as in regular
 baseball, but only by answering the
 data-based questions.  The same or
 different questions may be used for
 "Space Patrol - Lost!" and "Last
 Jellybean on Earth." All four of
 these "quizzes" are lots of fun and
 ingeniously created.
     The "Everything Teacher" guides
 you easily through their data base to
 create, literally, everything you
 need for the children (or adults) you
 want to have play these games.  Score
 is kept in each game, too.  So,
 conceivably, you could have some
 math, language, science, social
 studies, and whatever files for all
 occasions.
     SUNGEM can pretty well operates
 without its accompanying text
 materials; INTELLESTAR's programs
 need the directions, KIDWARE
 directions are right on the screen
 menu.
     But, can you imagine this kind of
 stuff out there on tape!
     There were a couple companies
 that made educational tape programs
 for multiple computers, when those
 others had tapes, even though TI was
 the only one that worked well.
 Anyway, a couple of these educational
 companies made excellent TI stuff.
     SCHOLASTIC put out three things:
 "Electronic Party," a colorful screen
 occasion card maker; "Square Pairs,"
 the very best concentration-style
 game ever made for our computer; and
 "Turtle Tracks," an intelligent
 LOGO-like program that has some extra
 special items I wish were included in
 regular LOGO (such as their unique
 Picture Codes that let you draw in a
 pattern           ).
    "Tiny LOGO," done on tape just for
 the TI, by the way, is another superb
 LOGO-like program that runs in BASIC,
 rather than XB, as in "Turtle
 Tracks."
     SUNBURST produced two programs,
 at least, for the TI.  The only one I
 own and have used is "Arrow
 Dynamics," which like most of the
 others I've mentioned, really take
 tape instruction and activity to its
 limits.  The object is simply to move
 an arrow across a playing grid from
 one goal to another.  However, the
 movements (one square at a time) must
 be stated in a LOGO-like structure.
 Then the obstacles are added (such as
 90-degree deflection mirrors) and the
 fun begins!  This is a stupendous
 thinking game.  I only wish I knew
 where I could get hold of the other
 SUNBURST games, if they match up to
 this one at all.
     Speaking of LOGO, which we will
 discuss in the last session next time
 in greater detail, there was also a
 language for teachers called ASPIC
 created specifically for the TI and
 used with tape recorders back in the
 old days.  The BEST OF 99er book,
 mentioned last time, contains this
 entire language in its educational
 section.  Worth exploring if you only
 have the basic system, even without
 XB.
     But dust off those tape recorders
 and look in your friend's or your
 group's library or at fairs or maybe
 even in tape-filled shoeboxes at the
 back of your closet to gather up and
 use these and hundreds of other
 exceptional educational tape
 programs.  If you find them on disk,
 transfer them to tape using the
 automatic disk to tape transfer
 programfrom the MUNCH disk.  And get
 more than one computer going.  Or
 dedicate one just to the significant
 children in your life at home or
 school.
     Believe me, your basic console
 with a tape recorder, coupled with an
 appropriate selection of educational
 tapes and cartridges, can provide
 enough educational material for
 anyone's childhood.  And then some.
 And more than any other computer on
 the market today.
     Oops! I almost forgot the two
 tapes that are in almost everybody's
 library: OLDIES BUT GOODIES I && II
 put out by TI.  They contain some of
 the very best educational taped
 software in existence; things like
 Hammurabi, Hidden Pairs, Tictactoe,
 3-D Tictactoe, Number Scramble, Word
 Scramble, Word Safari, Factor Foe,
 Peg Jump, and so on.  Incomparable
 classics that the new generation of
 TI learners have probably not
 experienced, even though some may be
 old hat to you.  Dig them out.
     Matter of fact, even some of
 those books we mentioned from TEXCOMP
 last time can come with tapes, in
 case typing in those programs from
 the texts is a problem.  I think
 ASGARD (P.O.Box 10306 - free
 catalog), which is still making
 cartridges, including an educational
 one for pre-school and primary
 children, still sells tapes and also
 educational materials.
     So much for tapes, Class.
     Last time I asked you to bring in
 all the educational cartridges you
 have at home or school for sharing
 and show and tell.
     Cartridges are the best
 educational tool for any computer.
 The kids of any age can pop in the
 carts, turn on the computers and
 monitors, and run the stuff by
 themselves until bedtime.  Though the
 modules were made by many different
 companies, including TI, I don't
 believe any other educational
 computer tool truly equals the ease
 of operation, the direct addressing
 of the desired skills, the positive
 reinforcement of successes (with
 colorful animation and music and
 loads of other toots and whistles and
 golden goodies unique to the 4A), and
 the understanding of the
 developmental level of the learner
 and the positive need for an
 entertainingly high motivational
 structure.
     Anyway, Class, the TI cartridges
 still available in all the places
 we've been mentioning all semester
 long - Look to your notes! - include
 excellent card and board strategy
 games like BLACKJACK and CHESS and
 OTHELLO, which no one can deny are
 skill building, thinking activities.
 They also have the logic problems
 which enhance map skills (and
 foresight) such as A-MAZE-ING and
 HUNT THE WUMPUS and ZERO ZAP.
 Standard boxed games like YAHTZEE and
 CONNECT FOUR surely are strategy
 learning tools.  So, too, would be
 the Adams' ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL
 SERIES which is made for interactive
 play only on computers and demand
 high-level reading comprehension
 skills and long attention spans to
 even begin to play them properly.
 Cartridges like TI WRITER and MUSIC
 MAKER are definitely educational
 tools, also.
     Though nobody could deny the
 efficacy of these and many others as
 learning tools, they were not
 specifically designed as educational
 cartridges.
     I want to take a few moments to
 put one list of some of the
 educationally-designed cartridges on
 the overhead here.
     This is just a partial listing,
 of course, and it would not include
 the fantastic modular software that
 was created but never released in
 module form.  Most of those items are
 available on disk, butmany require a
 GRAM device or a GENEVE to operate.
 Nor am I including PLATO, TI's
 ultimate 180-disk courseware learning
 system for learners from primary
 through adult, including GED exam
 preparation.
     No. What I'm showing is mostly
 the stand-alone education-specific
 cartridges I found available at the
 last computer fair I went to in
 Boston a few weeks ago, as they
 probably are available from all those
 other resources we listed this
 semester.
     The ones with an asterisk use
 very sophisticated speech that still
 is not found in educational programs
 for other computers.
     EARLY LEARNING FUN, BEGINNING
 GRAMMAR, NUMBER MAGIC, VIDEO GRAPHS,
 EARLY READING*, ADDITION &&
 SUBTRACTION I/II*, MULTIPLICATION
 I/II*, READING FUN*, READING (ON,
 ROUNDUP, RALLY, FLIGHT, etc.)*,
 SCHOLASTIC SPELLING 1-6*, DIVISION
 I/II*, TOUCH TYPING TUTOR, COMPUTER
 MATH GAMES I-III, MILLIKEN MATH,
 ALIEN ADDITION, MINUS MISSION,
 ALLIGATOR MIX, METEOR MULTIPLICATION,
 DEMOLITION DIVISION, DRAGON MIX,
 COMPUTER MATH GAMES 1-6, NUMERATION
 I/II, HONEYHUNT*, MICROSURGEON*,
 TERRY TURTLE'S ADVENTURE*, FACEMAKER,
 HANGMAN, STORY MACHINE*, VIDEO GRAPHS
 and on and on and on and on.
     Time's up!  Homework this week is
 take, use (preferably with a young
 learner), and evaluate three of these
 modules.  And be prepared to
 demonstrate them for us at the next
 session, which will be our last
 before the final.
     No, Mr.^Shakespeare, we will not
 be discussing things erotic next
 time.   But we will be discussing a
 pretty hot topic: the very sexy LOGO
 II.