Educational software - November'97

Alan Hilvert-Bruce finds some great educational games you can install and use now, and go onto the Internet and play. You can also try Net Nanny and CyberPatrol in the Internet Utilities section.

Mastery Learning Grammar (MLG) Eat My Dust Jack's Gospel Harmonica Page Dino Hunter Fripple Place

Best for people over 15 who are serious about improving their grammar, Mastery Learning Grammar (MLG) offers tutorials and exercises in; subject, verb, clauses, parts of speech, capitals, punctuation, case, pronouns, simple and complex clauses. The idea is to first read the tutorial, then try the corresponding exercise.

It's challenging! Each time you take an exercise, the program randomly selects 30 questions from a database of 200 questions per category. When you are correct, the program automatically progresses, if incorrect it advises you to check the tutorial. At any time you can access your report card to admire your progress.

Start your motor, grasp the steering wheel and aim the rubber chicken. With crazy cars, cute characters and lethal rubber toys, the 3D road race Eat My Dust is the way you should never drive.

When you hit the race track in Eat My Dust, you're not alone. You face a motley assortment of track-burning, insult-yelling weirdos. Pick one, and leave the rest behind . . . if you can!

To preview the deranged personalities you'll be dealing with, check the Web site Eat My Dust Taunt-O-Matic. Here you click on characters and listen to one of the obnoxious things they'll yell at you or you'll yell at them when the green light goes on.

If you've already picked up the game, download the track editor so you can make your own new and dangerous driving environments.

You can play this road race over the Internet so you can challenge anybody, anywhere, anytime.

Love that gospel harmonica! Jack's Gospel Harmonica Page tutors you in harmonica from beginning to expert level through 10 easy lessons. If your harp has a single row of 10 holes with numbers 1-10 engraved in the cover over the holes, then this course is for you. All the songs in the first five lessons sound best on a C harmonica and songs in the next five lessons are best for the G harmonica. The numbering system works on harmonicas on all the major keys and you need a separate harmonica for each key in which you wish to play -- five or six harmonicas cover most songs.

In no time you'll be playing your favourite songs, including gospel blues, kids songs, hymns of peace and nature and hymns.

This online game hosted by Dorling Kindersley gives you a taste of the DinoHunter CD-ROM. Your task is to assemble a dinosaur skeleton by clicking on the various bones and placing them on the dinosaur outline. You can also download the shockwave plug-in to view video as you play.

The DinoHunter site is worth checking out if you want to have some fun, or are just interested in dinosaurs.

Other Freebies to download from the DK Publishing site include door hangers, envelopes and labels, clip-art of animals ranging from kangaroos to tree frogs, backgrounds and flags from all over the world taken from the World Explorer CD-ROM.

Fripple Place is an online version of the same game on the Thinking Things 3 CD-ROM.

The online version for five- to 10-year-olds requires you to match each Fripple with their appropriate motel room. First, each gives you a clue to where they go in relation to the other Fripples. For example, "I hate the guy who has blue hair" and "The Fripples who have ties all go in the first row". It's tricky enough to tempt you to buy the full version.

Previous PC User Offline CD's

Education - October '97

Education - September '97

Education - August '97

Education - July '97

Education - June '97

Education - May '97

Education - April '97

Education - March '97