Educational software - September '97

Windows 95

There are no Windows 95 programs this month.

Windows 3.1x

Dino Numbers Dino Spell Curious George Comes Home

Dynotech
URL: ftp://ftp.pht.com
Registration: $US20
Rating:

Sixty-five million years ago, Rex the Tyrannosaurus and Derik the Dinosaur were in school together. Derik always had better grades than Rex because Derik listened to his teachers and did his homework while Rex ran around in the jungle and landed in trouble.

Rex envies Derik so he asks him maths questions, hoping to trick him. But as you are playing Derik, you determine the outcome.

Bad Rex doesn't stop there -- he hides all of Derik's cows in a field full of haystacks. Your job is to eat stacks of hay when necessary and answer maths questions to save Derik's cows. Problems range in difficulty from mid-primary to early secondary maths over three difficulty levels.

Rating:

Dino Spell has the same background story as Dino Numbers, but this time with spelling and an added twist.

Both Rex and Derik love eating wild strawberries. Rex hides the strawberries from Derik and he also hides the apples other dinosaurs love to eat them. Your task as Derik is now to answer spelling questions to retrieve the apples. Win and as a treat you can also eat strawberries along the way.

Naturally Rex has placed fake trees to block you -- but you have the advantage of being able to breathe fire. Spell correctly and you fry Rex's trees!

Though Dino Spell has American spelling, you can't input your own word lists.

Overall, it is fun to play and with excellent music and simple rules, it is a game many seven- to 11-year-olds will enjoy.

This is a demo of this educational program which is listed in this month's comparison table in PC User Magazine.

DOS

The Animamted Alphabet Animated Addition and Subtraction

Note: These programs are designed for DOS and may not run correctly in Windows or from within a Web browser. If you have problems running any such program we advise you make a note of the program's path, then to exit to DOS mode and try running the program off the CD from the DOS prompt.

Rating:

The Animated Alphabet introduces initial letter sounds to three- to six-year-olds. It presents a picture and asks you to press the starting letter of the word. Do it correctly and you are rewarded with a small, amusing animation. If you are tricked it moves on to the next picture.

While some pictures are confusing, for example, an illustration of a 25 cent coin required "q" for "quarter" (that's America for you), most pictures are easily recognised internationally.

Overall, colourful graphics and amusing sounds in the Animated Alphabet give great value for money.

Animated Addition and Subtraction
Author: Flix Productions
URL: ftp://ftp.pht.com
Registration: $US15
Rating:

Animated Addition and Subtraction gives students from year two to six years of age practise in addition and subtraction. Answer 10 math problems correctly and you can play one of the games in the games room.
The games room offers three different games (more in the registered version): Trains, where you can build your own train track or use a ready-made map to run your train through; Rocket, where you piece different rocket parts together so the rocket can blast off to outer space; and Puzzle, where you assemble pieces of a photograph to earn an entertaining animation.
In summary, Animated Addition and Subtraction is a fine way to practise maths.

by Alan Hilvert-Bruce

Previous PC User Offline CD's

Education - August '97

Education - July '97

Education - June '97

Education - May '97

Education - April '97

Education - March '97