Letters and Numbers

Sinclair User

Theodora Wood

THE ABC OF SIMPLE KEYBOARD DRILLS Theodora Wood looks at reading programs The use of computers in teaching literacy skills, at a very early age and later as the child becomes more adept at recognising and communicating the written word, inevitably entails the gaining of skills with the computer. The use of the keyboard to answer on-screen questions and commands reinforces that aspect of educational computing. That is nowhere more true than of the many alphabet programs on the market. Learning the alphabet requires not only the ability to recognise and differentiate between shapes but also to match shapes to their appropriate sounds. Without an adult to speak the sounds, the alphabet games become merely a matter of keyboard training. Letters and Numbers, Jimjams Software, Spectrum 48K, £4.95, is an example, where the child has to press the matching key to the letters which appear on the screen. If correct, the picture appears with sound and animation, unlike Alphabet - Widgit, Spectrum 48K, £5.95. The use of voice synthesisers should alleviate this problem somewhat. abc... Lift Off - Longmans, Spectrum 16K, £7.95, is slightly different in that the child has to match a picture to a word and its initial letter in a game of snap; the child has only to press S to indicate a match. When six correct answers have been given, a rocket takes off. The action takes place quickly and is best-suited to be used as a consolidation routine, after a child has a knowledge of the shapes and sounds of the alphabet. Alphabet Games - Blackboard Software, marketed by Sinclair, Spectrum 48K, £7.95, immediately seems better value in that there are three games in the one program. There is also the possibility of customising the program or incorporating routines from it into programs a parent or teacher may be writing, and the cassette gives hints on that. Blackboard has allowed for that in all its programs, producing a degree of flexibility not found in other software. Once LOADed, the program offers the choice of three games, Random Rats, Invaders or Alphagaps. After the child's name is entered, there is then the choice between upper- or lower-case letters. The speed is fast, and can obviously be changed, but that adds to the arcade-style fervour of both Random Rats and Invaders. Both games are unashamedly keyboard trainers, matching lower- and upper-case letters. If played with a child who shouted the sounds while a parent types them it can prove to be a good practice session on this level. In Random Rats, rats appear on the screen at intervals and a white block, the gun, moves across the screen. The child has to press the letter which appears on the gun to zap a few rats. In Invaders the child has to press the letter which appears on the alien spaceship to prevent it handing by blowing it up. At the end of both games the player receives a certificate if a ZX printer is attached. The third program in Alphabet Games features training in another kind of skill that is the order of the alphabet, important in the use of indices for filling and retrieval purposes. Alphagaps shows the alphabet on the screen with some missing letters. The child has to fill the gaps with the correct letter from left to right. Sinclair has also released five programs recently which foster the whole word approach to reading as well as the use of the alphabet. Learn to Read 1-5 - Sinclair, Spectrum 48K, £9.95 each, provide a range of activities with a structural approach to teaching the reading process. All the programs feature the animals from the reading scheme, Meg the hen, Sam the fox, Jip the cat, and so on, and are very simplistic in their textual content. The year 1950 was, after all, pre-television for most children and the lack of sophistication is evident in 1984. They eschew such criticisms as sexist, which are directed at many of their contemporaries such as Janet and John, but overall have little connection with real life. Learn to Read 1-3 runs on a roughly similar format. Once LOADed, the menu appears, a box moves over the names of the activities and the child has to press a key when the box surrounds the chosen task. Names introduces new words on all three programs, ranging from the names of the animals to the last word in a sentence containing the words learned in previous programs. Those are shown at the beginning of the program to be read by an adult and then tested. In Learn to Read 1, one animal is left on the screen with a list of all the names; the child has only to press a key when the moving box is over the correct word. By the time Learn to Read 3 is attained the same task includes reading a sentence and matching two words with objects which appear at the top of the screen. If correct, the word is written in big lower-case letters. Kim is the next program on the menu increasing in difficulty over the range. It is a simple memory game where pictures with words or sentences appear on the screen and then one disappears. The child has to spell the word on the keyboard; if correct, the picture and the word appear again. That is repeated until all the words have been tested. Spell, the next game, is repeated on all three programs. In one all the animals appear on the screen and then each is labelled in turn; the child has to spell the word on the keyboard. After five attempts the computer gives the correct letter. In Learn to Read 2 bars of labelled colour appear at the top of the screen and then a sentence appears on the lower half, for example Meg the ---, and the child again has to spell the word; if correct, the animal is coloured by a dripping pot of paint and the sentence is completed, Meg the hen is yellow. A score bar builds at the side of the screen with each colour. Learn to Read 3 provides the child with a multiple choice of similarly-spelt words to fill the gaps in a sentence. A similar score bar operates as in the previous program. The final choice on all three programs is a version of the perennial educational game pairs, called Card. Over the span of the three programs the number of cards increases from eight to 12, from matching pictures, through matching pictures and words to matching pictures with their initial sounds - the first introduction to phonics in the whole scheme. The child has to ENTER the numbers of the cards to turn them over. Learn to Read 4 is devoted to teaching alphabetical order and is much more accessible than the previous activity discussed, Alphagaps, found on the Blackboard Alphabet Games. There are three choices - NEXT, MIDDLE and FIND. NEXT shows the complete alphabet, upper- and lower-case, printed to a catchy tune. Three letters appear on the screen in alphabetical order and the child has a picture clue to help ascertain the fourth letter, as well as the alphabet at the top of the screen. In MIDDLE the child is presented with three boxes, the outer two of which contain pictures and letters and the child has to guess the middle letter. After five incorrect attempts at either of the activities, the letter is given. FIND can be slow or fast - pictures in alphabetical order move across the screen; when there is a gap the child has to press the appropriate letter on the keyboard. At the end there is a house with the entries missed in the windows. The fifth tape is a series of examples and exercises to aid the learning of all those positional words, such as on, top, bottom. These words, although common in written text, often prove a stumbling block for early readers. As all the programs are based on the same animal characters, it is more difficult to imagine using the useful routines found in such a program as Learn and Read 4 out of context, and Fisher-Marriot has allowed no provision, unlike Blackboard, for doing so; CAPS SHIFT BREAK causes the program to crash. Also because the scheme relies almost completely on three-letter words, there can sometimes be nonsense sentences for the child to complete. For older children, Star Reader - Scisoft, Spectrum 48K, £6.95, is aimed at the six-to-11 age group and provides training in the meaning of words and their position in the context of a written piece of text. There are three levels of reading difficulty and two choices of activity. At each level a passage of text is shown on-screen with some words missing; the child has to ENTER the words from a choice given at the bottom of the screen. At level one the second choice of activity is to sort rumbled sentences, while the alternative choices for levels two and three concentrate on dictionary skills and filing activities, both useful for information searches. Castle Spellerous - Blackboard, Spectrum 48K, £7.95, flashes the word on the screen before the child has to spell it. The object is to release the princess from the wicked magician's palace. It is well-realised graphically and interesting, with sudden surprise attacks fended-off by pressing the appropriate letter on the keyboard. There is a choice of 10 types of words, for example 'ea' words; the word lists can be changed and the exposure time to the word can be regulated to suit the child concerned. Scisoft has produced a similar package in Wizard Box - Spectrum 48K, £6.95, - the words do not flash on the screen but can be recorded on tape. The problem of synchronisation could become acute for a child not accustomed to tape recorders. Hangman programs, either typed from books or akin to the version found in Punctuation Pete, are probably just as effective and interesting as a spelling tester. Blackboard has also released four programs to help with punctuation - Capital Letters, Early Punctuation, Speech Marks and The Apostrophe Spectrum 48K, £7.95. The titles give an obvious hint to the contents. All the programs give examples of the use of punctuation and then test the child with a piece of text on which to practise. A little stick man moves over the text and the child has to stop him at the correct place to insert the punctuation marks. If a ZX printer is attached, a certificate is printed with the number of correct answers and at the end of each set of activities there is a game. Heinemann has covered this ground with one program operating on three levels, Punctuation Pete. Unlike the Blackboard programs, there is no opportunity to change the text and it is therefore a much less flexible package. Finally, 40 Education Games for the Spectrum, by Vince Apps, Granada, £5.95, is a cheap way of providing programs in this field. It includes a spelling test, Hangman, and speed reading as well as mathematics routines. All the programs reflect current educational emphasis on drill and test, and are electronic workbooks. They familiarise a child with the keyboard but often than that offer very little which is new. A more creative approach in the field would be to concentrate on the computer as a writing tool, as adults would use it, to refine and correct a piece of written work. Heinemann, [redacted] Jimjams Software, [redacted] Longman Software, Longman Group Ltd, [redacted] Scisoft, [redacted]. Sinclair Research, [redacted] Transform Ltd, [redacted] Widgit Software, [redacted]

Personal Computer News

Daphne Sullivan

Mike Gerrard

SCHOOL FOR SPECTRUM Simple programs for small children? Read what Daphne Sullivan and Mike Gerrard have to say. Adding & Subtracting (£5.25) [redacted] Letters and Numbers (£5.50) Jim Jams Software, [redacted] Quick Thinking (£6.95) Mirrorsoft, [redacted] ADDING AND SUBTRACTING Three programs are included on this cassette to provide practice in addition and subtraction of numbers up to 20 for pre-school and primary children. To make the task more fun, the sums are presented in both picture and standard numerical form. These programs teach or test a child who is learning the basic concepts of addition and subtraction, by both completing computer-set sums and by setting their own questions. The first program displays a number of blocks at the bottom of the screen. An engine pulling two trucks enters and halts in the centre of the screen. Some blocks are loaded onto each truck, and when the player has correctly counted them and has pressed the relevant number, the written form of the sum is displayed. As soon as the correct solution to this sum has been typed in, the train chugs off the screen, leaving behind the written sum together and the remaining unused blocks. In the second of the programs, a boat laden with blocks appears, in a similar procedure, blocks are unloaded onto the quayside in order to illustrate a subtraction sum. The final program Ducks provides practice in both addition and subtraction. A group of ducks sit on the bank of the river. The player is required to count how many leave the bank to take a swim or, alternatively, how many return. Although this program is great fun for those already confident and competent in manipulating numbers, it is misleading to the uncertain. In each of the programs, the written sum does not correspond to the picture displayed, eg in the Ducks program the written sum may be 2 + 3 = 5 but the screen display shows two ducks in the water and 7 more ducks on the bank. Another point worth noting is that none of the programs include the concept of zero. The graphics are imaginative and attractive and fun to watch, but for any real benefit to be gained, parental help is a must. LETTERS AND NUMBERS Although this program does not profess to be educational, it is concerned with helping children, aged 2 years and over. In the skill of identifying numbers 1-9 and the alphabet letters. The purpose of the program is to identify correctly the letter or number randomly selected by the computer and to press the corresponding key. Each correctly identified letter (both upper and lower case are displayed) or number is rewarded by a picture which either shows an article with the same initial letter or with the relevant number of items. Some pictures are accompanied by an appropriate tune/sound, eg when the xylophone appears (for 'x') each key on it lights up as its note on the so-fa scale is heard. If a wrong key is pressed the letter remains until correctly identified. For parents who want to leave a child alone to complete the task, the player's success rate is recorded and displayed in the form of a percentage after each letter or number. In spite of the imaginative graphics, this program falls short of either teaching or reinforcing any educational skills. Presumably the program aims to assist children in the acquisition of the pre-reading skills of recognition and matching. But since the letters and numbers displayed do not resemble their keyboard equivalent, matching is almost impossible. QUICK THINKING The Daily Mirror has entered the software market with Mirrorsoft, and has done so with some style. Mirrorsoft's aim is said to be 'computing for the family', with the purpose of the two games on this tape. Sum Vaders and Robot Tables, being to teach addition, subtraction and multiplication by using simplified arcade-style games. The packaging is handsome, a large sturdy wallet including screen shots on front and back and comprehensive instructions both here and as options when the programs are loaded. Both games can be played by one or two people. They are designed so that even the youngest players can safely be left to cope alone by disabling the Break key and including only the simplest of error-trapped instructions to follow. The graphics might not satisfy the arcade addicts, but they're smoothly done and should appeal to their audience. Sum Vaders tests addition or subtraction and offers five skill levels; the easiest deals only with numbers up to 9, the hardest up to 99. A space ship slides across the top of the screen and a robot starts to descend. There is a number on both the ship and the robot. The player must add or subtract the two numbers and type the answer before the robot reaches the ground. Only one chance is permitted as a wrong answer jams the keys. Right answers score points, but if five robots manage to land then that's the end of the game and the total score is given. There is also a high score record. If you're proving to be good at the game the space ship flies lower and lower demanding quicker responses. Robot Tables is naturally enough a test of the multiplication tables. The five skill levels range from two times tables only through to 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 times tables at the hardest level. The setting is a robot factory, with the raw material for a robot appearing on a conveyor belt at the top left of the screen. Each piece of material has a number on it, and you must say if that number is the next one in sequence for the table being tested, which is shown on the side of one of the machines. Only two keys are needed for this game, 1 if you accept the number and SPACE if not. If you correctly spot the wrong numbers this raw material disappears in one of several ways, and if you're correct with the right numbers then a perfect robot pops out at the end of the sequence of conveyor belts, mincers and machines. You're aiming to get ten good robots in a row at the foot of the screen, but if you get a wrong answer then the robot produced is of distinctly inferior quality. The game sounds easy enough, but it is a good test of your knowledge of the multiplication tables. There isn't much time in which to enter your answer. This is an enjoyable package of two games, good value for money, and a welcome attempt to bring a little learning into the mass software market.