The M&E Educational Software Directory

ZX Computing

Mike Edmunds

SPECTRUM EDUCATION Mike Edmunds grades a couple of packages for those interested or involved with computers and education. Sitting in a tiny bedroom you look around and gaze with horror at the mess surrounding you. Pieces of paper with hastily written notes, formulae and jottings cover the carpet and overflow from the wastebasket! A cold sweat beads your brow as the enormity of the task facing you finally sinks in.....! No, it's not the setting for a new adventure, merely memories of schooldays with examinations looming! Did you, like many others, find the task of revision a daunting prospect? I certainly did and, on more than one occasion, remember rushing to the nearest branch of a certain high street bookseller to search the shelves for those little packets of revision cards! I doubt that the task of cramming for exams has become any less onerous but at least, in this age of the computer, you can test yourself with a whole range of programs which, to a certain degree, allow more flexibility than a textbook with the added benefit of less pieces of paper! Letts, the producers of those aforementioned little cards, have also branched out into the software scene and have now introduced a computerised version of their Keyfacts for students of O-Level, GCE, CSE and GCSE Chemistry. At £11.50 the suite of programs is not cheap, but you do get nine programs for your money. The programs have been designed to test your knowledge and to develop your deductive facility. The suite covers the following areas: Atomic structure and bonding, Periodic tables, Formulae, Chemical deductions, Electrolysis, Apparatus, Acids bases and salts and Organic Chemistry. The programs come on two tapes in a substantial wallet together with a pamphlet outlining the programs and a suggested list of further study aids (including little packs of cards!) The programs themselves are equally substantial in terms of what they actually contain, but my overall impression is that the package has a rather 'bitty' approach. This is not to denigrate the actual Chemistry content which seems to cover well the areas concerned, it is merely the way that the whole thing has been presented. The presentation, I suppose, is not that vital when you are only concerned with the facts and exercises, but it seems rather unfortunate, for example, to go to the lengths of a specially designed title screen only to have it disappear after a few seconds while the rest of the program loads to an empty screen, loading time is long enough as it is! SOFTWARE DIRECTORY Now to software of a different kind, that contained as entries in a Software Directory, from Macdonald and Evans Ltd. The directory is arranged according to subject areas and is designed to provide all types of educational establishment primary, secondary and beyond - with up-to-date and concise information on educational software currently available. The entries appear alphabetically by software title, and provide a guide to the age group where possible. Each entry indicates the machine which the software runs on and the form it takes. Prices are included though purchasers are advised to check details with the suppliers prior to purchase. The whole range of curriculum subjects is covered and the two largest sections, Mathematics and English, are divided into broad age groups. As well as subject software the directory also gives an extensive bibliography of educational computing references, together with lists of periodicals, computer organisations, computers for Education and a list of software suppliers whose software is included within the directory. The Directory is certainly comprehensive but, as with similar books covering other areas, it suffers in that it seeks to embrace too large an area. The age range, beginners to secondary and beyond, is just too large to be of use to specific users, say in a Primary School, who would look to other sources of information. The major drawback with something of this nature is that, like micros themselves, as soon as it is released it is out of date. There are notable omissions in certain subject areas, software that has been widely reviewed elsewhere, but, then again if they don't send details.... These omissions illustrate the speed with which such publications become dated. Many programs remain a mystery, there is little or nothing in the directory to indicate their educational nature. I know what Dart and Logo do but there are no details within the book for those who do not. Similarly, several of the organisations listed are not adequately described. This can hardly be called a fair review of such an extensive book, that would require much more space than is available here. I would suggest that if you have a need for a software reference book then this is the best that I have currently seen, though I personally am currently using some excellent programs that are not even mentioned here. The Directory is certainly very comprehensive and informative, (it is intended to update it at appropriate intervals) and overall this is a valiant effort to make the educational field aware of the range of software currently available, but for me it attempts too many areas for too many machines all at once! That's all for now, next issue I'll be looking at some adventures especially for children. The M & E Educational Software Directory J. Arthur & T. Russell Macdonald and Evans Ltd [redacted] (covers most micros) £12.50.