Jack and the Pirates

ZX Computing

By the time you read this the new government scheme to provide additional educational software support for schools should be well under way. This scheme will make new programs or the equivalent money available to schools, the differing procedures dependent upon the individual Education Authorities. If you are the teacher responsible for purchasing new software then unfortunately the age old problem of suitability still exists. If you are lucky enough to have access to a Teachers' Centre with a software library for reference then the problem is not so bad. Often however, word of mouth recommendation or impartial reviews are the only means by which it is possible to be sure of obtaining the right program for your needs. CLASSROOM ADVENTURES I personally must admit a particular preference for adventures within the classroom. It is possible, with a certain amount of guidance from the teacher, or even parent if these are used at home, to extend an adventure program into the basis for a whole curriculum topic. Jack in Magicland has been available for some time now and is the first in a trilogy of adventures for children aged 6-12. All have been written by a Primary School teacher and compiled with The Quill, the adventure writing aid by Gilsoft. On first impressions there is nothing spectacular to make you leap with anticipation, no loading screen and only a block graphic title page. However, the delights await within. The first adventure is based upon the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and is text only. I tried this with several groups of 9-10 year olds and they found no difficulty with the readability of the text although it would probably be rather heavy going for the average 6 year old. The story begins with the pupil taking the part of a very lazy Jack, reluctantly entrusted to go and sell the last remaining item of value, the family cow. Once accomplished the adventurer proper begins. As with all adventures each location is described for the player and a response is then expected. What makes this adventure so real are the very atmospheric descriptions. The children loved them and were in no way disappointed by the lack of graphics. Indeed this is a plus point in that they can go away and recreate their own impressions of the locations and the characters which they meet. Despite the fact that there are no pictures the interest is maintained by the text and by careful use of colour in paper and ink which go someway to adding to the scene description. Keyboard entries are simple, using NORTH, SOUTH, or the standard verb/noun statements such as GET SWORD, GIVE BOTTLE, or abbreviations. Some text is lit up to provide clues for the next action. At some points these represent the only course of action so it is wise to take heed of them! The children I tried this with worked in groups and took great care in decision making, especially after their first attempt resulted in being sent to bed by Jack's mother for being foolish! It was encouraging to see the amount of discussion that took place, even from children who normally took little part in class activities. As the adventure proceeded it became harder and harder to get them away from it, they were delighted at every new location and puzzle! Working through the adventure the children discovered many locations and puzzling situations. This gave plenty of opportunity for them to decide the necessary form of commands to give the computer. The brief duplicated Teachers' Notes suggest that the program will encourage reading and spelling techniques and this undoubtedly is the case, if only for the fact that the computer will not accept incorrect spellings! Watching the children play this adventure it was possible to see many ideas which can be extended into other areas of the timetable and overall I felt that the program has a great deal of potential. Language work is just one area in which the possibilities are almost endless. On the minus side are a few minor points. Lots of text to read on a single screen, and a few idiosyncrasies have crept into the storyline (in the giant's treasure room it is impossible to lift a reel of thread but you can carry a chest of treasure). Care needs to be taken too when using the REDESCRIBE option, this can occasionally put you back in a situation from which there is no way out! For those who require graphics, Turtle will provide a photocopied booklet of delightfully amusing illustrations and a map. The notes supplied provide all the answers for teachers without the time to go fully through it together with a few related ideas for further work. I feel that this is one area of the package that could have been more substantial for those who do not have the ideas flowing from their fingertips, but on the whole this, in my opinion, a worthwhile and value-for money program. And the verdict of the children? 'Great!' PIRATES! The third of the adventure trilogy. Jack and the Pirates moves away from a fairy story setting and puts Jack in the days of pirates and Long John Silver. For me this does not have the same initial appeal or the amusing descriptions, but the further the children got into the storyline the more possibilities became apparent. The problems are more complex here and a map soon becomes essential. This is a worthwhile exercise in each of the adventures and again, can lead to a lot of follow-up work. As well as looking out for themselves in this adventure it is also necessary for the players to take care of a certain character encountered at the start, he can help you out if you don't lose him. As a basis for project work these adventures have been well structured and offer considerable potential. They do not contain a wealth of related suggestions and this might be an area for improvement in the future but, with a little thought and time they could be very valuable additions to your Spectrum educational library.