t-jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) (08/15/89)
In article <89219.124243UH2@PSUVM> UH2@PSUVM.BITNET (Lee Sailer) writes: >I fooled with Designasaurus for a half hour or so. It seems fairly >well done. You can assemble a dino from spare parts and print it out... > Designasaurus seemed really dumb *to me*. But I bet that > little kids would like it. Your concerns are correct. Designasaurus is a piece of crap, IMHO. Take it from me, I was contracted to write the spec for the port from the IIgs. I've taught kids for four years and I have a kid brother, so I think I'm qualified to say that Designasaurus is a waste of money, a marketing sham designed to cash in on a fad. >The "game" involves leading a dino through 5 eras, eating appropriate food, >avoiding being eaten, and trying not to starve. It is a very simple minded >simulation. Ther "eras" are more or less populated with appropriate >plants and terrain, and the educational part is that the kids learn what >plants and terrain go together, I guess. Very funny- I take it that was meant to be humorous. Kids learn what plants and terrain go together. They learn that when they look out the window. This product has zero educational value and a interest lifespan of about ten minutes, which is only a little longer than it takes to boot on the IIgs version. If you want specific complaints, I'll tell you, but for now I won't bore you. CONSTRUCTIVE PART: The best educational programs for real young kids are arcade games and real simple hypercard-like programs that play music, show pictures, etc., or allow you to doodle. Teach some eye-hand coordination, show that computers can be fun, teach cause and effect. The software should be engaging, interactive. Adults often underestimate kids' ability. Heck, I was using UNIX at age 8, and my kid brother beat my all time score high score on an arcade game at age two and a half. I saw a posting in comp.sys.mac recently that claimed that MacWrite and MacPaint are the two greatest educational programs for the Mac. This guy's kid is nine and writes little stories with illustrations. I think he knows where it's at, and a lot of unsuspecting parents are getting gyped buying so-called educational software. This is an old interest of mine- See January 1984 Softalk for my letter debunking Fraction Fever from Spinnaker. Discusses actual kid who thought it was a piece of junk... Disclaimer: I have no gripes with Brittanica, they paid me. And of course this has nothing to do with Microsoft, my current employer. Jonathan Dubman
atheybey@lcs.mit.edu (Andrew Heybey) (08/16/89)
In article <7366@microsoft.UUCP> t-jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) writes:
I saw a posting in comp.sys.mac recently that claimed that MacWrite and
MacPaint are the two greatest educational programs for the Mac. This
guy's kid is nine and writes little stories with illustrations. I think
he knows where it's at, and a lot of unsuspecting parents are getting gyped
buying so-called educational software.
Disclaimer: I have no gripes with Brittanica, they paid me.
And of course this has nothing to do with Microsoft, my current
employer.
I'll second that. My seven year old cousin uses Prowrite to write
stories. He changes fonts, centers the titles, and edits away. From
a snotty adult point of view, the plots leave a little bit to be
desired, but I was impressed.
andrew
--
Andrew Heybey, atheybey@ptt.lcs.mit.edu, uunet!ptt.lcs.mit.edu!atheybeytony@hp-sdd.hp.com (Tony Parkhurst) (08/17/89)
In article <7366@microsoft.UUCP> t-jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) writes: >Heck, >I was using UNIX at age 8, and my kid brother beat my all time score high Heck, does this make anyone but me else feel old? I only wish unix were around when I was 8. -- Tony -- Tony Parkhurst ( tony@hp-sdd.HP.COM ) "Is this Hell? Or is this Texas?" "Both" -- Heinlein, _J_O_B: _A _C_o_m_e_d_y _o_f _J_u_s_t_i_c_e
johnhlee@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Vince Lee) (08/17/89)
In article <ATHEYBEY.89Aug16100743@allspice.lcs.mit.edu> atheybey@lcs.mit.edu (Andrew Heybey) writes: >In article <7366@microsoft.UUCP> t-jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) writes: >I'll second that. My seven year old cousin uses Prowrite to write >stories. He changes fonts, centers the titles, and edits away. From >a snotty adult point of view, the plots leave a little bit to be >desired, but I was impressed. > >andrew I'll have to third that. My little brother wouldn't touch an "educational" program. He turned 10 last week, and his favorite programs are a Pascal compiler and Macro Assembler. Funny thing, though.. he taught himself. None of the rest of us here know assembly language. :) Bottom line: Most educational stuff is either the useless quiz-and-drill type or dazzle-and-bore type. The only good packages are for very young kids, and even these are often quickly outgrown. Caveat Emptor. -Vince