Software Evaluation for Level 0 (K-P), Publishing.

Part 1

Title: Berts Whales and Dolphins

Author: Theron Wierega, P.O. Box 595, Muskegon, MI, 49443

Publisher: Magicon Multimedia Corp., 52A 650 South Terminal Ave, Namaimo, British Colombia, U9R 5E2 Canada.

URL: ftp://ftp.tas.gov.au/pub/simtelnet/msddos/educate/bertw46zip

System Requirements: IBM compatible computer with at least 512K memory, a VGA display and a microsoft compatible mouse. A Soundblaster card is optional. If children are to print their work, a colour printer would be desirable. May be insalled from a disk, aaccording to instructions or from the internet, using WinZip files.

Part 2

The registration fee is $32 American. Given that the software does not wear out and should remain undated for some time, Bert's Whales and Dolphins provides good value as a tool for K-P learning activities. Also, additional colouring programmes of a similar nature, such as Bert's African Animals and Bert's Prehistoric Animals are available for only $5 American when registering Bert's Whales and Dolphins.

The programme is relatively simple to install using Winzip, and operation is straightforward, using a set of button icons down the left side of the screen.

Part 3

The accompanying User Guide has an introduction, and installation and operating instructions. There is little need for a help system, as the programme is so simple to use. There is no opportunity to change the content. If the framework allowed for this, the programme would be more difficult to use, but if it was possible to add and take away your own whale shapes, you could include only the whales that your class became familiar with at the 'Giants of the Deep' exhibition, for example. This could make the software more relevant to your specific use.

Part 4

The programme is ideal for introducing young children to computers. It can be operated using just the mouse to construct and colour pictures. Saving and printing pictures requires a child to have some keyboard knowledge for naming the picture. These operations require a minimum of adult assistance. There is also the option to write stories to accompany the pictures, dictated to an adult in the case of K-P children . The programme starts with one simple title screen which automatically changes to the drawing screen. The drawing screen has a row of eight buttons down the side and by clicking on these the user can choose a background and then inhabit it with a choice of moveable whale and dolphin shapes, in four different sizes. There is a range of 48 colours to fill in the picture, and also erasing and free line drawing tools.

Children with computer familiarity may need little help in using the programme to create pictures, and those with no experience will probably need to be shown only once or twice before they can confidently produce pictures which display far greater originality and accuracy than is possible using a colouring-in book and pencils.

Part 5

I watched a 6 year old child demonstrate Bert's Whales and Dolphins. Admittedly he had already used the programme, but he suprised me with his accuracy when choosing which buttons he needed to move through the drawing steps. He generously allowed me to choose some of the colours for his picture - I think he realised he had far more confidence than I did with the programme. He needed help only to remember which name was the one to use to show me one of his favorite pictures saved from an earlier session. He also displayed great skill in pretending he didn't know various letters, in order to prolong his time on the computer!