1. The title of this software is Mario Teaches Typing.

The URL is http://www.gamesdomain.com/tigger/mac/mariotype.html

This software is downloadable, and the requirments are simply a colour or black and white Macintosh computer. It takes 2.2 megabytes of space. No peripherals are required.

2. This is a demonstration version, and no details regarding the price of the full programme were available. However it must be said that the educational worth is definitely evident. I feel it would be a valuable resource to have in schools because at primary and high school, college and university, teachers are increasingly asking for assignments to be word processed, thus in fitting in with my cell, grade 3/4 is an ideal time to begin typing practice. Children need to develop typing skills to equip them for the future, and what better way to do it with this famous character - Mario.

This software programme was easy to use, thanks to adequate instructions and guidelines. The title screen, which is very catchy and appealing to children (lost of colour) has Mario saying "welcome to Mario teaches typing". This page has the levels of difficulty displayed on the side, again in appealing pictures. All that is required is a mouse click to play the desired level. (The demonstration version being evaluated only allowed level one to be played).

3. The main accompanying documentation is found under help in the Mario menu.

This documentation links operating instructions and a help system in the one document. No student sheets are used, as for this programs purpose they are not necessary.

One particular area of help to begging typers is the picture of the keyboard, with all the keys colour coded. Underneath this, a picture of both left and right hands is found, with fingers colour coded in conjunction with the keys. This is a very valuable touch, as it means the teacher wont always have to leave what they are doing to come to tell a child which finger strikes which key. If the teacher explains to the children how to use this diagram, the children should be able to work out finger positions independently.

The framework nature of the programme can be changed in several different ways to cater for individual needs.

The first and most obvious of these are the five different levels, ranging from beginner (only using pointer and little fingers) to expert.

As well as different difficulty settings, each level has the capability to extend or decrease the words per minute typed in order to get through it. This allows slightly slower students to extend the words per minute requirement and gradually increase it as they become more competent. This capability decreases the likelihood of frustration for students who continually fail to finish a level before it cuts out on them. It will also encourage children not to rush as much, thus causing inaccuracies. This capability allows children to set goals for improvement.

The music, speech and sound effects can be turned on or off, thus allowing students in the class not using it not to be distracted by Mario's voice or the cool music. As another option, headphones can be used.

4. The operation of this programme is rather straight forward. After clicking on the desired level, that level will come up. Mario stands in the left hand corner facing right. Turtles (along the ground) and boxes (in the air) with letters on them come at him and aim to hamper his progress by pushing him back, thus aiming to make him take a longer time to get to the end of the level. The typer actually controls Mario's running. The faster you type, the faster he runs, because when you type the letter on the turtle or the box as it comes toward you, it disappears, giving Mario a clear run until the next one comes along. At the end of the level, a report card comes up, giving the following information:

-The amount of words typed per minute

-The amount of incorrect keys struck

-The time is took to complete

-The percentage of correctly struck keys

These can be recorded and used as a basis for future improvement.

5. To observe this piece of software being used by someone in the target age group (gr. 3/4) I came out to uni with my friends cousin Nicola, who is just about to finish grade three.

Nicola's previous typing experience was not substantial (almost non-existent), so I had no idea how she would go with this programme. We started and it went well, as the only keys pressed at the begging were F and G. This was okay, but before long, H and J were introduced as well. The problem here was one that I anticipated might happen. Nicola could see that the faster you typed, the quicker Mario would move. Thus in an attempt to get Mario moving quickly, she started rushing, leading to much inaccuracy. She was thus disappointed at the report card which listed a high number of incorrectly struck keys and therefore a low percentage of correctly struck keys. This could be a problem in a class, as some people will just press keys with little regard to accuracy. If this is a problem, the times allowed for each level can be extended.

When we extended the time allowed, Nicola still tried to type fast, although a little better than the first time. This is why the report card at the end is a great idea. Nicola could see some progress (even though she was a beginner) and was pleased. This is why the report card is good, and it can be used by the teacher as an ongoing assessment tool.

One very important thing that this programme does not teach is the correct posture and hand positions used when typing. It is up to the teacher to make this explicit to the class, as non adherence to these things can lead to injury.