1. Identification of Software

The software is a CD-ROM titled, 'Dr. Health'nstein's Body Fun. '

It is published by Soft Key. The address is: Soft Key International Ltd, Heritage House, 21 Inner Park Rd, Wimbledon Common, SW19 6ED, England.

The CD is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows. The system requirements forWindows are: Multimedia PC (386SX or higher). 4MB RAM (8MB RAM reccommended). CD-ROM drive. Audio board. Mouse. A video card with 640 * 480 and 256 colours. MS DoS 5.0 or higher. Windows 3.1 or higher.Stereo headphones or speaker. Minimum 1.5 MB free hard disc space.

The system requirements for macintosh are: Macintosh LC computer or later model with at least 2.5MB RAM. System software 6.0.7 or later. A Macintosh compatible CD-ROM player. 13" or larger colour monitor.

The software can be found at Apple services in Charles Street Launceston.



2. Value Judgement

The CD-ROM is aimed at children from the age of 8 onwards. The language is suited to children of this age. Operating the software is straight forward with instructions and simple, straight to the point help instructions. The graphics are excellent and likely to excite children's interests.

The CD-ROM is actually an educational game The main concern is exercise and nutrition, mainly fibre, calories and fat. Thus children can learn constructively as through this educational game they construct their own knowledge as opposed to being told. Because it is a game it takes the tedium out of learning. Children will want to learn with this CD-ROM and as a result they will be more knowledgeable about nutrition and exercise and can thus monitor their own health.

The CD-ROM is simple to load. First of all make sure any screen saver programs are disabled, then insert the CD, drag quick time and Sund Manager onto the hard drive if not already there and double click on the Dr. Health'nstein's Body Fun icon. There is no need to reboot the computer.

The cost of the software is $20.00 (Australian). The average price for software is $100.00 and thus this CD is very cheap. It is both Macintosh and Windows compatible so it can be used with a variety of computers. It is definitely worth the price for the educational value.



3. Documentation/Framework Nature.

The operating instructions can be found in the cover leaflet of the CD. The CD is fairly simple to use and the instructions are simple, straight forward and easy to follow. There is a comprehensive help system on the CD-ROM. There is the option, after reading the help to click on a 'more help' button for further help. The help is relevant to the particular area one is stuck in which keeps the text to a limit and makes use simple and fast.

There is a 'Food Guide Pyramid' on th CD leaflet which shows the daily nutritional needs for people. It shows how many serves of each food group is needed per day.

The level of interaction is high as the CD is one big educational game with smaller games incorporated. The content/format cannot be altered but the games involve the students typing and using the mouse.



4. The game begins with the user typing in the name , colour and sex of their person. They then begin a jouney through life, for which there are four phases: elementary school years, young adulthood, middle adulthood and retirement. The aim is to keep your person fit and healthy throughout their lifetime. There is a blue marker in the shape of a person. You click on this and it moves to different areas on the map.

There are places where the person must eat. Here you drag the food items onto the plate. When the cursor is passed over them the name of the food appears. There is a button on the bottom left hand corner of the screen which allows the player to go to the "Underground world of secrets".

In this section the user can play a number of games involving nutrition and exercise. Some of these are typing games. For example a food appears on the screen and the student must type in the name of the food and the nutritional value of the food comes up on the screen. There is a box in the top left-hand corner of the screen called a 'health rating' which is really the player's score. When you click on this the 'Bodyputer 2000 ' appears. This lets the user know what their person needs in their diet. A tree on the map signifies a sports area where the user must plan an exercise program for their person. This is done by typing in the name of the sport and how much will be done each week. For example, basketball, one and a half hours per week. At the end of the first journey (elementary school years) the person must overcome a challenge to enter the next level. To win the challenge the player must have a certain amount of points, otherwise the person is too 'unhealthy' to win and thus cannot enter the next level.



5. A young cousin of the age of 9 was delighted to try out the software. She has had limited use of computers at her school so she needed a little help with using the software. It was surprisingly quick how fast she learnt to use the software and in no time she was going to the "underground world of secrets" and the help page. She really enjoyed the game which had been expected. When quizzed afterwards it was found she had learned a lot, however she had to spend a longer time than I had expected on the software to learn what she did.

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