IDENTIFICATION OF SOFTWARE:

Title: Mario Teaches Typing 2

Publisher: Brainstorm

Type of software: CD-Rom

Age Group: 6 years and up

 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

 Operating System Windows 3.1 or Win 95
 CPU Type & Speed Minimum 486 or faster
 HDD Minimum 2 MB 
 Memory (RAM) Minimum 8 MB
 Graphics VGA Monitor
 CD-Rom  
 Audio Sound Card
 Other peripherals Mouse

VALUE JUDGMENT:

The price of the software retails at $49-95 (Australian). The price definitely justifies the educational value. Children learn how to type and access the different keys on the keyboard whilst having alot of fun. The program will be very appealing to children as Mario's character in various other computer games has proven to be extremely popular and is known to millions of children throughout the world. As the program is on a compact disk, once children have mastered the technique of loading programs from CD-Roms, this program can be used as a teaching tool both in the classroom or at home, which will be very accessible to children. The only negative aspect to the program is that the combination of Mario's action games and the timed typing drills can sometimes be quite distracting, as it is easy to get involved in the game and forget about what you are actually meant to be doing.

Mario Teaching Typing 2 installs without any difficulty, by inserting the CD-Rom into the CD-Rom drive. Opening the CD-Rom through My Computer then makes accessing the program very easy.

Children that have been exposed to Mario's computer games will find that Mario Teaches Typing 2 is a friendly and familiar environment in which to learn basic typing skills, as well as having a lot of fun.

 

DOCUMENTATION:

The CD-Rom comes with a booklet which offers a complete guide to installing and running the program. It states the purpose of the program and clear instructions on how to operate the program.

The framework nature of the program is quite flexible. The program allows adults (either parents or teachers) to change any of the typing drills to the way they would like it presented to the child that is using it or going to use the program. This can be done a number of ways through editing the letter, word or text files.

 

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION OF SOFTWARE:

Mario Teaches Typing 2, uses the characters that millions of children have been exposed to through Mario's various other computer games. In Mario Teaches Typing 2 the characters, Mario, Luigi and the Princess, help to guide the children through a series of keyboard drills.

Children have the option of starting with a test (this is to test the child's speed and accuracy), a step-by-step sequence of lessons, or the child can just select a level that they feel they are most competent to complete.

A child that starts at the beginning has to progress through different levels of difficulty. Each level requires the child to play a different game with Mario. The degrees of difficulty incorporate single letters, whole words and then moves onto complete sentences and paragraphs. The program provides feedback to the child via audio means through an animated Mario. An example of this is "Oh-oh, we slipped a little bit. Let's get back in there and try real hard!". A table of the childs results is also produced, indicating the child's speed in words per minute, the child's accuracy and also shows which letters might have been causing a problem. There are also a number of help screens that can be accessed if the user is experiencing any difficulties, whilst using the program.

OBSERVATION OF TARGET STUDENT GROUP:

The program certainly lived up to my expectations. The person I observed was a keen enthusiast when it came to anything that involved playing games with Mario. The student didn't experience any problems in loading the program and getting it to run. I was surprised at the speed that he was able work at, to get to the point of actually starting to use the typing drill sessions. It would have taken me a lot longer as I would have had to familiarize myself with the content as I went along. The student was experienced to some degree at using the keyboard, so after doing the test part of the program, he immediately moved on to the higher levels of difficulty of the typing drills. My reservations materialized in the fact that as I indicated in my value judgment he became more involved in the game then actually learning how to type. I can see how this can happen because as the observer, I to began to get involved in trying to play the game. He did not have any need to use the help screens and I actually asked him to call a couple of them up as I was not as sure as he was, of what was meant to be done next. It is definitely a solid typing program, and with a lot of exposure to it, children will be able to become capable typists.

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