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 ENTERTAINING EDUCATION: Andrea Jacobs, 8, spends some potentially valuable time with a computer. While certain computer programs are often useful in education, it is important for parents and teachers to be critical in assessing the learning value of software packages which are marketed as educational programs Picture: JON HRUSA
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Learning to have some serious fun
KIM LOCKE looks at entertainment doubling up as educationJUMPSTART ADVENTURESRequirements: 486 DX 33 MHz PC or higher 8 MB RAM SVGA 256-colour graphics adapter Mouse Double-speed CD-ROM drive 9 MB hard disk space MPC-compatible sound card Windows 3.1 or 3.11 or Windows 95 Price: R249
A NUMBER of vendors directed me to the JumpStart series when I asked for their best-selling educational program. Yet I was dubious as I glanced at the overview on one of the boxes. Somehow the presentation of the JumpStart programs didn't conform to my idea of education. But a book should not be judged by its cover, and a computer program should not be rejected due to its packaging. I put aside my misgivings and loaded one of the full-grade programs to take a look. The JumpStart learning system begins with a program for children from as young as 18 months and follows with programs for the preschool years. From here JumpStart has produced a program for each grade, up to grade five, which incorporates work from all the major subjects in that grade. The series is completed by subject-specific programs aimed mostly at younger children. As there is an abundance of educational packages for preschool children, I chose to focus initially on the higher-grade programs, where there is little other material available. JumpStart's second-through-fifth-grade programs are presented as mystery adventure games in which you are called upon to solve numerous challenges using reading, spelling, maths and other skills drawn from the curriculum of the relevant grade. The graphics and music are entertaining and the challenges many and varied. Help is easy to obtain and explanations of each activity clearly given. One can choose to play a full adventure or select only the favourite activities. Levels of difficulty can be adjusted manually or automatically. I suspect most children between the ages of about seven and 11 would thoroughly enjoy the JumpStart adventure programs. They move fast, which means guesswork and luck often take the place of logical thought, and the knowledge required falls well short of the requirement in each grade.
The JumpStart full-grade programs will meet the needs of some, but not all, users. One usually buys an educational package with a specific intention, perhaps to improve an area of work, to motivate a student or even to entertain. The JumpStart adventures are certainly entertaining, which probably explains why they are bestsellers. Their educational content, though, is dubious. An example from the fourth-grade adventure illustrates my point. A spelling game requires one to manipulate a spider around a web in which are caught many strange bugs, each shaped like a letter of the alphabet. A word is sounded and the user must move the spider to eat the letters in the right order to spell the word. On the surface this sounds like an excellent way of learning to spell. However, the words given are easy to spell. The skill comes in spotting the next correct letter among the many bugs in the web, and directing the spider - who tends to rush at his food - around all the superfluous bugs to get to the correct one. It is an exercise in dexterity rather than spelling. I feel the adventures are as educational as something like Trivial Pursuit. Both draw on one's knowledge and give information, yet the relevance of the information is sometimes questionable. JumpStart adventures are constructive and fun, and I would far rather have my child play one of these than many other non-educational games. However, I would not expect any serious learning to arise.
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