Re: Educational games that teach about computers

[archmage@cs.mcgill.ca (Patrick Marcoux)]

I posted an article a while ago looking for educational games
for apple IIgs that actually taught about computers.  I received
a few very good suggestions, and I want to thank those who wrote
in.

Some of you expressed interest in seeing the list of what I got.
Some of these software are going to be hard to find, as they are
either public domain, out of print, or of unknown source.  Again
I appeal to you, if you know where to get 'em, do tell.

Title			Publisher		Category

6502 SIMULATOR		public domain		CPU simulator
Rocky's Boots		Learning Company	Circuit logic	*
Robot Odyssey		Learning Company	Circuit logic	*
High Wire Logic		Sunburst		Boolean logic
Algernon		Sunburst		"Programming"
Willy Byte		?			?		*
The Friendly Computer	MECC			Kbd & peripheral
Apple presents Apple	Apple			Intro disk
Tour of the GS		Apple			Intro disk
Know your Apple		Muse			?		*

? Unknown
* Out of print

(P.S. I'm already using Friendly Computers, as well as a lot
 of the MECC series, & the intro disks.)

Unfortunately, it would seem that not many software
manufacturers thought about this kind of educational product,
or that kids should learn anything about the types of tools
they can expect to use later on in life.  

Seems that a lot of us are using 'business' software for 
this sort of school activities.  But then, teaching is about making due with what little we've got, isn't it?  (That's what our school board keeps telling us ;-)

Here's a few of those:
Title		Category			

Print Shop	Graphic Design & Layout		
HyperStudio	Graphical User Interfaces
Appleworks	Spreadsheet/Database
PEPSI		BBS (used in local mode)
Magic Slate II	Text editor with dictionary
+ School Speller

I haven't tried the HyperStudio environment.  Is there
a user friendly interface that might help kids produce simple
but nifty looking programs?  (Like, for instance, the NeXT Step
environment?)

And where can I find PEPSI or some such BBS?  That sounds like
a cool idea.


Thanks all,

	Patrick (archmage@cs.mcgill.ca)
-- 
===============================================================================
	Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least
	one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that
	every program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work.