There is a masonry classroom

Even your first-grader will certainly be able to tell you that Wordbuilder is not a place where bets are collected, and in the same breath, he will also explain to you that this is the boring preparation with which they learn to write in school. But if you have such arguments in hand as I have these days, your first-grader will also admit that Wordbuilder is a really fun thing to do.

If you have a toddler who wants to play with the computer for hours, then you’re probably also interested in how to use a child’s entertainment for something better than playing cards or killing Martians. The solution, of course, is offered in the palm of your hand: an educational program. Foreign markets are quite familiar with this type of program, and many of them also enter our markets through our representatives. Unfortunately, foreign markets have often never heard of Slovene, let alone be able to speak or write Slovene.

Fortunately, things are moving for the better in our market as well. These days, there is a program on my desk called Wordbuilder, which is intended for the youngest, as it takes them into the world of learning, called reading and writing. The program is in a nicely packaged cover, which is slightly smaller than the former telephone directories, but by no means as heavy. The package includes a CD and a small booklet with instructions for installing and using the program. Installation will definitely require parental intervention, as our toddler will learn to read after the program is installed. The program is also very user-friendly. Installing the program is relatively simple. The only remark I have is that when I inserted the CD into my Windows 95 computer, it didn’t start automatically, but only the folder with the contents of the CD opened (which can be even a little annoying). When installing, a friendly dialog will only pick you up from the folder where to save the data and whether to install a screen saver. I have to admit that I have already seen quite a few less successful attempts on this topic, so I did not make any special illusions with this program either. I decided to put the program to the test for my four-year-old son first, as the box says nicely that the program is for children from the age of four to nine. Wrong! As a punishment, I was left without my computer until the evening, and not even my warnings to turn off the electricity helped. After launching, Wordbuilder first greets us with a song, and then shows us five pictures that hide all the possibilities of the program.

Each of the thumbnails has a button that is a different color than the others. At first I thought it was just because of the color combinations, but then I found that the program also suggests options by voice and refers to the color of the button. Really appropriate. The speeches, of course, are not limited to getting to know the buttons, but the program uses them for everything that is displayed in text. As I have already mentioned, the program is divided into five parts, between which the child can pass at will. Probably the easiest task, especially suitable for children who are new to the alphabet, is wordbuilder. Wordbuilder illustrates individual letters to the child with the object to which the initial sound belongs (eg A-Auto) and the name of the object, it does this loudly and clearly. Of course, on request, it also makes an effort and repeats both the text and the letter. The task with the voices is already a bit more difficult. The letter and some objects appear on the screen. The child must choose from the offered objects those that start with a given letter. Here, too, the child can ask the letter what it’s called. In the third task, the child looks for the right connection between the pictures. He finds his way by connecting a word that ends with a voice with one that begins with the same voice (say AvtO-OseM-MucA).

I have to admit that I found this task the most difficult. In Words, the child competes in composing individual words according to the picture drawn above the empty spaces. Each such space can contain one letter and if we ask it carefully, it also tells us which letter it expects. Stories, however, are already the first step towards sentence formation. At the same time, the child gets used to careful observation and understanding of the sentences, which he forms by choosing the right one from the pictures on the screen and placing it in the right box so that the sentence is perfect. Because the thumbnails are of different sizes, and because the computer is also ready to tell the written part of the sentence if asked, this task is not as difficult as it initially seems. The program is designed in such a way that it always leaves the initiative and choice of the task to the child while helping him as much as possible. In this way, the child can solve the tasks that he may not be able to cope with yet, and at the same time receive certain knowledge. So if you have a toddler who is learning to read, I highly recommend this program to you, especially since the price is not particularly high. At the same time, I ask you to be close to the toddler, even though the program is intended for the child’s independent work. The best teachers are still mom and dad, even though the computer helps them with that.

Media: CD-ROM Requirements: PC 386DX at 40mhz, 4 MB of memory, CD-ROM drive with double speed, VGA screen with the resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. Publisher: Mladinska knjiga publishing house, Slovenska 29, Ljubljana, tel. 061/126-13-00 Made by: i-Rose d.o.o. Laško