TheAppleIIGSBuyersGuideFall1988

A Redgate Publication Fall 1988, 9395 U.S. Fall Learning Issue: Toddlers At The Keyboard Priming For College With The Apple miGs Communications Update S j . Px) ss . Desktop Publishing: a What's Hot And Why 83 074470! 1943601 Break into Apple Corporate Headquarters. - Before you get overly excited, were not giving you direct access to our CRAY mainframe. But if you have an Apple'll personal computer" anda modem, we do have a wonderful new informa- tion and communications tool for you. Its called AppleLink-Personal Edition. And it lets you tap into a wide array of information sources pro- vided by Apple Computer. And a whole lot more. You can check out the latest products from Apple. Download hundreds of public domain software pro- grams from business applications to educational games, Try out ‘demoware” programs so you can test run software before you pay for the actual programs. You can attend on-line Forums with software wizards, hardware gurus and other prominent person- alities from the Apple community You'll be able to take classes at Apple University where you'll learn how to master the intricacies and the short-cuts of Apple software programs. You'll have access to special Apple reference libraries where you'll find technical and product information, software re- views and Apple user group news. In addition to being able to commander all this information directly from your keyboard, you'll also “Th be very specific, you need an Apple Ie, Apple IIGS or Apple le enhanced with 128K of ROM, an 80 column card and a Super Serial card. "*General Services is provided to you by Quantum Computer be able to tap into a much richer source of what's new __ the same things you do. Whatever they may be. and now: Apple users just like yourself from all over AppleLink is so easy to use, you can get on-line the country You can chat live on-line with other users, with a few clicks of a mouse or a couple of touches to share tips, get insights into program quirks, find out the old cursor buttons. It’s really that easy. about how other people have solved the problems Just pick up the phone and call 800-538-9696 ae facing now. And soon, you'll be joined on-line —_ext.450 for the name of the authorized Apple dealer y thousands of Macintosh personal computer users. nearest you. Then get ready to modem. Which will be even more fun and informative. Were waiting for you with open arms. And that’ just one side of the story. The other side of the story is something called General Services where you can watch Wall Street, =. check out the news or join a group of people who love The power to be your best: Services, inc. Just so you know: ©1988 Apple Computer Inc. Apple, the Apple logo and AppleL ink are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. CRAY is a trademark of Cray Research Incorporated. ———s CONTENTS Editor's Window.. IGS Address... The editors of The Apple IIGS Buye: and Contributing Editor Philip Chien answer letters and questions from readers. Features AppleFest, Take Two This was the year that Boston hosted the biggest Apple II show ever. s Guide My IIGS And Me: A Look At The IGS In The Formative Years .. It's never too early to introduce your child to 4 computer. Here's what it takes for them to become the best of friends. Priming For College With The Apple IIGS. 22 Helping hints for students and parents alike to get maximum learning potential from the Apple IIGS — using the software they already own. The Computerized Printing Press: A First Look At The New Desktop Publishing Packages In recent weeks, several pray publishing packages rivaling the best in the Macintosh and IBM worlds have appeared for the Apple IIGS. Which ones make sense for you? GS, Phone Home... 23 Sound advice to help all Apple IGS owners overcome the failure to communicate. Product Reviews System Saver... CMS Hard Disk Drive . ComputerEy es IIGS. The Classic Il..... CDA Power .. The GEOS Operating Environment. Pyware Music Writer.. The Public Domain Exchange... Apple Ics HGS desktop publishing now rivals the Macintosh — see page 30. Apple IGS Hardware And Software Directory Accessories... 54 Switch boxes, cleaning kits, du: mouse containers and moré Animation .. Animation software, presentation graphics, video players and more AppleWorks 57 Compatible programs for AppleWorks Books And Publications .............57 Literature of interest to Apple IG: users Business And Productivity..........58 Integrated software, accounting ‘packages, vertical-market software, personal finance packages and more Creative... ...60 Paint, draw and more Desk Accessories .. 61 Pop-up accessory software for home and business Desktop Communications .........62 Telecommunications programs for file transfers and more Desktop Publishing. Combined graphics and text software. for personal publishing projects 62 Education Reading, writing, arithmetic and ‘more Entertainment. Basketball, simulations more adventures and Hardware And Peripherals........72 Extended memory boards, hard disk drive graphics products, synthetic speech acces- sories, modems and more Music ; Training, writing and MIDI software for MUSIC Networking wld, Software and iio for connecting to AppleTalk networks Online Databases. 76 Information utilities available online Pro} ing And Utilities........76 File recovery software, programming languages and programmer utilities Word Processing Graphics- and text-based word proces programs Indexes Advertisers' Index Directory Product Index... Directory Company Index. Entire contents copyright 1988 by Redgate Communications Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electron- ic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Apple lIGS Buyer's Guide is an independent journal; not affliated in any way with Apple Computer, Inc., but Apple Computer, nc. has granted Redgate Communications Corporation the right to use the title, The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Apple lle, Apple lic and Apple IIGS are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., used by permission. Redgate Communications Corporation is not responsible for the accuracy of product listings and descriptions. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be representative of the views held by Redgate Communications Corporation. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials wil be returned only i accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited materials. Printed in the U.S. Application to mail at Second Class rates is pending at Vero Beach, FL. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Apple /IGS Buyer's Guide, 660 Beachland Blvd. Vero Beach, FL 32963. The Apple lIGS Buyer's Guide is published quarterly by Redgate Communications Corporation at 660 Beachland Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL 32963, 407-231-6804. Subscription rates: $8.95 per year; Canada $14.95; foreign $29.95. All orders are payable only in U.S. funds. Redgate ‘Communications Corporation also publishes The Macintosh Buyer's Guide, PAQ Review — The Independent Magazine For Compaq® Computer Users, FY/— ‘The Harris Magazine For Information Management, a series of computer books and other properties. The company also provides marketing communications services to a wide range of high-technology clients. For more information contact Ted Leonsis, Redgate Communications Corporation. 4 Fall 1988 The new DataLink' 2400 modem from Applied Engineering, it’s a lot more than just twice as fast. Applied Engineering's new DataLink™ 2400. Simply put, the finest modem on the market for your Apple Ilcs, Ile or II+. Bring home a world of information . . . from up to the minute flight information to whole libraries of resource materials. Even download free software and games. Twice the speed. At transmission speeds up to 2400 bps (bits-per-second), Applied Engineering's new DataLink 2400 is capable of putting text on the screen faster than the human eye can follow. That means you can capture a great deal more material in less time than with 1200 bps modems. And unlike other modems, the DataLink 2400 comes complete with powerful, easy-to-use communications software. Complete communications software included. Both our new DataLink 2400 and our DataLink 1200 modems feature AE’s exclusive communications software —on disk and in ROM—everything needed to get you immediately up and running. Our powerful DataTerm software for the IIcs and Ile supports VI-52 screen emulation, macros, file transfers, on-line time display, recording buffer and more. It even stores hundreds of phone numbers for auto-dialing and log on. And for II+ and 64K Ile owners, our OnLine 64 software has many of the same powerful features. Worldwide compatibility. The DataLink 2400 is fully compatible with Bell 103 and 212 protocols, as well as European protocol CCITT V.22 BIS, V.22 and V.21. It operates at varying transmission speeds from 0-300, 1200 and 2400 bps. The new 2400, like our best-selling DataLink™ 1200, carries a full five year warranty and comes complete with two modular phone jacks for data and voice calls, a thoughtful feature that means fewer wires to connect. We also include an extra long telephone cable, in case your computer is across the room from your telephone jack. You can track the progress of calls either electronically or via on-board speaker. And built-in diagnostics reliably check transmission accuracy. Prices subject 10 change without notice. Brands and product names are registered trademarks of their respective holders Packed with important features: * Non-volatile memory for modem configuration * Full Hayes AT compatibility © Point-to-Point, ASCII Express, Access II compatibility, in addition to AE’s included DataTerm and OnLine 64 software. * Super Serial Card “Front End” for highest software compatibility (unlike others) * Adaptive equalization and descrambling * Hardware configuration for DSR and DCD * PC Transporter (MS-DOS) compatibility * FCC certified design $204.90 in freebies. We also throw in a nice collection of goodies—a free subscription to the GEnie network worth $29.95, $60 of free on-line time from NewsNet, a free $50 subscription to the Official Airline «." @ Guide and a fee-waived membership “s, Pato The Source worth $49.95 plus a2 Ge $15 of free on-line time. peo That's $204.90 worth of free memberships, discounts and on-line time when you purchase the powerful DataLink 2400 at $239. DataLink 1200 reduced. Loaded with all the features of the new 2400, (except CCITT, DSR/DCD and non-volatile ROM configurations) our 1200 bps DataLink modem, com- plete with software and freebies, is an affordable alternative at only $179. DataLink 1200. . $179 DataLink 2400. . $239 Order today! To order or for more information, see your dealer or call (214) 241-6060 today, 9 am to 11 pm, 7 days. Or send check or money order to Applied Engineering. MasterCard, VISA and C.O.D. welcome. Texas residents add 7% sales tax. Add $10 outside U.S.A. AE APPLIED ENGINEERING” The Apple enbancement experts. (214) 241-6060 P.O. Box 5100, Carrollton, TX 75011 Circle Reader Service Number 3 \The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide Vice President/Publisher: Len Scaffidi Vice President/Editorial Director: Jordan Gold Vice President/Editor-In-Chief: Paul Pinella Directory Editor: Paulette Siclari Production Manager: Carolyn D. Sizemore Assistant Directory Editor: Staff Writer: Linda Topoleski Contributing Editors: Kenneth Buchholz; Philip Chien; Carol Holzberg, Ph. D.; Joe Kohn; Ken Landis; Mike Markowitz; Gary Ramey; Joe Walters Editorial Intern: James Washburn Assistant To The Publisher: Mary J. Spoto Vice President/Creative Director: Mark S. Ballard Senior Art Director: Patricia N. Walker Art Director: William L. Stahl Typesetting/Traffic Manager: Kathaleen S. Ross ‘Typesetting Operations: Debra Siraco-Weaver; Sharon L. Thomas; Vicki Rae Vadnais Circulation Manager: Sandra J. Byrd. Single-Copy Sales Manager: Kevin Fallon Single-Copy Sales Administrator: Maura Sheehan Fulfillment Coordinator: Yvette Lighty Customer Service Representative: Alina Joyce ‘Western Advertising Sales Director: Chuck Abrams Redgate Communications Corporation, 185 Berry St., Ste. 5401, San Francisco, CA 94107, 415-777-3911 Eastern Advertising Sales Director: Redgate Communications Corporation, 24 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803, 617-229-6500 Midwestern Sales Representative Ted Rickard Market Media Associates 1150 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091 312-251-2541 Redgate Communications Corporation, 660 Beachland Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL. 32963, 407-231-6904 Response Services: Tammy Smith Redgate Communications Corporation President: Ted Leonsis Executive Vice President: Alfred J. Mandel Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer: Jeff Parsons Director Of Finance: Nancy A. Birt MIS/Facilities Manager: Tim Duncklee Accounts Payable Administrator: Brenda Simmons Finance Assistant: Cindy Schuster Gredit/Collections Manager: Thomas N. Curione Assistant To The President: Donna M. Philo Assistant To The CFO: Ursula Wallag Receptionist: Julie A. Van Gaasbeck Cover Photography: Greg Leary BPA Membership Applied For: November 1987 6 Fall 1988 EDITOR'S WINDOW Advancing The Standard sides bringing graphics and sound to the computer masses, the Apple IIGS delivers a healthy injec- tion of standards to the once wild and wooly Apple Il world Everything about the IIGS that we tend to associate with the Macintosh — the Finder. pull-down menus, dia- log boxes and so on — really represents Apple's attempt to make Apple TI hardware and software more consistent and easier to use. Before the IGS came along, practically every developer created its own user interface, wrote proprietary printer drivers and built customized fonts. OK Apple. thanks for the help. But did you go far enough? The Apple user interface takes a nice first step toward standardization, but there's room for improvement in future versions of IIGS system software, As we've seen in the Macintosh world, the definition for "system software" has been broadening of late. Tomorrow's IIGS system soft- wware could strengthen and considerably expand the standards already established. What follows is my “wish list" for future versions of ProDOS 16 or its possible successor More speed. This point seems obvious, but it's worth repeating. ProDOS 16 is slow, overly dependent upon five-year-old ProDOS 8 technol- ogy and does not take full advantage of the IGS" 16-bit microprocessor. ProDOS 16's deficiencies were overlooked when the Apple IIGS first came out, but two years is long enough to wait for real improvement. The Finder simply has to be faster As it stands, the sluggish IIGS desktop seems too much like Microsoft Windows Version 1.0 running ‘on the original IBM PC. Find File, Every Macintosh ships with this handy little desk accessory that finds files inside of folders. A similar program should be included with the IIGS Finder. Hypercard for the IIGS. No. | don't have any inside information on whether this project is on anyone's ‘to do’ list at Apple. But it should he With Hypercard, anyone could create real IGS programs, not just programming whiz kids. Speaking of kids, teaching Hypercard techniques in school could be more fun and effective than most BASIC, Pascal and Logo classes put together Naturally, this hypothetical version of Hypercard should ship free of charge with every new IIGS. Standardized word lists. \ growing number of IIGS packages include built-in spell checkers and thesauri. On my IGS hard disk. can count three word processors. two desktop publishing packages and a couple of other add-on programs that each have their own spell checker Unfortunately, none of them share the same word list. New words tacked onto one are never added automatically to the others. Wouldn't it be great if Apple could standardize on one format for these disk space gobblers? That way. each developer could continue advancing the underlying program logic, but all programs would use the same word list. In fairness, this growing problem plagues not only 1IGS users, but Macintosh and MS-DOS people as well Apple may choose to ignore one or all of these suggestions and allow third-party developers to work their free-enterprise magic. Given a need, somebody will eventually supply a solution, The IIGS will get faster, even without a new version of ProDOS 16, when several speed-up boards now under development reach dealer shelves, And certain items in the above list, including the Find File request. have already been filled at least par- tially by several vendors. Yet, we all depend upon Apple to advance the IGS star ind to make those improve- ments available to all. A brand new version of ProDOS 16 and an updated Finder would cer- tainly help in this regard. ll — Paul Pinella, Editor-In-Chief ! EasyDrive & RAMUP 4.0 The Storage Miaanagement Team New If only [had storage management software that could give me complete control of my hard-disk by installing itself onto my hard-disk and then installing my programs automatically . . . . . . it could have a menu where I could choose the applications I want by just touching a key. . . . . . it could run programs, remove programs, back up, restore, index, copy, and other stuff, too, automatically. And it could be incredibly fast and easy to use. And there could be another program just like it, for my RamCard. It could load my programs onto my RamCard and present them to meona menu. . . and I could flip from program to program like turning a page. . .and would have great features like autoload, back up, restore and statistical displays. And it could be incredibly fast and easy to use. And they could work together to give mie the greatest storage management system ever. . . . . and come with a manual that could explain ProDOS in a way that even I could understand . . . . and be sold and serviced by friendly people . . . and be affordable. . . Your prayers are answered. You need powerful storage management. utility programs of their kind — bringing It’s an absolute must for today’s Apple us speed and manageability to your computer _ ing the between you and your | EasyDrive FIND OUT WHAT QUALITYIS: _ @ 30 day money back guarantee on @ Extended warranties everything we sell RAMUP 4.0 . + $39.95 © Hard-disk insurance ¢ Immediate replacement of defec- EasyDrive/RAMUP Combo + $94.95 © Trained tech support experts tive items © Free technical newsletter @ The largest FULL SERVICE dealer DEAR DEALER: EasyDrive and RAMUP 4.0 HARD-DISKS are available to you at a significant discount AE APPLIED ENGINEERING ss Transwarp. . 169 TimeMaster ... . 76 = , RamKeeper . 148 ViewMaster ... 119 Quality Computers RamCharger . 133 PC Transporter. . CALL = Serial Pro. . . .114 RamWorks III. . . CALL ‘SCSI Controller . . Data Link . 189 RamFactor .... CALL Phasor . .139 GS Ram. . . CALL 15102 Charlevoix Parallel Pro... . 89 GS Ram+ CALL Grosse Pointe, MI48230 (313) 331-0700 Z Ram, Ul, it. - CALL IN STOCK! POWER FOR PERFORMANCE ADDRESS Address all inquiries to "IIGS Address," c/o The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide, Redgate Communications Corp., 660 Beachland Blvd., Vero Beach, FL 32963. Ques- tions may also be sent via electronic mail on The Source (SIG049), Compu- serve (71625,567) or MCI Mail (352-9601). Indi- vidual responses cannot be guaranteed, 1) Thank you for the fine series of articles in the Spring 1988 issue. I humorously noted that you replied to a reader who asked how you select the reviews that appear in There are also several large software directories, sold at bookstores, that list Apple- compatible software and sources. One such book is The Apple If Guide from Menu International Software Database Corp. You can con- tact them at 800-843-6368 or 303-482-5000. As for your plotter, the primary programs that work with a plotter are graphics packages — such as charts and business projections — and CAD (computer-aided design) programs. Two examples are CADApple 3.5 (VersaCAD Corp.; see the listing in the directory sec- tion for details) and Busi- ness Graphics (originally the magazine by saying, in 7, editors of The Apple HGS Buyer's Guide and Contributing Editor Philip Chien answer letters and questions from readers. part, that "products must be available on 3.5-inch diskettes." The first product to be reviewed in the same issue, MouseWrite, was shown in its accompanying photo on 5.25-inch diskettes. Paul D. Kinney Louisville, KY It is amusing, but there's a good reason for our using that photo. Roger Wagner Publishing, the publisher of MouseWrite, provides most of its products on both 3.5- and 5.25-inch disks — at no extra cost to its customers, as noted in the text of the article. Don't forget that Mouse Write, while primarily an Apple He/IIc product, works just as well on an Apple IGS. Fortunately, the publisher has decided to help its customers by providing its products on copyable 3.5- and 5.25-inch disks, even though it's possible for a customer or dealer to transfer MouseWrite from a 5.25- to a 3.5- inch disk. By supplying the extra disks, Roger Wagn- er makes life easier for users. Other publish- ers also provide their products in both for- mats, a trend we want to encourage. One other note on the product-selection process. The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide is an Apple IGS magazine, but we realize that the Apple IIGS is just one member of the Apple II family, which also includes the Apple Ile, IIc, [I+ and even the original 11-year-old Apple II. Whenever possible, we note when a product is compatible with earlier Apples and often review packages available for all Apple II family members. We do look for products that are at least available in the 3.5-inch disk format, however. 2) I'ma new Apple Ic owner. Can you furnish me with a list of software that works with my computer? Also, I'm having trouble finding soft- ware that works with my Apple Color Plotter. Any suggestions? Robert Barnabo Hurley, WA A list of software compatible with the Apple II would fill up a large encyclopedia! There are more than 10,000 different pro- grams available for the Apple II family, but only a couple thousand are actually market- ed commercially. Of the commercially avail- able programs, many users would only be interested in a couple of dozen at most. The directory listings in The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide contain more than 400 prod- ucts currently available for the Apple IIGS. sold by Apple Computer and now available through Sun Remarketing, Inc.). Sun Remarketing, Inc. is an excellent source for plotter supplies, including pens and paper. The company can be reached at PO Box 4059, Logan UT 84321 (800-821-3221, ext. UT, or 801-752-7631, ext. UT; and ask for customer service). Other plotter programs are available from a variety of sources, including pro- gram guides, dealer discontinued software bins, user groups and the occasional adver- tisements from smaller software houses. Make sure any program you acquire speci- fies "Apple Color Plotter" on its list of com- patible plotters, Most programs for the Apple are compati- ble, but there are a couple that are designed to work only with a specific plotter model. 3) I'm interested in getting a modem for my JIGS. What are the advantages and disadvantages of internal vs. external modems? What type of phone do they require? Ty Harris Atlanta, GA For the most part, external and internal modems operate identically, but there are minor advantages and disadvantages to each type. An external modem can be used with other computers, not just your IGS. 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If at any time Phone ( ) you are dissatisfied with the Service, we will refund your sub- oa Number Please charge to: O Visa Ci My $39 check or money order is enclosed, payable to Rendezvous Travel Service. Oi Mastercard (1 American Express Expiration Date scription immediately. res Sena Circle Reader Service Number 26 RLDOI IIGS ADDRESS some reason you want to use your modem with a Macintosh or Apple IIc, for example, all you need is a new cable and Mac termi- nal program. You don't have to purchase another modem. An internal modem, on the other hand, doesn't require an extra plug outlet, doesn't need its own power switch, doesn't take up any space on your desk and doesn't require a serial interface card (not a big deal on a IIGS or a IIc, because they include built-in serial ports). If you use an external modem with an Apple Ile, you have to purchase a serial interface card. An internal modem has its own built-in serial interface and is often less expensive than an external modem. From a user's point of view, internal and external modems are identical. The rare exceptions are programs that "assume" you're using a IIGS' built-in serial port; they won't work with an internal modem's serial interface. Such programs are rare, but they do exist. CDA Power, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, is one example. It's possible that programs that are not compatible with your modem may be upgraded in the future, but it's usually best to get programs that are compatible with your hardware. To answer the second part of your ques- tion, most modems currently available are direct-connect devices that plug into the wall like any standard telephone. If you have an extra RJ-11 modular phone jack (a standard phone jack), just plug your modem into that phone line jack and go. Many modems come with Y-jacks or sec- ond phone jacks that make the connection even easier. Just unplug a current phone, plug your modem into the wall jack and plug your phone into the modem's extra jack. The connection can be more difficult with multiline phone systems. You may have to get your phone company to install an extra jack for your modem. A good solution many offices use is a special-purpose phone line (e.g., an auto- matic credit card verification phone line, an alarm system phone line, etc.) as the modem phone line. Another solution, if you plan to use your modem often, is a totally separate phone line for the modem. Because your phone company can't charge you any more than for any other phone line, it may be worth the cost. A special-purpose modem, called an acoustic coupler, uses a foam handset to cover your phone's speaker and microphone and makes a non-electrical connection to the phone line. An acoustic coupler is typically used with a portable computer, when you might want to use your modem from a pub- lic phone, hotel room or even from a radio phone on an airplane. 4) I've read that Apple Computer has offered a ROM upgrade for the Apple IGS computer. I purchased my IGS in February 1987 and I've been stationed overseas for the last two years. Do you know where I can get the ROM upgrade? Carlos Oliveras FPO Seattle, WA The upgrade is available free of charge through any authorized Apple dealer. The very earliest IGS had a minor red "fringe" problem, and a free upgrade is avail- able that corrects the problem. In addition, Apple has upgraded the System ROM in the IIGS, which is the program that tells a IGS what to do when it's turned on. The original IGS says "Apple IGS" when you turn it on. However, systems with the new ROM also give a copyright date and note "Version 01" at the bottom of the screen when turned on. The color video and ROM upgrades are offered by Apple Computer as in-warranty, carry-in services through local dealers. The trouble is that a computer warranty is only good in the country where a computer was purchased, Dealers in foreign countries may only have the capabilities to fix their own com- puters. There are also slight differences between international and domestic Apples (current, video standards, character sets, keyboards, documentation, etc.). Probably the best solution for you is to send your computer back to a friend in the United States who can take it to an autho- rized Apple dealer. The computer can then be upgraded and shipped back to you. Of course, it would be easier if somebody could ship the ROMs to you for you to install. However, Apple restricts upgrades to authorized dealers, 5) How can I access ProDOS on an Apple IGS —i.e., enter commands? Also, how can I learn to use machine language? Is it difficult? Can I use a joystick? Doug Welzel Cherry Hill, NJ Because it's an operating system, as opposed to a language or application, Pro- DOS can only be accessed from the proper system program. Fortunately, there are sev- eral system programs that easily let you access ProDOS commands. BASIC.SYSTEM, the program that attaches Applesoft BASIC to ProDOS, is the most obvious example. Once you boot up a Pro- DOS BASIC disk you can use Applesoft Pro- DOS commands to open files, read loca- tions, create files and read directories, among other ProDOS functions, Another good way to access ProDOS functions is with Apple's Exerciser program. The ProDOS technical manual (written by Apple Compiter; distributed by Addison- Wesley; available from local computer shops and bookstores) includes the Exerciser pro- gram and excellent technical information on how ProDOS works. As far as learning machine language, it's certainly more difficult to use than BASIC or Pascal. However, it's also much more powerful. One minor term that causes confusion: Assembly language generally means pro- gramming your computer's microprocessor by adding an Assembler program that con- verts your commands, comments and labels into the binary data the computer uses. Machine language normally refers to the ‘ones and zeros your microprocessor uses, or the HEX (base 16) equivalents that you can type directly into your computer. Assembly and machine language are generally used interchangeably, because they're similar in both form and function. Anything that can be done in a high-level language can be done better, and usually more efficiently, in machine language. The best way to learn is to get a book with a good tutorial and learn by doing. One fairly generic 65816 programming book is Programming the 65816 from Brady Books. The book isn't Apple IIGS specific, but it does lead you through the various 65816 commands, 10 Fall 1988 IIGS ADDRESS Give yourself a simple project — such as a program that draws a graphics screen — and teach yourself how to write that pro- gram in machine language! 6) Can you recommend a programming language for adventure game program- ming on an Apple IGS? Is there existing software to aid a programmer in creat- ing good graphics, text and so on — after a user has learned the program- ming language? Jobn Gates Des Plaines, IL There are specific custom programming languages designed specifically for the pur- pose of writing adventure games — and nothing else. Several software publishers have designed their own in-house adventure languages, which makes it easier to produce several different adventures, especially if the publisher wants to publish the same game on several different computers. Infocom (a division of Mediagenic) uses a sophisticated text-oriented interpreter for its Zork adventure series. Versions of that inter- preter are available for the Apple, IBM, Mac- intosh and other computers. Once Infocom's authors design their adven- tures for one computer, it's relatively easy to copy them for other computers. Similar inter- preters, many supporting graphics and sound capabilities, are used by various companies. Asa rule, these companies keep their interpreters highly treasured in-house secrets. If you have a good idea for an adventure, you may be able to get a license to develop your idea using their language. Naturally, you have to pay royalties to sell programs developed with a software pub- lisher's adventure programing language. You may be able to find Eamon, a public domain adventure writing program, in a user group's library. Eamon was specifically designed to help non-programmers develop game-style adventure programs. We've seen ads for a non-public domain version of Eamon with added graphics capabilities, and you may be able to find it through local stores. 7) I purchased my Apple IGS soon after the computer was first introduced on the market, When the ROM upgrade was announced, I had the new ROM chip installed in my computer. I have noticed a difference in the way the system now runs. I seem to get more fatal errors, and the computer seems to get lost more fre- quently and does not always reset when Command, Control and Reset are executed. What gives? Chris Davis Paso Robles, CA As mentioned earlier, the IIGS ROM upgrade solves several problems. However, it also causes a couple in the process. Programs that make incorrect assumptions about how Apple intended code to interface with the ROMs cause a variety of problems with the new ROMs. In the old ROM, for example, one memory location is zero when false and 1 when true. The new routine in the ROM is still zero when false, but 255 when true. If a programmer's routine checks whether a value is zero, it's probably safe. If the pro- gram checks whether the value is one or zero, it will probably fail with the new ROMs. How it fails and what happens when it fails will vary from program te program. All of Apple's developers were notified about the ROM upgrade and received tech- nical documentation describing the changes. They should have updated their software to correct the problems. Unless a IIGS program does something unusual, you should be able to recover from a problem by using the Control-Open. Apple-Reset command. Most likely the situation you describe is a hardware problem or an interference between an interface card in your IIGS and the motherboard. Some improperly designed hardware boards can fail, causing your sys- tem to "hang." You have to shut off the system to recover. Another possibility causing your Reset problem is that your new ROM isn't totally seated in its socket and has come loose. You can carefully press down the ROM in its socket yourself. Otherwise, you might want to let your dealer check out your system for you. (Continued on page 15) Protect Your Computer with Qui Custom Fit, Fabric Dust Covers In Tan-Navy-Ri * Professional Appearance. * Unlike plastic covers, ours allow heat from equipment to flow thru fabric. * Machine Wash & Dry. * Custom Design/Pertect Fit. * All Fabric. Won't crack or dry out with age. Apple Computer Items 10-62 IGS, Color Mon & Keyboard 29.95 10-65 _lIGS Mouse 1.50 10-67 | IIGS Keyboard 6.95, 10-12 Mac & Keyboard 24.95 40-55 Mac & Keyboard Plus 23,95 40-52 Mac wiAple Hrd Dry beneath 16.95 10-72 Mac Il Color Mon & 81 Keybrd 24.95 10-73 Mac Il Color Mon & 105 Keybrd 29.95 10-77. Mac Il Mono. Mon & 81 Keybrd 29.95 10-78 Mac Il Mono. Mon & 105 Keybrd 29.95 10-74 Mac SE & Keyboard 85 24.95 10-75 Mac SE & Keyboard 105 24.95 10-80 IIc, Mono Mon. & Std. 29.95 10-18 Mac External Drive (400K) 5.00 10-53 Mac External Drive (800K) 5.00 40-56 Mac Keyboard 6.95 10-46 Mac Plus Keyboard 6.95 10-28 Mac Mouse 1.50 10-07 Ile & Monitor It 19.95 10-14 Ile, Duo Drive & Mon Il 24.95 10-57 Ile & Duo Drive 16.95 10-45 tle, Duo Drive & Cir Mon lle 29.95 10-58 Ile & Color Mon Ile 24.95 10-03 Disk Il Drive (Single) 6.95 10-04 Disk Il Drives (2 Stacked) 9.95 10-38 Uni Disk 5.25” 6.95 10-59 Uni Disk (2 Stacked) one 3.5, ‘on top of one 5.25 9.95 10-60 Uni Disk (Single) 3.5” 4.95 10-34 lle Computer 13.95 10-33 Monitor ile 9.95 10-32 Color Monitor lle 16.95 10-09 _ Imagewriter 13.95 10-37 Imagewriter II 13.95 10-19 15” Imagewriter 16.95 10-39 Imagewriter Il/cut sht Fdr 16.95 10-20 Scribe Printer 13.95 10-35 Laserwriter Printer 23.95 10-16 Ile & Monitor llc (Separate) 23.95 10-36 Ile Computer 9.95 10-61 Ile & Color Monitor Ile 26.90 10-82 Imagewriter LO 16.95 10-17 Ile External Drive 6.95 Also available IBM, Compaq, Misc. Printers and Others Name Address City/State/Zip. Telephone Item No, ________ Color “MCIVISA # Exp. Date ‘Add $3.00 Shipping & Handling (Check, M.O., C.0.D., VISA, MC*) WI Residents Add 5% Tax Call (414) 476-1584 or Mail Form and Pymt. to: Co-Du-Co 4802 W. Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53208 Circle Reader Service Number 5 APPLEFEST AppleFest, Take Two ast May, some 30,000 Apple II fans converged on the Hynes Conven- tion Center in Boston to witness the second AppleFest conference and exposition in modern times. Those who braved the rainy weather, construction noise and lack of parking were rewarded with an impr: turnout of Apple II VIPs (old and new), demonstrations of new or soon-to-be released IIGS products, and enough graphics and sound product performances to rival the nearby Boston Pops. Although not a graphics or sound product per se, Apple's new AppleLink - Personal Edition service was announced with plenty of glitz, AppleLink is a new online commu- nication and information service tailored specially for users of Apple II and Macintosh computers, The service rivals other online databases, including Compuserve, The Source and Genie, in many respects. For example, it equips users with electronic mail, stock- 12 Fall 1988 quote checks, access to public domain soft- ware and online forums. Yet, it also provides a direct technical support link to Apple and a growing number of third-party suppliers, including Applied Engineering, Beagle Brothers, TML Systems and more. Non-prime time access charges are set at $6 per hour for any rate up to 2,400 baud. Apple II Comes First As a show of support to Apple I users, Apple announced that AppleLink access soft- ware would first be made available for the Apple II. Macintosh software was promised for late 1988. Several versions of the Apple II telecommunications package were running in live demo sessions at AppleFest. On the Apple IGS, the software takes advantage of super-high-resolution graphics in several screens, but text comes across in standard Apple II text mode. Interesting IIGS sound products in various stages of customer delivery vied for con- sumer attention. Dozens of Apple Il hardware and software manufacturers displayed their wares at the AppleFest conference in Boston. The next AppleFest stop: San Francisco, September 16 to 18. Diversi-Tune, a IIGS program from Diver- sified Software Research, Inc, that combines a music synthesizer, screen display and MIDI song recorder, attracted attention with live demonstrations by jazz piano improvisator Nathen Page. Songs recorded by Page using Diversi-Tune were distributed on disk at the show. The program uses the music-generat- ing capabilities of the Ensoniq sound chip and requires no extra hardware. One nifty feature: As a song plays, the words and a "bouncing ball" appear on screen. Applied Engineering's (A.E.) booth also aroused attention with demonstrations of two "soon-to-be-shipping" IIGS sound products: Sonic Blaster and Audio Animator. Sonic Blaster, a stereo digitizer, comes with an Ensoniq digital-oscillator sound chip to record, amplify and play back in stereo. Audio Anima- tor combines stereo digitizing and playback with MIDI input and output. An external con- nector box for Audio Animator provides the necessary connections to keyboard, stereo, CD players and other computers. For Those Who Want the Most. From Those Who Make the Best. Gs-RAM:" Now expand the ITGS’ RAM and ROM with up to 8 MEG of “Instant On” memory with the allnew Gs-RAM! GS-RAM has an all new design. A design that delivers higher performance including in- creased speed, greater expandability, and improved software. More Sophisticated, Yet Easier to Use Gs-RAM works with all Ics software. In fact any program that runs on Apple’s smaller memory card runs on the Gs-RAM. But with Gs-RAM you can have more memory, im- proved performance, and almost unlimited expansion capabilities We've designed the new Gs-RAM to be easier to use too—you don't have to adjust the size of your RAM. disk every time you use a DMA device. No other RAM card with more than 4 banks of memory installed can make the same claim. More than Just Hardware Each Gs-RAM and GsRAM Plus includes the most powerful set of IIcs software enhance- ments available anywhere. In fact, our nearest competitor offers only a fraction of the invaluable programs that we include with each Gs-RAM card. This software includes the most powerful disk-caching program available, the Gs-RAM Cache. The Cache will make most of your applications run up to 7 times faster: Also induded is a diagnostic utility that lets you test your Gs-RAM by graphically showing the location of any bad or improperly installed RAM chips. And for AppleWorks users, we give you our exclusive Expander program that dramatically enhances both the capabilities and speed of AppleWorks. Making AppleWorks Even Better Applied Engineering's Expander program eliminates AppleWorks internal memory limits allowing it to recognize up to 8 megabytes of desktop workspace. You can increase the limits from only 7,250 lines to 22,600 lines in the word processor and from 6,350 records to 22,600 records in the database. The Expander allows all of AppleWorks, including print functions, to automatically load into RAM. The clipboard size will increase from 255 to 2,042 lines maximum. cs-RAM will automatically segment larger files so you can save them onto multiple floppies. And RAM Pw Gs-RAM provides a built-in print buffer that | allows you to continue working in Apple- | Works while your printer is still processing text You can even load Pinpoint or Macro- Works and your favorite spelling checker into RAM for instant response. Grow by Kilobytes or Megabytes We offer Gs-RAM in two configurations so you can increase your memory 256K at a time (Gs-RAM) or a megabyte at a time (Gs-RAM Plus). Both are Ils compatible and both come with our powerful enhancement software, GS-RAM can hold up to 1.5 MEG of 256K chips and Gs-RAM Plus can hold up to 6 MEG using 1 MEG chips. And since both use standard RAM chips (not high-priced SIMM'’s), you'll find expanding your Gs-RAM or Gs-RAM Plus easy, convenient, and very economical. For further expansion, you can plug a 2 MEG “piggyback” card into the Gs- RAM's expansion port for up to 3.5 MEG of total capacity. Or up to a whopping 8 MEG. on Gs-RAM Plus. If a Gs-RAM owner outgrows 3.5 MEG, he can easily upgrade to Gs-RAM Plus for a nominal charge. Permanent Storage for an “Instant On” Apple With our RamKeeper™ back-up option, your Gs-RAM or GRAM Plus will retain both programs and data while your IIcs is turned off Now when you tum your Ics back on, your favorite software is on your screen in under 4 seconds! With RamKeeper you can divide your Ics memory into part “electronic hard disk.” and part extended RAM. Even change the memory boundaries at any time—and in any way—you want Because “In quality performance, compatibility, expandability and support, Applied Engineering's csRAM and GsRAM Plus are number one.” Steve Wozniak, the creator of Apple Computer Applied Engineering has the most experience in the industry with battery-backed memory for the Apple, you are assured of the most reliable memory back-up system available. And in the world of battery:backed memory, Reliability is everything, That's why Applied Engineering uses state-of-the-art “GEL-CELL’s” instead of Ni-Cad batteries (if Ni-Cads aren't discharged periodically, they lose much of their capacity). RamKeeper has about 6 hours of “total power failure” back-up time. That's 6 times the amount of other systems. But with power from your wall outlet, RamKeeper will back-up Gs-RAM, Gs-RAM Plus, or most other IIcs memory cards indefinitely. Should you ever have a “total power failure,” RamKeeper switches to its G-hour battery. When power returns, Ram- Keeper will automatically recharge the battery to full power. RamKeeper incorporates a dualrate charger, status LE.D.’s, and ad- vanced power reducing circuitry. RamKeeper comes complete with battery, software, and | documentation. GS-RAM’s Got it ALL! © S-year warranty — parts & labor ¢ 6 RAM banks (most cards have 4) « Memory expansion port ROM expansion port © Ulva-fast disk caching on ProDOS 8 AND ProDOS 16. Expands AppleWorks intemal limits ¢ Includes hi-res self test No soldered-in RAM chips « Expandable to 8 MEG No configuration blocks to set « RamKeeper back-up option allows permanent storage of programs & data ¢ 15-day money-back guarantee * Proudly made in the USA Gs-RAM with ZeroK $139 Gs-RAM with 256K $249 Gs-RAM with 512K $409 Gs-RAM with 1 MEG $729 Gs-RAM with 1.5 to3.5 MEG CALL GS-RAM Plus with 1-8 MEG CALL RamKeeper Option $189 Order See your dealer or call Applied Engineering today, 9 am. to 11 p.m. 7 days Or send check or money order to Applied Engineering MasterCard, VISA and C.O.D. welcome. ‘Texas residents add 7% sales tax. Add $10.00 outside USA. AE APPLIED ENGINEERING” The Apple enhancement experts. (214) 241-6060 P.O. Box 5100, Carrollton, TX 75011 Prices subject to change without notice. Circle Reader Service Number 2 GSRAM, GSRAM Plus and RamKeeper are trademarks of Applied Engineering Other brands and product names are registered trademarks of their respective hoklers. APPLEFEST The Applied Engineering products will both ship with IIGS-specific super-high-reso- lution software. At its booth, A.E. engineers entertained the crowd by sampling voice recordings and then modifying them in graphical format using an oscilloscope-like software display. Graphics Galore On the graphics side, the first shots were fired in the pending "battle of the desktop publishers." The latest product information —and inside story on the 8-bit/16-bit debate — is covered in this issue's feature story on desktop publishing. Other graphics programs grabbed their share of attention. Perhaps the most noise centered around the StyleWare booth, where working versions of GSWorks took on cine- matic proportions. Free baseball caps were distributed, and sessions dedicated strictly to GSWorks were held. (Editor's Note: Several weeks after AppleFest, Claris announced that it had acquired StyleWare and GSWorks and had renamed the program AppleWorks GS. The product will be available the fourth quarter of 1988 and will retail for $249.) GSWorks is an integrated, IIGS-specific package aimed at providing AppleWorks users with more power, windows and pull- down menus. At press time it's release date was still uncertain. Can GSWorks go disk to disk with Apple- Works? Maybe so. The program reads Apple- Works spreadsheet, word processing and database files seemingly without any prob- lems, making upgrading especially conve- nient. Unlike AppleWorks, GSWorks uses the bit-mapped graphics mode and, theoretical- ly, suffers the same speed penalty paid by all IIGS-specific software. The programmers at StyleWare have uncovered the most speed we've seen yet in a graphics IIGS environment, however. They've also added a couple of new twists not even available on the Macintosh, includ- ing a way to move information from one window to another by selecting the text or graphic to be moved and dragging it to a new window. Other new features include page layout, paint, draw and communications capabili- ties. Time will tell whether GSWorks func- tions like a Swiss Army Knife or a vacuum cleaner with too many attachments. If AppleWorks continues to hold its crown, much of the credit should go to Beagle Broth- ers. At last year's AppleFest, the company released the now-popular TimeOut series of AppleWorks add-ons, including a respectable spelling checker and utility. This year Beagle Brothers premiered TimeOut Thesaurus, Pow- erPack, DeskTools II, MacroTools and a new booth populated mostly by enthusiastic fans. New software and hardware iterations of older graphics-based products also lit up the show. FingerPrint GSI, version II, from Thirdware Computer Products was effective- ly displayed. Users were shown capturing text and graphics from within IGS programs and printing them out. New IIGS software for ComputerEyes, the economical video digitizer from Digital Vision, Inc., was also demonstrated (see a review, this issue). On the software side, several new IIGS- specific games made their splashes, some with more pizzazz than real arcade games. Among the more interesting were Accolade's Pinball Wizard, a make-it-yourself pinball game, and Bubble Ghost, where a player has to blow a bubble through 35 castle rooms filled with obstacles and hazards. Cinemaware Corp. previewed several new games based on movie-like themes, includ- ing Defender Of The Crown and Three Stooges. Speaking of movies, PBI Software, Inc. demonstrated Alien Mind, a graphics- packed adventure that follows an "Aliens" (the movie) theme. Viking Technologies, publishers of several "magazines on disk," used AppleFest to launch UpTime For The Apple IIGS. Accord- ing to the publisher, each monthly edition will feature IIGS-specific programs, desk accessories and clip art. "Doctors" in scrubs and surgical masks contributed to the carnival atmosphere at the Berkeley Softworks booth, where GEOS — the Graphic Environment Operating System —was on display. The theme was: Consider GEOS as painless "brain surgery" for your Apple II. Although of primary interest to Apple IIc and Ile users, GEOS creates a respectable Mac-like environment, including pull-down menus, icons and a mouse. (See the review in this issue for more information.) Here Comes The Hardware AppleFest held few hardware surprises, although it was refreshing to see many of the products we've been hearing about alive and working. FutureSound, a stereo hard- ware and software combination from Applied Visions, Inc., ran a continuous IIGS "cartoon" showing a hapless dog with a Pluto-like voice chasing a balloon. On a more subdued level, printed circuit- board maker Applied Ingenuity was on hand with its line of IIGS boards, including G.S. Juice (a 1 MB memory board ) and GStereo, a sound board for the IGS. At least two new modems of interest to IIGS owners were also displayed: the Classic I modem from Epic Technology, Inc. (see review, this issue) and CommLink 2400, an external modem in platinum gray from MDIdeas, Inc. With modem prices plummet- ing, there's little reason these days to consid- er anything other than a 2,400-baud modem. With all the focus on high-octane technol- ogy and marketing, it was refreshing to pause Sunday morning — the last day of the show — and listen for an hour to the keynote speech by Steve Wozniak, an Apple Fellow, Apple co-founder and Apple II inventor. Wozniak's speech spanned his grade-school years, when he would stay up late sending Morse-code messages to friends, and detailed seemingly harmless col- lege pranks that led to his probation for "computer abuse." Among Wozniak's more memorable high- lights: When the first microprocessor came out, Wozniak perceived it as "just like a microcomputer, but all on one chip." While trying to devise the first Apple II, he wisely discarded earlier designs with front-panel switches in favor of one that used a televi- sion-set display. "The right paradigm for a microcomputer is a terminal," predicted Wozniak, years ahead of his time. Today's personal computer market has gone far beyond its hobbyist roots first spawned by Wozniak and other hackers. Still, the Apple IGS carries on the discovery spirit in home attics, basements, bedrooms and classrooms everywhere. Maybe there's still truth in Wozniak's assessment of computer life in the early 1970s: "This was not a business. It was just our little step along the way." i — Paul Pinella, editor-in-chief 14 Fall 1988 es spon STICKYBEAR (Continued from page 11) 8) I'm trying to use DeluxePaint II on an Apple IGS and a Xerox Jetink 4020 printer, but I'm having problems. It appears that DeluxePaint II will only work with an Apple ImageWriter or LaserWriter, and I'd like a better color printer for graphics. Ihave contacted Xerox, and they referred me to Electronic Arts, the pub- lisher of DeluxePaint IJ. Electronic Arts, in turn, referred me to Apple Computer, which referred me to Xerox. It's a vicious circle! Paul Torgues Chicago, IL One new feature for the Apple IIGS was printer drivers. With earlier Apples. a sepa- rate printer driver has to be written for each type of printer, and the various drivers vary in format and support Ona IIGS, any properly written program can‘access the printer through a set of stan- dardized drivers, making a programmer's job much easier. Naturally, it's in Apple's best interests to support its own in-house printers first — the LaserWriter and Image Writer. As of this date, Apple still has not released a driver for the Image Writer LQ printer, and the LaserWriter printer does not support screen fonts, Hopefully, these drivers will become available when pro- gramming time at Apple becomes available Some other printer manufacturers have decided to write IIGS drivers for their print- ers to expand their markets. For most manu- facturers, though, writing the printer drivers isn't worth the extra programming costs. Most IIGS users purchase Apple printers Those who don't usually purchase printers for a specific purpose or program There are bright spots, though. Drivers are available for Epson/IBM-compatible printers from third-party companies, and at least one IGS paint program, 816/Paint from Baudville, bypasses Apple's drivers altogeth- er. This program drives the printer directly, and Baudville has decided to support dozens of different printers. ll eekly Reader Software Children absolutely love listenin. when Stickybear speaks to them! He helps make learning the alphabet afunny, delightful and enriching time. Watch an acrobat bounce oran airplane fly across the screen with a press of the letter A. Stickybear speaks the letter and the word! Play any of the three activities, all carefully crafted by the Weekly Reader Software experts to complement and encourage your child's alphabet learning experience. This spectacular, all-new, IIGS version of the best selling alphabet program of all time features terrific animation, upper and lower case letters, two exciting pictures for each letter and a talking Stickybear! Look for the entire line of Weekly Reader Software programs from Optimum Resource at finer computer stores everywhere or call toll-free 1-800-327-1473. In Connecticut, call (203) 542-5553. A/RS 35-1 Circle Reader Service Number 7 A Look At The IIGS In The Formative Years It's never too early to introduce your child to a computer. Here's what it takes for them to become the best of friends. t's difficult to rememberewhen, computers were not the standatd educational fare. Yet, it's been only 10 years since school keyboarding labs consisted of electric typewriters instead of electronic devices hooked up to printers. In those days, students used typewriters to print out school newspapers. The good typists prepared final copy, reserving the fancy graphics for the class artists. Posters and banners for special school events were drawn by hand, and desktop publishing hadn't even been invented. How unsophis- ticated the technological ways of the 1970s appear to us now. There’s no question that computers are revolutionizing the way we do things and even the way we think. They are tools for acquiring new skills and reinforcing old ones. It's more than colleges feeling the impact of the technology, too. Today, computers are common at the preschool and primary grade levels. Children as young as two and three are drawn to the moving images on computer screens. They squeal with delight at the bright colors, laugh in amazement at the positive-sounding beeps and buzzes, and enjoy being able to manipulate screen images from their keyboards. 16 Fall 1988 Increase Your san Apple IIGS owner, you know how useful your computer is. You also know that only one magazine — The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide — concentrates exclusively on your machine. Every issue of The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide spotlights a range of products that exploit the IIGS' leading-edge technology. The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide explores the incredible promise of the Apple IIGS with how-to features, practical reviews, new developments and exclusive interviews. Circle Reader Service Number 23 Apple lIGd Buying Power The Comprehensive Product Directory catalogs all Apple IGS specific products currently marketed and is updated every quarter through direct cotrespondence with Apple IIGS developers. Judge for yourself and subscribe now! Receive four quarterly issues of The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide for just $8.95 per year...a 25% savings off the cover price. To start your issues coming, simply fill out the attached card or call 800-826-9553 (407-231-6904 in Florida). Apple IIs Buyer's Guide EDUCATION Preschool instructors and grade-school teachers use computers for a variety of tasks, including letter and number recognition, word processing, math, vocabulary, remedial reading and interactive simulations. With proper cables, cards and the necessary attachments, computers may serve as adjuncts to courses in science or technology. Enter The Apple IGS Preschoolers and Apple IIGS computers make an effective combination. The IIGS is well suited to preschool and elementary grade levels. Its friendly user interface and high-quality screen make the computer an ideal platform for educational software. ATIGS' user interface affords far greater control over what the computer does than is possible with the more conventional key- board approach of the 8-bit Apple IIs. The TIGS runs programs with lots of bright, crisp colors and offers terrific sound capabilities. With a relatively fast central processing unit (CPU), programmers can develop software with vastly improved animation and more activities that run simultaneously. Explore-A-Series, developed by Learning- ways, Inc. (under the D. C. Health label) and marketed by William K. Bradford, Inc., is a good example of how a program can be improved by running it on a IIGS. The series is composed of a number of Explore-A-Story and Explore-A-Science programs. The Story set supplements reading and language-arts skills for children in grades K to 5. The Science series stimulates scientific investigation and teaches scientific facts about the desert, Tyrannosaurus Rex, wolves, whales or animal tracks to children who have slightly more advanced reading skills, All the programs in the series have the same look and feel. Students read a story from a book and follow along on their com- puters, turning electronic pages by clicking ona box in the upper right corner of the screen. The graphics are animated. Children can modify the scenes by moving things around, uncovering buried objects, placing additional animated props, inserting pretyped labels or typing their own short messages. The Explore-A-Story programs encourage creative writing by displaying scenes and then letting students add the text and graphics. The programs all run best on the Apple IIGS. Story Starters are included as background screen shots, Students select a Story Starter scene and then add their own text and graphics. The Story Starters give children the chance to be creative and innovative while they practice their writing skills. ‘The Explore-A-Series runs‘on Apple Ile and [lc computers, in addition to the IIGS. Only 5.25-inch disk versions are available, but 800K floppies are expected to be out by the time this article appears in print. There are a number of differences that result when the programs are loaded into the memory of an 8-bit Apple II vs. the 16-bit IIGS. These differences have to do with color, input devices and animation quality. ‘When the software was first marketed, it did not work well on Ile or IIc computers with digital RGB (red, green, blue) monitors. Users needed to hook up composite moni- tors to obtain color graphics. On a digital RGB monitor, the graphics appeared in monochrome (shades of gray), but, techni- cally, the color display on any RGB monitor is supposed to be visually sharper, more brilliant and better defined. The programmers at Learningways soon made it possible for digital RGB monitors to tun the software in color. Some of the older Explore-A-Series packages are still around, you may have to return them to D.C. Heath for an exchange. Another good reason for using Explore-A- Series on a IIGS is the software's user inter- face. The program incorporates icon control, menu bars, windows and dialog boxes. Pro- gram activities work so nicely with the IIGS mouse that operation is almost intuitive. Even though program options can be selected from the keyboard, the mouse is a much more elegant device. It eliminates memorizing keyboard-equivalent commands, gets you where you want to go faster and pinpoints menu selections more accurately. Perhaps the most important improvement realized when using the Explore-A-Series on allGS is the handling of animation. Given the limitations of an 8-bit CPU, students soon discover that animated movement slows down considerably after a few items are placed on screen. Because the clock speed of an 8-bit Apple II microprocessor is only 1 megahertz (MHz), the computer can handle a relatively limited number of animation opera- tions quickly, smoothly and efficiently. 18 Fall 1988 EDUCATION The art of scientific investigation doesn't have to wait until college. Young students learn facts early on about dinosaurs, nature and the animal kingdom in Explore-A-Science. The clock speed of a 16-bit IGS MHz (switchable to 1 MHz). The i power of the IIGS microproc with the faster clock speed of the machine, enables users to place more animated objects on screen without a noticeable slow- down in operation, Kids who experiment with the Explore-A-Series programs enjoy working with as many animated objects as possible. The Power Of Speech Do children notice the difference between software developed for the 8-bit Apple II and the 16-bit Apple IGS? Yes, especially if a program has speech capabilities. Take Reader Rabbit, for example. There are two Apple versions current! ilable. Both versions offer the same activities to develop reading readiness in children age 5 to 8. Youngsters learn to recognize more than 200 three-letter words as they match words with a target pattern; label pictures; fill a train car with a word that differs by just one letter from the word in the preceding car; and play a game that requires matching pictures to pic- tures, words to pictures or words to words. Ina classroom situation where the amount of time a teacher has for each child is limit- ed, the personalized attention offered by a talking program serves as a real teaching aid. The IIGS version of Reader Rabbit uses digitized speech, and children invariably prefer the friendlier rabbit that talks, The program's human-like voice helps a child recognize, remember and spell words more effectively than its non-talking counterpart. The IGS rabbit explains the activities and each word clearly. The visual greatly improved, be . sion uses 16-color graphic: Several programs are currently available with speech capabilities, even for the 8-bit Apple Il. No Extra Hardware Required Programs developed for the IIGS do not need an additional speech synthesizer. The powerful IIGS Ensonigq chip is the only tech- nology required. Sound mavens might want to take advantage of a IIGS' stereo output capabilities by adding a stereo-sound gener- ating card, but this is overkill for the current crop of talking software. Third-Grade Publishing That's First Rate The video-oriented program at Hewitt Elementary in Trussville, Alabama got a big boost last year when Sandra Pilley, a third-grade teacher, brought her Apple IIGS into the classroom. As part of the school's multimedia program, students are required to sub- mit their work for publication in any of the small journals the school publishes with the help of computers. When Pil- ley's IGS was introduced, the advanced capabilities were immediately utilized, For example, when a student thinks his daily journal entries are good, he can use the Magic Slate word processor to type it in, and Dazzle Draw or Paint- works to create illustrations to accompa- ny the story. Smaller works can be : included in newsletters or magazines _ that the class produces. More ambitious pieces are often made into real books. One very profes- sional production recently wowed members of the U.S. Congress during hearings. Some outstanding members of the school publish three to five books a year. Pilley's class has done all of this with- out a specific desktop publishing pro- gram. Packages include GraphicWriter and Magic Slate for word processing, and PrintMagic, SuperPrint, DazzleDraw and The Print Shop, among others. Pilley sees the computer as a natural progression from the strictly textbook instruction of the past. She feels it is necessary to do something different, to be able to compete for the children's attention. "In this generation, you have to look at another way to teach a concept, " she says. At Hewitt Elementary — with the aid of an Apple IIGS — they seem to be doing just that. — James Washburn The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 19 EDUCATION Because there's no need to install a syn- thesizer card, you don't forfeit a slot on the motherboard when you run talking software ona IIGS. Moreover, the computer does not require superfluous speakers and wires. In the world of talking software, First Byte's Talking Notebook Series deserves spe- cial mention, as does its Building Blocks For Learning Series. The latter series, which is aimed at preschoolers, teaches reading readi- ness and writing skills. First Shapes and First Letters And Words feature the amicable Ted E. Bear, a truly personable computer host who introduces even very young children to beginning concepts about shapes and forms and uppercase and lowercase letters. If you would like your preschooler to begin experimenting with musical notation and uppercase and lowercase letters, you should take a look at the talking KidsTime II by Great Wave Software. Talking software helps foster a sense of competence in youngsters who are begin- ning to acquire proficiency in reading, writ- ing and arithmetic. Many children are capa- ble of understanding the programs' oral instructions and often learn how to use the software without adult coaching, which gives them a sense of being in control. When a program has speech capabilities, however, my five-year-old daughter is less reluctant to try computing on her own, In addition, she gravitates to the warmth and charm of an electronic personality who has nothing but clearly spoken verbal praises for her ability to match letters and count objects successfully. The fact that First Byte and Great Wave use synthesized rather than digitized speech is of no consequence to her or other chil- dren who use the programs. The robot-like quality of the voice doesn’t bother the kids, either; they often try to mimic it. In fact, the alien computer sounds generate very per- sonalized interaction. Kids enjoy their com- puter activities as a result. Because talking software programs from First Byte and Great Wave consist of large applications requiring lots of memory, they work well on a 16-bit Apple IIGS with added RAM. First Byte’s Talking Notebook Series helps develop spelling and math skills in slightly older children (ages 5 to 15). Speller Bee offers students the chance to practice with dictionary words — from the program's own dictionary — or words typed in from weekly spelling assignments. Another electronic personality, Professor Matt A. Matics — of MathTalk and MathTalk Fractions — serves as an easy-going, unpre- tentious math tutor who is always ready to assist with addition, subtraction, multiplica- tion and division. These programs both teach and entertain. Their voice capabilities motivate children to become involved with the learning tasks at hand. KidTalk from First Byte could best be described as a talking word processor. Stu- dents type in words, and the program speaks the words out loud. Beginning and experi- enced users will enjoy this program's many features. There are options for typing, editing, saving and printing documents; hearing text as it is typed letter by letter, word by word or sentence by sentence; manipulating the speech output by altering voice gender (female or male), speed, pitch, volume or tone — for an entire story or user-specified text; changing the way words are pronounced; and accessing a secret code dictionary. The latter option makes it possible for children to enter a special word in the code dictionary as a replacement for a written word in text. When the text is spoken, the code word — not the written word — is heard. Kids enjoy making zany substitutes for some words in their stories. Many of the programs mentioned in this section could also be used to aid children with disabilities or special learning needs. A Different Drill Sergeant There is an ongoing debate about com- puter use in the classroom. Proponents of the technology argue that the machines fos- ter excitement, playfulness and a love of learning among children who might other- wise be bored doing mundane assignments. Programs such as Addison-Wesley’s Infor- mation Laboratory Software: Life Science For The IIGS are on the side of the computer proponents. The software is basically an encyclopedia on disk that contains a wealth of information organized into a variety of life-science topics. Because each topic is linked to other related topics, students can quickly explore the database and retrieve information suitable for a lab report. Detractors of the proliferation of comput- ers in schools counter that children should master basic skills before they rely on machines to perform their tasks. This argu- ment does not carry much weight, however. In the elementary grades, computers are being used as supplements to traditional cur- ricula, not substitutes. Often, the software a school first purchases includes applications designed to help children grasp the basics of reading, spelling, math and typing. The IGS is a wonderful teaching tool for this purpose. Its fast execution speed and access to more memory offer a great deal of potential to augment learning in a number of key areas. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is a good case in point. This program not only pre- sents keyboard drills to teach students how to type (in either QWERTY or Dvorak for- mat), its use of real words will improve spelling skills. The 16-bit IIGS version has elaborate graphics and sound to comple- ment instruction of typing fundamentals, including correct posture and hand position. Typing speed and accuracy improve as chil- dren work through the program. (See the review in the Summer '88 issue of The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide.) Other software programs are available to drill students in basic math facts. These programs come in handy if kids balk at doing handwritten calculations. Giving students page after page of dry math prob- lems to solve may not be the best way to build strong foundations in math funda- mentals. Sitting in front of computers that combine instruction with entertainment may be more motivation to practice the skills being taught. The nice thing about programs such as DLM's Math Masters (grades 1 to 5), David- son’s Math Blaster Plus (grades 1 to 5) or 20. Fall 1988 EDUCATION Math And Me (preschool to kindergarten) is that they teach while reinforcing basic math- ematical concepts in exciting ways. Teachers or parents can set instructional levels to the needs of individual students. Kids are per- mitted to move at their own pace, receiving lots of positive reinforcement as they progress. The programs’ colorful graphics capture children's attention and imagination. The same can be said for Davidson's new Read 'N Roll, a powerful tool designed to improve reading comprehension in students age 8 to 12. The program's not designed to replace traditional reading instruction. Rather, teachers and parents should use it to rein- force what is being taught in the classroom. Children who have difficulty recognizing the main idea of a story, recalling its facts, identifying the story's sequence of events or drawing inferences could take advantage of what Read 'N Roll offers. There are 320 reading passages aimed at four grade levels. Children select the level and skill they wish to work at, read a short paragraph and answer a question. Correct answers are always rewarded with colorful graphics and encouraging sound. An arcade-like vocabulary builder called Strike 'N Spare is included on the Read 'N Roll disk. The game takes words from read- ing passages. Children must define a word correctly to direct the movements of an ani- mated bowler. Bowling a strike is not easy, but it's lots of fun. Kids return to the ques- tions for more chances to knock down pins. In the process, their vocabulary increases. While these programs are available for use on an 8-bit Apple II as well as the IIGS, the IIGS affords a number of advantages. At the top of the list is its Mac-like user interface. Pull- down menus, dialog boxes and icons make program operation with a mouse a breeze. All the kids have to do is point and click. Using a mouse on an 8-bit Apple II requires the purchase of an optional mouse card. The IIGS comes with a mouse that plugs into the computer via the ADB port on the keyboard. It does not cost extra or take up a valuable slot on the motherboard. In addition, the IIGS 3.5-inch disk format is better. Programs that require students to use the other side of a 5.25-inch floppy could be trouble. Disks get bent out of shape when they are jammed accidentally into a disk drive. Fingerprints and dirt parti- cles also wreak havoc. Such problems are, for the most part, eliminated with 3.5-inch diskettes, which are contained in plastic cases that are relatively immune to dust, dirt and kids' fingers. The 800K capacity of 3.5-inch diskettes also makes it possible for an entire program to be saved on one disk. Programs operate more quickly and efficiently when the need for disk swapping is eliminated. The IIGS works especially well with the Davidson products. These programs experi- chrome hue when booted on a digital RGB monitor. On the IIGS, however, their colors are vibrant and crisp. As computer programs become more com- plex, youngsters are challenged to move beyond the limitations faced by previous generations, Our children will discover knowledge as yet uncharted, conquer new frontiers and develop high-order thinking skills beyond our achievements. Realizing the potential of our most precious resource — children — requires providing them with extensive access to computers. ll — Carol S, Holzberg, Ph.D., ence the same problem as the original contributing editor Explore-A-Series. Math And Me, Math Blaster Plus and Read 'N Roll revert to a mono- Products Mentioned (See the "Apple IIGS Hardware And Software Math Masters Series Directory" for additional contact and pricing DIM Teaching Resources es Circle Reader Service Number 37 Building Blocks For Learning Series Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing First Byte - The Software Toolworks Circle Reader Service Number Circle Reader Service Number 38 Calendar Crafter Reader Rabbit MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Corp.) The Learning Co. Circle Reader Service Number 31 Circle Reader Service Number 39 Draw Plus/Paintworks Plus/Paintworks Gold Read 'N Roll Activision (Mediagenic) Davidson & Associates, Inc. Circle Reader Service Number 32 Circle Reader Service Number 40 -A-Science/Explore-A-Story The Graphics Studio William K. Bradford, Inc./D.C. Heath Accolade Circle Reader Service Number 33 Circle Reader Service Number 41 Information Laboratory Software: Life Science The Print Shop IIGS ‘Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc. Broderbund Software, Inc. Circle Reader Service Number 34 Circle Reader Service Number 42 KidsTime I Talking Notebook Series Great Wave Software First Byte, Inc. Circle Reader Service Number 35 Circle Reader Service Number 43 Math And Me/Math Blaster Plus Top Draw Davidson & Associates, Inc. StyleWare, Inc. Circle Reader Service Number 36 Circle Reader Service Number 44 The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 21 EDUCATION Priming For College With The Apple IIGS Helpful bints for students and parents alike to get maximum learn- ing potential from the Apple IIGS— often by using the software they already own. any parents, as they pur- chase Apple IGS computers, believe that the machines will contribute substantially to their children's educations. As a new school year begins, it seems appropriate to con- sider how high school and college students can use their IIGS computers to do well in school. 7 . By using their computers, students can enhance their achievement in school courses and pursue other learning interests. Along the way, they can build skills that, though perhaps not directly related to school grades, can be very valuable to them. It is impossible for schools to provide all the learning experiences necessary for life. School curricula tend to emphasize knowl- edge and skills that can be identified and measured, such as the ability to write com- plete sentences, perform mathematical calcu- lations and recite historical facts. Yet so much knowledge exists in most disciplines that high school or college courses can only skim the surface. A great deal remains for interested students to explore. This article will consider how IIGS com- puters can help students perform better in school, build skills and knowledge not nec- essarily covered in school, and expand their knowledge base beyond the material cov- ered in school courses. Learn To Type The first consideration in using a IIGS as a learning tool is a practical one: students should be able to type. High school students used to learn how to type so they could pro- duce their own term papers in college or prepare for secretarial careers. Those days are gone. It is impossible for anyone who has to hunt for keys to feel truly at home with a computer. Even people who know where to find the keys can benefit by learning touch- typing skills. The speed and accuracy of knowing where the keys are and using the correct fingers to strike them is superior to the two-finger system. Many high schools and community educa- tion programs offer keyboarding classes that teach students how to work efficiently with computers. Software products that teach fin- gering and other touch-typing skills are another option. For students willing and dis- ciplined enough to devote a half hour a day to working with such a program, it's an excellent way to learn typing skills. Depending on each student's dexterity, a few weeks should be all it takes to achieve a minimal skill level. That's when fingering becomes automatic, even with the symbol keys. After that, most of a student's practice time can be spent using the computer, though it's a good idea to go through the typ- ing program's speed drills from time to time. 22. Fall 1988 EDUCATION While many specialized software products exist that help students improve their school performance, perhaps the best place to start is with more general tools. The three major tools — word processors, databases and spreadsheets — can help students complete assignments, learn their school material and build personal skills. Furthermore, the tools enable students to perform tasks that though not actually required, help them learn more about their studies. Word Processing Using a word processor can make it easi- er for high school and college students to learn writing skills; produce neat, profes- sional-looking assignments; and develop their writing creativity. Educators have defined writing as a pro- cess rather than a task. The process consists of gathering and organizing ideas, writing drafts, and revising and editing the drafts to produce final documents. By hand, this pro- cess is time consuming and tedious. Most students don't go through the entire process when they write compositions. Many simply write out rough drafts, copy it over — perhaps making a few changes — and hope for the best. This approach to writing is not conducive to earning good grades or building writing skills. An Apple IIGS and a word processor make following the steps involved in writing more practical. After all, it's easier to type than it is to write by hand, and the computer is useful throughout the entire writing pro- cess, Students can type in brainstormed thoughts, deleting inappropriate ideas later. Organizing ideas into outline form is easy with the cut and paste features of most I word processors. When it's time to write a rough draft, it's easy to create an outline by replacing words and phrases with complete sentences. 3& LIONHEART | BUSINESS & STATISTICAL SOFTWARE One of the hardest things for students to do is provide concrete details in support of their written statements. With the help of their parents or teachers, students can make outline templates that can be used for guid- ance through the writing process. Specific questions — such as "Why do you say this?" "Can you give another reason?" and " anything else?" — could be included. The templates might also include separate versions for specific types of writing, such as expository, descriptive and persuasive essays. By using the Save As command immediately after opening their template files, students could reuse the templates as often as necessary. Word processors can aid writing in yet another way by permitting experiments with various writing techniques. When writing by hand, the only way to try different ways of organizing paragraphs is to write them out Is there DIVERSI-TUNE” ANew Breakthrough In Computer Music! Explanatory books with professional compiled software; the new standard for statistical use. 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Diversified Softwa 34880 Buni Farmington, MI Circle Reader Service Number 10 EDUCATION With word processing software, however, it's easy to rearrange sentences. Students can write paragraphs first one way and then another. The ability to experiment with various writing techniques makes word processing an ideal tool for creative writing. Whether assigned to do so or not, many students like to express themselves by writing poetry, short stories and plays. These activities form a creative outlet for emotions and ideas and also build writing skills. As with many endeavors, one learns to write by writing. Making It Better Many teachers make the revising and rewriting process an additional assignment. Even if not assigned, it's a good idea to return a corrected composition to the teach- er for further comment. Though most teach- ers are very busy, few will refuse to acknowledge a student's extra effort. Even if a student decides not to resubmit a paper, revising it according to the teacher's sugges- tions will pay off in improved writing skills. Many word processors include a spelling checker and thesaurus. Spelling checkers compare words in a document with words in a dictionary file. If a word matches a dictio- nary entry, the program considers it correct. If the word doesn't match a dictionary entry, it is highlighted and presented as a potential misspelling. A user must then decide whether or not the word is misspelled. An online thesaurus, when properly used, can improve most students’ vocabularies and their written and oral forms of expression. Like a written thesaurus, an online thesaurus provides a list of words similar in meaning to the word in question. Seeing selections of words with like connotations helps students choose the right one. Professional Output Another advantage of word processing is the ability to produce professional-looking papers. It is hard to overestimate the impact of clean, neat compositions. While most teachers try not to let appearance unduly influence their judgment, papers that are messy and dif- ficult to read will probably not be valued as highly as ones that can be read easily. Of course, poor-quality printing can make a good composition look bad. Students should make sure their printers are working properly, are set up to produce the highest- quality output and that their printer ribbons are fresh. Students can also use word processing as a personal study tool. Nearly anything that can be written by hand can be written with a word processor. Many students are more willing to write as they study if they can write at a keyboard, Much can be gained by rewriting notes after class every day. Lectures are fresh enough in memory so that sloppy handwrit- ing can be deciphered, and details that stu- dents may not have had time to jot down in class can be included. Text Vs. Graphics Which word processor should you choose? Many excellent products are avail- able for the IIGS. Graphics-based word pro- cessors, which provide more fonts and other special effects, tend to be slower. Text-based word processors are fast, but the few special effects they offer are not shown on screen. Perhaps the best way to decide is to con- sider the needs of each student. Younger stu- dents, and those focusing on subject areas that often use graphs and illustrations, may benefit from using a graphics-oriented word processor. Less academically oriented stu- dents may be more willing to work with the more interesting graphics-oriented programs. Students who must produce long compo- sitions, reports and term papers that require quotations, end notes and footnotes will find text-based word processors better suited to their needs. Database Managers Like word processors, databases are gen- eral-purpose application programs that stu- dents can use to complete assignments and enhance their personal skills. Database pro- grams are tools that enable users to store, categorize and sort facts. Much of what stu- dents deal with in school is factual material. Using database programs to manage those facts can be helpful. Using a database manager is not as easy as using a word processor. To get full bene- fit from the experience, students may need help from their parents — who do not have 1) Where did it happen? 2) Who was with you? 3) What is your relationship to that person? 4) What made you remember it? 5) What mood were you in? 6) When did it happen? 7) What kind of day was it? 8) Why did it happen? Word Processing Template For A Personal Narrative Essay 9) How did it happen? 10) Describe the sequence of events. 11) Did you have any clues ahead of time that it would happen? What were they? 12) Did anything happen later because this happened? What? When? 13) How did you feel after it happened? 14) How do you feel about it now? Using any word processor, parents can set up simple outlines to belp children structure essay assignments. The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 25 EDUCATION to be experts in database management. The students are most likely to need guidance in determining what to include in their records and help in interpreting the results of their searches. Usually, you begin a database by design- ing the records. These records contain the fields that will hold your data. In a simple name-and-address database, a record would be the complete group of elements that make up the information for one person. The fields would be the name, street address, city, state and Zip code. A lot of thought goes into designing a good database. Students, like most of us, learn best by trial and error. Working with a database manager also gives students practice in making sense of dis- crete bits of information. Isolated facts are largely meaningless. They take on importance only when grouped and analyzed. It is this grouping-and-analysis activity that provides students with real learning experiences. Students can use databases to organize and store information from class notes. For stu- dents willing to take the time to do so, the experience provides a review of the facts and a greater understanding of the material. This is a much more complex process than the rewriting of class notes mentioned earlier. Say, for example, that a teacher has given a week of lectures on Civil War battles. Reworking riotes from the lectures into a database — which might include battle loca- tions, troop numbers, casualty numbers, the winning side and each battle's effect on the war — would help students learn the facts and provide a better understanding of the events of that time. With such a database, students would be better equipped to test, for instance, the hypothesis that the side with the largest number of soldiers usually won the battle. Another use for databases might be to replace the traditional 3 by 5 index cards used for writing term papers. While index cards are more portable, the information they contain must be located by sorting through dozens, if not hundreds, of cards. Placing the same material into simple databases with keyword fields allows stu- dents to locate information about specific term-paper topics very quickly. A second database could be used to manage term-paper bibliographies. This database would include separate records for each source consulted by students while researching their topics. Database Templates For A Bibliography And Term Paper Noes File: Bibliography ~ File: Note Cards Report: Bibliography Report: “Note Cards Name of Publication: Reference Title: Author/Editor of Pub.: Page Number: ieee “Name of Article: Quoted/Paraphrased: “Author of Article: Topic/Keyword: ear | Date of Publication: Information: Ss “Published By: i Saal ~ Location: ue athe 1 eee Pages Cited: HE ee Topic/Keyword: ies ane Ss Once-painful research tasks, such as writing notes on three-by-five cards, take on more enjoyment — and flexibility — when maintained on a database program. Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are also harder to use than word processors, but they, too, can provide students with significant learning experi- ences. As in working with databases, stu- dents may get the most out of working with spreadsheets if their parents help out, partic- ularly in the beginning stages. Because they deal primarily with num- bers, spreadsheets are most valuable in mathematics. Most spreadsheets offer a large set of numerical and mathematical functions, such as average, sum, tangent and square root. Experimenting with spreadsheet func- tions can help students arrive at a clearer understanding of mathematical concepts, particularly if the students choose to experi- ment with concepts being covered in class. If, for example, students are learning to calculate square roots in algebra class, they might experiment with the square root func- tion in a spreadsheet to get a better under- standing of what the likely results will be for given numbers. With this kind of experimentation, stu- dents can learn a great deal about the rela- tionships between numbers — including the way numbers behave in various operations — without carrying out a number of repeti- tive calculations by hand. It is important to ensure that students do not use their spreadsheets as shortcuts. They must actually learn how to perform calcula- tions. In the example above, students must still learn how to calculate square roots. If spreadsheets are used to circumvent the learning process, students will probably not be able to pass theif classroom tests. The correct idea of using spreadsheets is to enhance understanding; not replace learning. Many high school students have only vague ideas of how decimals and percents actually work, particularly in real-world areas such as money and interest rates. Spreadsheet-pay- ment and mortgage-calculation functions can help build an understanding of what interest rates add to the cost of a purchase. Many schools include work with electron- ic spreadsheets in their accounting courses. Students whose schools don't yet use com- puters in these courses can benefit from 26 Fall 1988 EDUCATION working with spreadsheets at home. Class work that is to be done by hand can be transferred to a spreadsheet program to experiment with at home. Tracking Grades Another way in which students can use spreadsheets is to keep track of grades. If teachers use numerical rather than letter- based grading systems, their students can keep spreadsheet progress records that show precisely where their scores stand at any given time. This exercise helps students understand the value of individual assign- ments and shows how missing one assign- ment can affect their grades. Many spreadsheets have useful graphing capabilities. Transforming numerical data into graph form is an excellent way to increase the understanding of mathematical concepts. Representing ratios and propor- tions in graphic form can greatly clarify their meaning. Spreadsheet-generated graphs can be useful in other ways, too. Students can include such graphs in term papers or other reports to convey and clarify data. Ina sociology paper, for example, an individual student might describe the racial makeup of a society in his or her own words. Adding a graph to complement the information would increase reader understanding. Drawing And Paint Programs Another type of software can be used to enhance student performance. Drawing and paint programs help students produce illus- trations, diagrams, charts, maps and graphs. Including illustrations in written assignments can increase the value of the information presented and make favorable impressions on teachers. Students may also find drawing software helpful as a study tool. The process of drawing phenomenons (in this case, observ- able facts or events) can make the phe- nomenons clearer to students, helping to clarify details and fix them in the mind. That's one reason science teachers request drawings with lab reports. Give your child the basic training needed for future success in school. MATH and ME and READING and ME software. These two programs provide your child with a solid foundation in math and reading. Animated, colorful learning games give your child a positive first expe- rience with the computer. And when your child completes an activity, he/ she is rewarded with a certificate that has characters for coloring! MATH and ME and READING and ME have been teacher developed and child tested. Both programs follow in the tradition of Math Blaster” (Math Blaster Plus™), one of the best-selling educational software programs ever published. Re | Ll Circle Reader Service Number 11 READING and ME (ages 4-7) covers * readiness + alphabet * phonics + words MATH and ME (ages 3-6) covers + shapes * numbers patterns ¢ simple addition Sugg. retail price: $39.95 each For the Authorized Davidson Dealer nearest you or for more information