Will It Go Round In Circles, Or Square, Or Hexagonal .....
A Review of Shades and JB's Colors and Shapes Workshop
Rich Cunningham
When I was growing up in Southern Oregon, it was a treat to go to the
movies. We didn't have much
television, and what we had was in black and white. So, going to the movies
and watching color movies and
cartoons was a real treat. And I still have a soft spot in my heart for
anything that presents itself in
vibrant, bold colors, especially a good computer program like the one I'm
going to discuss now.
The name of the program is called Shades and JB's Color and Shapes Workshop.
It is part of a threesome of
programs that VTech SmartBytes have released for the 3 to 6 year old age
group. It's purpose is to help the
user relate shapes and colors to everyday activities, and it does this by
playing several games, with the help
of the Masters of Ceremonies, Shades and JB.
Shades is a chameleon who can
change color to suit the occasion,
and JB is a jitterbug (get it...JB...jitterbug.....). Together they provide
the user interface that allows a
child to easlily understand the program. They also offer help and suggestions
when you are stuck in a game. JB
also helps you move from game to game, and Shades helps you keep track of
your progress in the game, via a
diploma chart.
The CD ROM based game starts with an introduction from the MC's, then the
user has the option of choosing one
of 6 games. These games, called Workshop Activities are: Sing-a-long,
Coloring Book game, Find the Colors game,
Match the Shapes game, Build a Toy game, and The Pattern Game. Each of these
games teach a concept relating to
the game.
For example, The Coloring Book game reinforces color identification
as a child chooses colors for the
animated story characters and scenery; and the Match the Shapes game
encourages a child to recognize and name
primary shapes within a variety of scenes. The games are not very complex, as
the target age group of the
program is 3 to 6 years of age. At the end of each game, the user gets a
diploma from Shades that can be
printed out on a printer. It can also be used to track the progress
throughout the game. After getting the
diploma, you click on JB, and he recommends which game should be played next.
A nice feature of this program is the parental controls feature. It gives the parent the abililty to configure the program to suit their child, and perform the routine housekeeping chores so the child doesn't. This includes setting up the included screen saver, adjusting the volume, and the printer set-up, among other things. It allows a parent to get hands on involvement with the program, and enjoy it with their child.
The program installation was flawless under Windows 95, and performed with no
glitches or hang-ups. The
customer support number is included in all the literature, which tells me
they want to hear from their users
about problems. There was also a note that said the program had used the
Windows 95 beta , and while that
should not cause any problems, they wanted to be contacted if there were
problems.
All in all, this is a very good, solid program that doesn't attempt to
accomplish too much, but does accomplish
what it sets out to do, which is help learn about colors and shapes. The
other two programs in this trilogy are
Shades and JB's Alphabet Workshop, and Shades and JB's Numbers Workshop.
Based on what I have seen from this
program, these 3 together would be a very good platform for a young computer
user to expand from.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
Shades and JB's Colors and Shapes Workshop |
| Company: |
VTech Industries, Inc.
|
| Cost: |
$29.99 |
System Requirements:
IBM:
386DX-33 (486 recommended),
4 MB Ram (8 MB recommended), 2X CD ROM,
Windows 3.1 or greater, supports Windows 95 install,
SVGA 640x480, 256 color mode, Soundcard, and mouse.
No Macintosh version available.
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 4
Learning Value 3
Entertainment Value 4
Graphics 3
Sound 4
Overall Score:
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