Computanda

Julian Morgan's Computanda column first appeared in the JACT Bulletin in 1995. Many of the software reviews are still highly relevant: those marked with an asterisk can be obtained from J-Progs, Julian's software company (www.j-progs.com) Program names are highlighted to assist searching.

January 2004

Computanda: Show accents

Computanda goes silver here, as I write my 25th column for JACT.

CIRCE - assistance required
Elsewhere in this new ICT section you will find a full description of CIRCE - a Classics & ICT Resources Course for Europe. As part of the work, I am to construct a list of popular software titles and websites. I should be most grateful for any help which is available from JACT members. Please write to me with recommendations about resources you use, or concrete lesson plans, which you feel might be of interest to others. I shall certainly try to make use of anything I am sent and will be most grateful for your help.

E-Learning Credits
I have received a few requests about this new system of buying software, sponsored by Curriculum Online. Under the scheme schools in the maintained sector can purchase software using a government sponsored credit system, which in effect means they get new programs without having to dip into departmental budgets. At the time of writing J-PROGS is half way to becoming a registered supplier. If you work in a school in the maintained sector, please contact me in the New Year, by which time I hope I will have completed the registration process successfully.

Roman Technology 4
One of my earliest and longest standing titles is approaching the completion of its 4th version at the time of writing. Roman Technology first appeared just over 10 years ago, when black and white line drawings were state of the art. It benefited from the input of various advisers and trialling processes, and eventually (wow!) it became a full colour production a few years later. The new version 4 incorporates 3D graphics and animations, with reconstructed ballista,
onager, toilet block, and many more. A good selection of images is included on the CD for reference, printing out, or using in electronic assignments. Roman Technology 4 should be finished early in the New Year, so please contact me if you are interested. Expect to see a full review of it soon in these pages. If you have previously purchased any earlier version of Roman Technology, you will qualify for an upgrade discount.

Ancient Rome
A review of this new program can be found elsewhere here, which comes from a company in Italy called Altair 4. The program features 3D reconstructions of many of Rome’s best known buildings. I have stock on the shelves, so if you are interested in acquiring it, please contact me for details.

Olympia
At the time of writing (late November) I have no stock left at all of this very popular software title and I have been informed that it is discontinued. I am still trying to get some more copies, but this may prove a hopeless task. This is mixed in with some good news, however. The new Olympia DVD-ROM is expected in December 2003, and by the time you read this, I may well know more or even have some copies in stock. Please contact me for further details in the new Year.

Hot Potatoes
I came across this program recently on the web. It is a freely downloadable program, which allows for the easy construction of a variety of tests. This includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and cloze exercises. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. If you are the sort of teacher who
likes to create resources but without the effort of learning anything at all about programming, it may be for you. Certainly, it could allow students to create their own assessment modules and may well offer valuable revision support where required. You can find Hot Potatoes, for Mac or PC, at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/.

Medusa Courses
A Medusa course will be held at Derby Grammar School on March 20th, 2004, on General ICT and Classics Teaching. This will aim to look at the most recent ICT materials available. It will follow the format familiar to many who have been on such courses before, including a brief look at some online materials, as well as resources which can be installed on networks and hard drives. Please see the application forms in this section. Heads of department in some schools may find it convenient to have focused ICT training using their own facilities and tailored directly to their own needs. I am usually willing to come out and provide such training and am always happy to discuss terms. Should you require assistance in this area, please contact me.

Free Software Updates
Should you have experienced difficulties recently in running any J-PROGS or Centaur Systems software on a network, please contact me to discuss it. There are free upgrades available to combat this kind of problem, provided that the software in question was bought in the last few years.

ICT Good Practice Guide
My 21 page practical guide lends advice on many aspects of using computers constructively in teaching classical subjects. Called A Good Practice Guide for the use of ICT in Classics Teaching, it is available free of charge. Illustrations for it were kindly provided by Helen Forte to whom I am most grateful. Please request your copy by contacting me at the address given below. The guide has been adopted by the LTSN (Learning and Teaching Support Network) and is also available online, at http://hca.ltsn.ac.uk/ict/c-guide/index.php, or on my own
website, address below, where it can be downloaded as a .pdf file. Please check it out.

J-PROGS catalogue
The J-PROGS catalogue for 2003 is available from me at the address given below and will remain current until March 2004. It has details on several established programs such as Rome the Eternal City, Rome Photo CD, Roman Africa, ROMANA, Latin Vocab Drill and Latin Flash Drill. The catalogue can also be downloaded as a .pdf file from the J-PROGS website, address below, as can a J-PROGS order form. The online catalogue is a fairly hefty file to download (over 4 mb) so perhaps you shouldn’t try this at home!

Contact Point
Please email me on julian@j-progs.com or write to me at 81 High St, Pitsford, Northants, NN6 9AD, if you require any further information or help. I will be glad to supply a free J-PROGS catalogue and include you on my lists for future mailings. J-PROGS can be found at http://www.j-progs.com