Jenny Benjamin finds out how Parents Information Network has updated its advice and training services
In 1994, a small group of ex-teachers had a vision of the future. With an eye on developments in the USA, they predicted that the personal computer was going to make it big in Britain. Almost every home would have one, and children would be among the main users.
Instead of recoiling in horror at the idea of children spending yet more hours mesmerised by a flickering screen, they believed that parents and educators should accept the new medium as inevitable, learn more about it, and help children use it in a way that would enhance, rather than impede, their learning. To promote this message, and to support parents in their efforts, they set up Parents Information Network (PIN).
Originally a subscription-based organisation communicating mainly through quarterly newsletters, PIN went online in 1999. Subscriptions were abolished, and all the information in the newsletter, including PIN's highly regarded independent software evaluations, moved to the organisation's web page (www.pin.org.uk).
At the beginning of this month, the PIN site had, in the words of general manager, Dr Maggie Holgate, a 'major facelift', to give it a more professional look and to make it more interactive. At the same time, the number of evaluations was increased to more than 200, with many of the new reviews covering more games-oriented programmes.
Funding for PIN's work comes partly from Government (about 25 per cent from the DfEE), partly from sponsors such as Hewlett Packard, the BBC and Channel 4, and partly from companies who use PIN's services. For example, software publishers who want their programmes to be evaluated pay for submission and for licences to use PIN's endorsements. According to Maggie Holgate, PIN is strenuous in protecting its independence. 'For PIN, perception of its integrity is the bottom line,' she stresses.
Training is also an important part of PIN's work. In 1999, it developed a series of workshop units for schools and other establishments to offer to parents and other interested adults wishing to build up computer and Internet skills. The modules have gone down well in the eight schools where they've been tried out, and PIN is now looking for ways of making them more widely available. Additional modules, including some designed for early learning, are currently under development. Nurseries and schools interested in trialling these packages should contact PIN via e-mail (post@pinparents.com).
For more information, write to: PIN, PO Box 12980, London SE20 7ZN.
Software reviews
Two cheers for Spot
Spot the puppy may not enthral every adult compelled to spend hours in his bland company, but he's certainly popular with all the pre-schoolers I know. So Spot and his Friends (Windows/Mac, CD Rom, Europress, 17.02 minus VAT) is bound to be a hit with its target age group of two years and above, although adult supervisors will begin to tire of it some time before their charges do.
After some rather lengthy opening credits, you arrive in Spot's garden, where you click on different items to access the four stories. Click on the sandpit, for example, and up comes Spot's Holiday, a story all about the little dog's day on the beach.
Three activities, two fairly simple, and one more elaborate, appear in each story. In Spot's Holiday, for instance, you have to hunt for Dad, who has been hidden (by Spot, of course) under a blanket. As you try the various possible hiding places, animations come into play. You also help with a bit of kite-flying and, finally, build and decorate an on-screen sandcastle.
Other final activities include placing animals in a farmyard scene (a great favourite with our three-year-old tester, this one) and making a carnival picture.
There were technological glitches. The programme took a long time to install on PC, and, once installed, flashed up error panels on more than one occasion.
These problems were irritating, but easily surmounted. However, we found it impossible to print out finished pictures. Sandcastles and farmyards appeared, but they weren't the ones our testers had so carefully designed. This caused disappointment, but did not ultimately dim the children's enthusiasm for the programme. All the features that make the books popular are here, with the added delights of interaction.
This programme is available from R-E-M, tel: 01458 254 70
