What’s the capital of Latvia? Where is Slovenia? Is Norway a member of the EU? Is it Budapest or Bucharest that’s the capital of Hungary? How is your knowledge of the European Union? Good or bad, unless you’ve been in deep hibernation for the last few months you’ll be aware that Ireland currently holds the Presidency of the EU. Therefore the timing of the release of Who Stole Mona? couldn’t be better. Designed specifically for Irish children, by teachers Robbie O’Leary and Simon Lewis, this program takes children on a virtual tour of all the existing and applicant EU countries as they seek to discover which cunning thief has stolen the Mona Lisa painting from its home in Paris. Based on the best-selling CD ROM Who took the Book? by the same authors, this detective-style quest fully engages children, as they decipher the clues they retrieve, and ultimately, by a process of deduction, discover which of sixteen reprobates is responsible for this dastardly act.
However to describe this title as an interactive geography lesson is to do it an injustice. A vast range of historical and cultural information as well as extensive Maths and English activities are cleverly integrated, ensuring children read, remember, research, calculate and solve problems throughout the adventure. Based soundly on the recommendations of the Revised Primary Curriculum, Who Stole Mona? promotes discovery-based learning, including collaboration, problem-solving and active engagement with meaningful activities. This is truly a cross curricular title and one in which undoubtedly budding young sleuths will find of immense appeal as they embark on their mission, tracking down the missing painting and the perpetrator of the crime.
Once they work out the clue to a particular country children must complete a curricular activity to proceed. This could involve a piece of comprehension, a mathematical problem or, indeed, a geographical exercise that may include a consultation with their Infopad (an easily accessible database of information of all the relevant countries). At regular intervals a text message arrives courtesy of the pop-up mobile phone that will assist the virtual detectives in eliminating one or more suspects, and bringing them closer to identifying the thief.
Best suited to collaborative group work in fifth and sixth classes, under teacher guidance possibilities abound for extension and follow-up activities.
Who stole Mona? is only available from Diskovery with single-user and network versions costing €99. Installation is simple and the programme will run effectively on Pentium II based PCs with 32Mbyte of RAM and above.
With such an extensive range of meaningful educational activities it’s patently obvious that practicing teachers are responsible for its creation. ‘Irish software for Irish schools’ that’s the difference, such a pity that those charged with the development of ICT in education don’t seem to subscribe to this point of view. Appropriate support and funding for indigenous software development could result in more similar and relevant programmes but for the moment we must be satisfied with a handful of titles, developed by enthusiastic teachers entirely off their own bat.
With Who stole Mona?, the authors have succeeded in creating a series of educational activities which are varied, challenging and interactive. Further enhanced with superb graphics, video, sound and animation this experience will prove attractive and engaging. EU presidency or not, this title should be part of the curriculum for every pupil at senior level in primary school. Dix points!
Publisher: Diskovery
Contact: 01-8038822 – www.diskovery.ie
22/03/04
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