Eric
Anderson, Library/Media Services
Excerpt from review written for The Computing Teacher,
March 1993
The more
software one reviews, the more cynical one becomes. Very rarely
do programs excite me; the state of jumping up and down over
a software item has passed. It's been a long time since that
sort of excitement returned. Rocky's Boots has rekindled
that flame.
If the
computer is indeed another piece of AV equipment, then librarians
need to use the same criteria for microcomputer software selection
that they use for other forms of educational media. A complement
of sight, sound, color, motion and gee-whiz are the forte
of the microcomputer. Many programs use one or more of these
components. Never have I seen a software piece use all of
these to the extent they are utilized in Rocky's Boots.
It's very
difficult to describe my reactions to Rocky's Boots.
There is a "wow" sort of response that goes back
to my first set of Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys - building
and fantasizing all wrapped together. Added to that is the
thrill of putting my first radio set together and all of the
really neat science labs I remember from 5th and 6th grade.
As long
as I have been reviewing software packages I have screamed
about price versus performance. A game costing $75 is without
question an expensive proposition. Rocky's Boots is
the first $75 educational software item I can recommend without
reservation.
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Anne
Wujik, author "Educational Software Best-Sellers in the
Home Market"
Excerpt from review written for National Institute of Education,
June 1984
Rocky's
Boots is probably one of the best known of the products from
The Learning Company. The program runs only on the Apple and
therefore its sales do not approach those of programs formatted
for five or six of the popular home computers. However, the
program has received much critical acclaim and widespread
press attention and is representative of a type of software
that is expected to become more and more common.
After
learning their way around the tutorials, the user is ready
to try and solve the series of game puzzles in the fourth
program. The games range from fairly simple exercises (simple,
that is, for those who have mastered the concepts taught earlier)
to progressively more challenging games with which even The
Learning Company's programmers admit they have some trouble.
This is
a highly challenging program and will probably be too advanced
for some nine and ten year-olds. But the program effectively
teaches and reinforces thinking skills from simple to complex,
and reviewers, teachers and children alike have been known
to really get caught up in the program. The documentation
does not offer enough help for parents who may wish to help
their children in their early experiments with this game.
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