Computer Software Teaches Rainforest Preservation by Don Rittner Trying to teach the ecology and preservation of the Tropical Rainforest is a large and often difficult task for educators. The Rainforest stretches across the equator inhabiting many countries and forms a complex ecological study region since there are many different types of rainforest. The Chariot Software Group has taken a novel and exciting approach by combining computer software and gaming that both instructs and entertains. Eco-Adventures in The Rainforest is an adventure game designed on Apple Macintosh's Hypercard software program. By combining the interactive elements (graphics, animation, sound and text) of Hypercard and an imaginary landscape that incorporates the people, flora and fauna of several types of rainforest, Eco-Adventures allows the student to explore and learn by "accepting" a challenge by a forest ranger to go on an expedition, in a race against time, and find a particular animal or plant in the rainforest. The student can navigate (north, south, up a tree, etc.), by simply selecting a button and during his/her exploration comes upon challenges like falling into a river (and learning that Piranhas do not necessarily quickly eat you up, but rather are good scavengers that clean the river), or startling a gorilla (the student learns it may only be beating his breast to scare you off). A window allows the student to see where he/she is going. The student is taught how the rainforest is being destroyed by logging, killing of rare animals, or slash and burn agriculture as he/she progresses through the game. The goal of playing the game is to stay alive, score points, and complete the mission. If you get lost, a guide will give you some help, or you can look at a map. If you survive the expedition (I kept getting eaten by crocodiles or crushed by a Boa), you return to headquarters to a press conference and are asked five questions with three possible answers. This is an excellent way to reinforce what the student has learned. The student has the ability to stop logging of the rain forest and promote regrowth (which takes only minutes instead of years in the game), or climb trees to study the canopy (without the special climbing gear) but these shortcuts are a matter of increasing the entertainment value of the game. Before the student can start each game, the software's copy protection scheme forces the student to answer a question that is found in the accompanying "The Rainforest Book," by Scott Lewis (Preface by Robert Redford), an excellent guide on how to save the world's rainforests. The page number is given so the student can quickly look up the fact before he/she starts the game. By combining this information with what the student learns on his/her travels, the student quickly absorbs facts about the rainforest environment. Also included in the kit is a wall size poster of a composite rainforest. A teacher's guide is supplied with the school edition (5 sets of disks) that provides a glossary, identification tests, post game activities, and the answers to the press conference questions. Eco-Adventures in the Rainforest is an innovative and entertaining way to educate young people, as well as adults, on the complex issues facing the destruction of the Rainforest. As a teaching aide, it succeeds nicely. Its entertainment value also gets high marks. Requirements: Apple Macintosh, Hypercard, System 6.02 or better, Two 800k floppy drives or a hard drive. Price: $49.95, single user version; $79.95 for school edition. Source: Chariot Software Group. 3659 India St., San Diego, CA 92103 800-242-7468 RATING: 4.5 (5 being highest) User Friendly: 4.5 Significant Environmental value: 4.5 Educational value: 4.5 Copyright 1991, Don Rittner ---------- Don Rittner is the author of EcoLinking: Everyone's Guide to Online Information (Peachpit Press), a columnist for Environment News Service, and Host of America Online's Environmental Forum.