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Kids On Keys (What a dreadful title!) is for three to nine year olds and has three simple games for learning about words, though I would be a little concerned if nine year olds in my school hadn't progressed beyond the words here! Again, the program is suitable for BBC or Electron, and the first game has numbers and letters floating down the screen.

The child has to find the letter or number on the keyboard, and then type it in. After fifteen numbers and letters, a balloon carrying a little boy displaying a word appears. If the child can type in the whole word, extra points are gained. For children who pick up the idea quickly, the dropping speed can be increased. Even so, you can only have three or four letter words.

Game 2 is a variation on the first, with small pictures of objects such as a lamp, a key, a plane etc slowly gliding down the screen. The child has three chances to type in the first letter of the object, and if enough points are scored there is a bonus round where only part of a picture is shown.

Game 2 has, in fact, a reasonable degree of flexibility, since there are four levels of difficulty, and in the harder levels the entire word must be typed in.

The final game shows pictures which are numbered from one to five. A word appears on the screen, and the child has to type in the number that identifies it before the word disappears. As before there are three chances to type the correct answer, the scoring decreasing with each try, and there is a bonus round with partial pictures if the child is successful.

The instructions provided with this tape are very good and there is no doubt that the programs could be helpful in an infant classroom, or with slightly older children who have learning disabilities. The graphics are less than exciting though, with a limited use of colour, and it is sometimes difficult to recognise the objects. Balanced against this is the fact that the tape is reasonably priced.

Mike Kent