Storyline is one of four language programs for parents to use with their children in the home and is based on programs developed for use in schools.

This one helps children compose their own stories, and could be helpful for those who would not normally write stories, because of lack of motivation, lack of confidence, or are put off by poor handwriting. Words and phrases are combined to produce stories, some of which might be 'nonsense' stories. This in itself can act as a stimulus to some children, but given a little time they should be able to put some of the unusual combinations to good effect and will gain a useful insight into sentence structure.

The program has two levels, with the vocabulary in level one set at a more restricted level. At the start of the program, the user is asked if a printer is being used, followed by a request to select the level required. After these choices have been made, a word or phrase appears at the bottom of the screen. This is printed in clear mode 7 double height letters on a red background, which I think is far better for the group of children likely to be using this program than the more complex graphic lettering used in some programs. The child may move this to the top of the screen to begin the story (press X) or change it (press any other key) and repeats the procedure until the story is complete or until he/she wishes to see the story so far - the print scrolls automatically as the text window fills up - or make a print out of the story so far, assuming a printer is being used! The programs have predetermined sentence structures, so the correct punctuation is always put in, and there is automatic wrapround at the end of lines, so no words are split up. On model B the story may be up to about 400 words, while model A will allow about half that

All controls are single letters, so the program is very simple to operate. This disabling of the ESCAPE key to prevent accidental exit, the partial disabling of the BREAK key so that although the user exits from the program it can be re-RUN, together with the "Are you sure?" warning, which comes up if the user decides to start a new story, are very helpful touches, and show what can be done to assist the smooth use of micros by children.

The instruction leaflet is a clear guide to the use of the program, and most users will welcome the helpful instructions which enable parents - perhaps the children will work it out first! - to change the vocabulary in the program.

I'd like to see an option for saving the stories. This would be very useful, particularly if a printer isn't available, so that parents and children can review the progress being made and the variety in the stories produced. If it were possible to revise the stories, then this would give them an introduction to the word-processor.

Parents wishing to find a language program for children having difficulty with writing for the reasons mentioned earlier, should find this a useful alternative, and I'll certainly be using it with those who are not keen on putting pen to paper. However, several teachers I asked to try it out in the normal classroom situation found the "structured situation" too restrictive - like many programs. Its success depends on the imagination of the users!