Granny's Garden Last update 23/04/2008

Contact

4Mation Educational Resources
14 Castle Park Road,
Barnstaple. Devon.
EX32 8PA
UK.

Email: sales@4Mation.co.uk

Program evaluation

I say:

 Yes, I know, this program has been around for ever. 1983 was the first version for the BBC Model B computer over here in the U.K. Since then it has metamorphosed via an interesting Australian modified version for the PC to the current excellent Windows version - and now a version on CD AND a Mac version.

Granny's Garden is probably the classic children's educational adventure. Created by Mike Matson,  I've seen it enjoyed by students from 6 to 16. I guess if you want a closer age range then 6-10 years-old or KS2 might give you an idea, but as my Year 11 students chill with Granny after a hard hour's coursework (really!), then you'll see that age classification is difficult.

Educational value? Well - it's just great fun - so subvert the National Curriculum and the Literacy hour and use this instead! But if you need to justify the purchase it encourages reading for meaning, note-taking, logical thought, problem-solving, attention to sequences of events and to detail. It's also a good springboard for lots of other curriculum activities and it provides a focus for children to talk and discuss strategies - i.e. it's a useful collaborative activity. Have a look at 4Mation's site for more.

When Granny's Garden was fairly new I had the opportunity to video groups of Special Needs and EAL children (at Stage 2 I'd estimate now) working together on the program. After transcribing the talk and analysing it I was able to show (or so I thought) a little of what went on. This was what I concluded then (1985):

"The children paid close attention to each other's contributions: recalling past actions; using it to plan future action and, in some cases, predicting possible outcomes of the planned action. In the process they formulated and reformulated their individual and joint knowledge in order to solve the problems they faced: they used language successfully in the given context."

This seems to happen whenever this type of program is used. Many others have made and reported similar observations. This original research is on 5.25" BBC-formatted floppy (!!) so not available here.

However, available on this site is a similar piece of research which looked at how children's talk was promoted as they used a database to investigate a "crime." Go to "Computer databases and children's talk" in the "Literacy, learning and ICT" section of the site. Or click here to download / view the .pdf file.

Also worth a look is the 2002 "Report on the Educational Use of Games" from TEEM.

If you're really hooked on Granny then there is now also a Retro version. This is the original 1983 BBC 32K version of Granny's Garden. It has been converted to run on Windows without the aid of a separate emulator. It has the original tune and the chunky mode 7 graphics.

And now, December 2007, there is Picture Data Granny's Garden which, say 4Mation, is a natural and understandable way of integrating information handling into the classroom. It is based on the characters and locations in the famous Granny's Garden and is an ideal way of extending and enhancing work with Granny's Garden.

Program Details

4Mation say:

"Our Granny is still going strong"

Subjects: Language, problem solving and modelling. Suitable for: 6 to 10 years.

Granny’s Garden is a lively modelling and problem-solving program designed to promote thinking skills and collaborative working. The program encourages note taking and logical thought and it provides a focus for children to talk and discuss strategies.

Children will find the search for the six missing children of the King and Queen of the Mountains, in their mysterious and magical Kingdom, is just as exciting as it was when computers first came into the classroom. The City of Dragons and the Land of Mystery wait to be explored.

Granny's Garden remains a firm favourite with teachers and children alike. Over the years it has obtained 'classic' status and is considered by many to be the definitive educational software problem solving adventure for young children. The program features superb graphics and animations which ensure it remains as educationally useful as ever.

Key Features
All time favourite modelling / problem solving adventure
Links with ICT attainment targets 2 & 3
Supports level 1-3 in EN2 reading
Encourages reading for meaning
Easy to use with clear screens and text
Excellent for use with a group
Classroom resources included for linking into class work

Classroom Resources
The CD-ROM also contains a useful set of time-saving Granny's Garden classroom resources in printable PDF format. The resources consist of twenty four activity sheets and a set of picture files of the characters and scenes from the adventure. These resources provide a springboard for lots of other curriculum activities.

Network Licence
The network version allows use on a local area network for an unlimited number of users and comes with an MSI package suitable for use with RM CC3 networks.

There is also now a Retro version of the original BBC 32K version of Granny's Garden. Of Retro Granny, 4Mation say:

During the early days of computers in primary education Granny's Garden was the program which convinced many teachers that computers really did have a place in the classroom.

This seems to be the number one game that people remember from their days playing on the BBC Micro at school.

The adventure is set in the magical Kingdom of the Mountains, where the King and Queen's six children have been captured by a witch and you have to rescue them.

The CD comes complete with a PDF copy of the original manual.

If you would like to purchase it then please call our sales team on 01271 325353 and ask for the "Retro version of Granny's Garden".