News & Views
A Preview of 2DIY
By Terry Freedman
Created on Wed, 14 Jan 2009, 09:33
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I've just received a link to download the latest program from 2Simple. Called 2DIY (for non-Brits, DIY = do-it-yourself, a shorthand term for home making things like bookshelves for the home), it enables users to create their own games and exercises.I've had a quick exploration, and it is looking very good. Read on for a quick thumbnail sketch, and why I think you should look into it.Back in the 1990s I used to love looking at shareware games developed for the educational sector. Some of the games were quite fun, but the problem for me was either that the game wasn't really educational at all, or that it didn't quite do what I'd have liked. Unfortunately, I never had the time to develop my games programming skills in order to rectify the situation.I think 2DIY would have been a step in the right direction.I think the best way of describing the program -- bearing in mind I've had it installed for less than an hour -- is that it's the programming equivalent of a painting or desktop publishing program. What you have is a suite of specialised tools, and you can use them to build yourt own games and activities.You can see from the screenshot that the range is quite extensive. The manual is easy to use, and there are videos and examples available.It has the ability to let you import pictures or select from a range of ones provided. Indeed, there is quite a lot of control over what your completed game or activity will look like.What's more interesting to me, however, is what boxes it ticks if you put it into the hands of youngsters -- and I use the term "youngsters" rather than "children" for reasons which will become apparent
