1. Assignment Paper
Educational vs. Entertainment
Name: Sarmiento, Nicole Joan M. Date: July 27, 2009
INTRIST Section: S21
Computer games or software are usually built with not just educational aspects but
entertaining concepts as well. I guess education is the most important thing, still, in any type of
learning software since it is what teaches the user and makes a difference in his/her capabilities.
But the entertainment cannot really be eradicated since it gives the user more reasons to use the
software. Especially for young children, graphics and colors make them want to use the
software more thus making them learn something from it. The educational side of things makes
the software useful and helpful while the entertainment part makes it more interesting and fun.
The software that we discussed in class is called Atlas of World History which is
basically a simple software programmed using the C++ language. It is equipped with basic
information about different events in history which took place all around the world. You can
simply click a country or a part of the map and see what historical even happened there in the
past.
The Atlas of World History is a really helpful program when it comes to the educational
side of things since it really has a lot of useful information to offer. It has short but brief
descriptions about the different event or things that took place or were invented in a certain
place. The program is also applicable for use to different age groups, may they be grade school
students or even professors. Its entertainment value meanwhile is not that good since the
graphics are really low quality for it focuses on information dissemination. Since it was
programmed using a basic programming language, not much has been done to somehow make
it look better. There are some pictures of important events and objects but the positioning of
these on the screen wasn’t too good to look at either.
Based on the software that we critiqued, it really is important for the educational and
entertainment value to be balanced and not overpower each other since it can’t be too boring
and too fun at the same time. For the educational software to be an effective one it has to offer

2. the right amount of information but at the same time make it more interesting and fun for
people.
If I were to make a localized version of the software that we used, it would focus on our
country and the rich history and culture that it can offer since we can’t really find too much
sources about our country’s past, even on the internet. Since grade school and high school
students also have Philippine History subjects, it would be a big help to them. Aside from this, I
will make it a point to show images or even videos related to our country’s history and I would
also include our beautiful scenery so that they can be known to our own people.
This localized version of Atlas of World History would not just serve as an educational
program but something that can boost our tourism as well.