Scriba is computer courseware designed to enhance use of the Oxford
Latin Course, Part I, 1st edition. It runs on IBM-compatible computers
only. Scriba includes most exercises and vocabulary in the OLC.
In some cases, the exercises replicate those in the textbook, but often
they expand on those in the text to let students work through a series
of exercises that build in difficulty and complexity. Just as in the OLC,
each chapter culminates with a reading or writing exercise of extended
prose.
On-line exercises are available for the second edition of the OLC. A
list of them are available on the Cornell College Latin
links page.
Features
- Scriba is easy to use. Students who have tested it at both
the high school and college level have had no trouble learning how to
run Scriba.
- Students can work at their own pace.
- Students receive immediate feedback and learn the correct answer right
away.
- The program anticipates certain common mistakes and provides students
with hints that will lead to the correct answer.
- Tutorial screens on morphology, syntax, and even some points of English
grammar have been designed for each chapter.
- Students are guided on a step-by-step process that helps them learn
faster and more effectively.
- Realistic contexts help students learn to read and write Latin using
the clues embedded within sentences and paragraphs.
- An index invites students of other textbooks to use it to review grammar
and vocabulary and to test reading comprehension.
- The program saves the teacher time, both in and out of class, since
the computer corrects each student's work.
- Scriba can be loaded onto a local network.
Minimum Hardware and Software Requirements
- An IBM PC, PS/2 computer or true compatible with at least 256K RAM
(random access memory); 512K RAM recommended.
- monochrome or color monitor.
- PC-DOS/MS-DOS 2.0 or higher is required; PC-DOS 3.0 recommended.
- CALIS, version 2.5 (included with Scriba).
Questions and Order Information
Direct to:
John Gruber-Miller, Scriba Software, Classical and Modern
Languages, Cornell College, 600 First Street West, Mt. Vernon, IA 52314-1098;
Fax: 319-895-4492; Internet: jgruber-miller@cornellcollege.edu
Scriba on diskette is available at cost ($5.00) by writing to the
address above or is available free via anonymous ftp at cornellcollege.edu
in the Scriba archive.
More Information
Scriba has been reviewed in the New
England Classical Newsletter and Journal, 23.1 (August 1995)
Here's more information
about learning languages with Scriba.
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