The Review

It has become a commonplace that in educational multimedia, products are either beautifully produced but pedagogically vacuous, or pedagogically sound but poorly conceptualized or engineered. Fortunately, the occasional product breaks this rule and is both well produced and pedagogically rich. La Chaise Berçante, a CD-ROM that teaches French through the culture of Canada and Quebec, is such a program. 

This CD-ROM is based on Frédéric Back's animated film CRAC!  (which received an Oscar for Best Animated Short, 1981, as well as many other international awards). The film forms the basis for language activities at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels on the CD-ROM.  The program features both standard French and Canadian French pronunciation. Although its emphasis on Canadian French may limit its potential audience, it shouldn't. There is much to be learned from this CD, and its high production values and engaging content outweigh its more "local" appeal.

The Experience

The disk worked without difficulty (even on Macintosh OS X, running in Classic mode). The opening screen gives the students options at the top and bottom of the window that will appear throughout the program. In addition, it directs the students to the main program elements in the center of the window (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Opening screen
(Click for larger version)

From the top of the screen, the student can choose one of the following:

• Crac! (the film)
• Application (program)
• Culture (cultural items)
• Chasse-Galerie (second animated story)
• Diapos (slides)
• Aide (help)
• Générique (credits)

From the bottom of the screen, the student can choose:

• Sortir (exit)
• Carnet (for note-taking)
• Volume
• Dictionnaire (lexicon)
• Aide (help)

After selecting Pour Commencer (to begin) from the main window, the student can choose a screen in French that explains the first screen. It then asks students to choose beginner, intermediate, advanced, or Francophone level. Alternatively, they can get an English information screen (Figure 2).

Figure 2. English Explanation
(Click for larger version)

Publisher:
3D Courseware

Authors:
Donna Mydlarski
Dana M. Paramskas
André Bougaïeff

Email: courseware@telusplanet.net
Web Site: http://www.telusplanet.net/
public/dddware/chaise/

System Requirements:
Windows 95 or higher
200 MHz; 64MB RAM; 8X CD-ROM

Macintosh OS 8.6 or higher
233 MHz; 64MB RAM; 8X CD-ROM 

Version Reviewed:
1.0

Price Info:
$24.95 + GST (if applicable)
+ shipping and handling 

Rates are in Canadian dollars for Canadian customers, and in US dollars for all others.

Availability:
Commercial software available from the publisher and a number of independent distributors. (See the publisher's ordering page for additional distributors.)

Quick Summary:
La Chaise Berçante, or rocking chair, has a special significance in the history of Quebec. Based on the Oscar-Winning animated film Crac!, this CD-ROM uses the story of the rocking chair to teach French Canadian language and culture. It is well produced, using high-quality artwork, video, and audio to relate the story. It includes a 15-minute film, video clips of an interview with the film’s creator, slides of artwork from the Canadian National archives, songs, a video of French-Canadian folk dance, a lexicon of over 1,000 words, computer activities, and more.

Screen Capture:
(Click for larger image)