| Control
Studio 1 Review |
| Guide to Design and
Technology Resources, Spring 2001 |
|
| Marks are indicated
by stars (*) where *** represents the highest grade 'Excellent'. |
| |
| Fitness for purpose
*** |
| New Wave Concepts have
worked closely with teachers to produce a program that will
help make the teaching of electronics much easier and more enjoyable.
Control Studio is a user-friendly software package that can
be utilised to great effect in teaching electronics across the
full spectrum of KS3 to KS5. It is a very innovative product
that will be deployed by teachers in a variety of different
ways. It can be used alongside PCB Wizard to quickly produce
PCB's of amazing complexity. It can also be used as an interactive
worksheet generator for teaching problem solving for KS3 onwards
as well as a DTP package for students to support their portfolio
work. |
|
| Access and ease of
use *** |
| Students have found
it a very easy program to use and have found the easily accessible
user guide and data sheets on each subsystem easy to understand
and use. When compared to other methods of using the 'systems
approach' and the inconvenience of preparing and then dismantling
them for a lesson there is no comparison. If a circuit is not
completed within the lesson it can just be saved and completed
in the next. Final production of the PCB is a simple matter
of using the Design and Make Wizard to export the completed
program over to PCB Wizard. Because the two programs are completely
compatible, fast and efficient transfer is completed within
minutes. |
|
| Quality *** |
| Excellent quality, it
has proven to be an extremely reliable and 'bug-free' piece
of software. The program has been well tried and tested by teachers
and students before release. It gives a sound foundation and
progression in teaching electronics and comes with the excellent
on-line support and the backup we have come to expect from New
Wave Concepts. |
| |
| Value for money
*** |
| The software represents
extremely good value for money with regular software updates
available at low cost. It is an essential piece of software
for any teacher wishing to make the teaching of electronics
that little bit easier. |
| |
