Little Ben(C) Version 2.0
Chez l'horloger(C)
A BILINGUAL CLOCK
(C) Copyright 1989-1999 Bill Buckels
All Rights Reserved.

Introduction
------------

Little Ben is a bilingual clock program for children from 6-12. It is
intended to be used as a teaching aid for children learning to tell
time.

Little Ben consists of a single screen display of a clean and simple
old-fashioned clock with hands and a face. This is an activity (a Time
Display Program), and NOT a competitive game. Time is displayed in
Digital, Graphical, and Written Formats (in English or French). Time is
advanced or retreated minute by minute and hour by hour with the
keyboard.

The 3 activities supported by Little Ben (in English and French) are:

- Hourly Review
- Minute Review - 5 Minute Interval Blocks
- Round The Clock Review - 1 Minute Intervals

Little Ben is distributed with C language source code. Read the
licencing section in the source if you are inclined to use such a thing.

Installing Little Ben
---------------------

Install Little Ben by "UNZIPPING" BEN.ZIP complete with pathnames to the
drive of your choice. If you decide to install Little Ben to Drive C:,
Little Ben will be installed into the directory C:\BEN.

To run Little Ben in DOS, type BEN.EXE and press [Enter]. To Run Little
Ben in Windows, click-on BEN.EXE.

Getting Started
---------------

The child must be reading at about a Grade 2 (Age 7-8) level to use this
program.

An explanation of the parts of the clock including "the little hand" and
"the big hand" must be done in advance of using "Little Ben".

Time Display - Digital, English, French, and Graphical
------------

The Time that is displayed on the clock is given in English or French at
the bottom of the screen (i.e. "Twenty-nine Minutes after Three", etc.)
and in a the now-familiar digital format (i.e "3:29") at the top of the
screen. The clock is controlled by the user. As the time is advanced or
retreated, the hands of the clock move. The positions for the minutes
and the hours are clearly marked and the hours are each properly
identified.

Since the display is updated every time change, the result of the clock
hands can be visually verified in usually-familiar digital terms, and in
usually not-so-familiar traditional terms (of clock face and hands, and
of written time in English or French).

Navigation
----------

E and F - English and French Toggle
-------

The Display is switched back and forth between English and French by
pressing the "E" key for English or the "F" key for French. This means
that the time can be verified by immediately translating to and fro.

Arrow Keys
----------

Up and Down Arrows - Hours
------------------

The Hours are advanced or retreated with the down-arrow and
up-arrow keys.

Left and Right Arrow - 5 Minute Intervals (Time Blocks)
--------------------

The minutes are advanced or retreated in 5 minute intervals with the
left-arrow and right-arrow keys.

The Advantage of 5 Minute Intervals (Time Blocks)
-----------------------------------

Using 5 minute intervals (as opposed to 1 minute intervals) means that
the clock can be visually cycled forwards or backwards by larger units
in the hope of more easily building a logical association between
minutes and hours.

When the minutes are being advanced with the arrows, they jump to the
nearest 5 minute interval. Since most kids at this age (7-8) understand
the principles of "counting by 5's" and primary multiplication, the
quicker visual translation of minutes to hours using time blocks of 5
minutes may be easier to grasp visually.

All Other Keys - Round The Clock Review
--------------

Aside from the Escape Key which exits, the other standard keyboard keys
advance the clock minute by minute, and permit a "round-the-clock"
review (1 minute intervals).

Platform Requirements
---------------------

Little Ben requires an IBM PC or compatible with a graphical Display
(CGA and compatible or HERCULES with emulator) and 128K of memory, and
runs under DOS or Windows.

Copyright and Conditions of Use
-------------------------------

Little Ben and its associated files are Copyrighted by their author, Bill
Buckels. Little Ben is not a derivative work of any other author and is
the exclusive property of its author, Bill Buckels.

The graphics used in Little Ben were produced by Bill
Buckels (the author) and as such are the author's own expression, and a
fair use of content that is believed to be in the public domain. You may
use these in any way you find useful, provided you do not compete with
Bill Buckels or his agents, and that you agree that Bill Buckels has no
warranty obligations or liability whatsoever resulting from any
associated loss or damage.

If you redistribute the Little Ben program, please distribute it its
entirety. If you are missing files, you can download a complete version
from the internet at:

http://www.escape.ca/~bbuckels/kidstuff

This program may be distributed freely. This program may not be
distributed for personal gain, with the exception of a modest
duplication fee.

Licence Agreement and Warranty
------------------------------

Little Ben(C) Version 2.0 is distributed as FreeWare.

This program is not crippled in any way. No Shareware Registration Fees
are required, but this program is *NOT* supported or guaranteed in any
way either. (No Quarter Asked, No Quarter Given :)

The Author (Bill Buckels) and his agents are not responsible in any way
whatsoever for any damages, real or imaginary, that Little Ben may
inflict upon you or your computer. Since Little Ben is not guaranteed in
any way, if you don't agree with this, remove Little Ben and all its
files from your computer and "call it a day".

Contacting The Author
---------------------

Little Ben is distributed as freeware and is totally unsupported, but if you
want to contact the author to say hello or to drop by his website for a
visit or to download software and other goodies:

Email: bbuckels@escape.ca
WebSite: http://www.escape.ca/~bbuckels

Bill Buckels
June 1999

End of ReadMe
