This section seems to me to be quite inadequate without a lot of teacher input and support for the real practical problems that always arise - even when the student has a good understanding of the basic theory. Towards the end of the book a little space is given to ideas about `Converting to a real circuit'. The problems would arise when the student attempts to make the transfer to working with real components. In many ways I think that this book, with its accompanying software, could provide an excellent study guide which could be followed with little or no teacher support. Much of the content of the support chapters would be found very useful by many students following more traditional approaches to electronics. The book aims to give the reader an understanding of electronic circuits and certainly goes well beyond just providing instructions for use of the software. The support book provides a number of problems and circuits to try out as well as several supporting chapters which deal with fundamental concepts of electricity such as potential dividers. Perhaps this is cheaper than the real thing, but is it too easy just to try it without any real thought when there is no risk to real components? Components that are subjected to excessive stress will explode, we are told, on the screen and then you are given an option to make amends and replace the damaged item. Ammeters and voltmeters can be included and will give calculated simulated readings. The circuits become `active' when you click on a switch and complete a circuit with a power supply. A crocodile icon allows you to delete parts of your circuit by swallowing it up. The symbols can be moved around the screen and joined together using the mouse.

Button bars provide a wide range of symbols for every conceivable circuit component, and clicking on these adds them to your screen display.

The Crocodile Clips program is driven by lots of icons or buttons. The software is available for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 and also for Macintosh computers. The chance to try the simulations and blow up components on the screen might have been fun! I was further frustrated by being provided with only the paper handbook version and not the software itself to try out. With this background I approached this simulation program with some scepticism. Indeed, much of the challenge and satisfaction gained from learning, teaching and doing electronics comes from the construction work, the practical hands-on problem-solving and the `getting it to work' excitement. For a teacher who has spent many years teaching practical electronics in a laboratory using real live components, it is difficult to contemplate doing it all on a circuit simulation program.

Crocodile technology 3d