After you have succeeded in ignoring the background barking that breaks out every few seconds and accustomed yourself to the foolishness of

After you have succeeded in ignoring the background barking that breaks out every few seconds and accustomed yourself to the foolishness of clicking on buttons resembling crunchy biscuits, you then start to explore a page that offers several possible routes. My one complaint is that it would have been relatively simple to devise the game so that the questions, instead of inviting the children to make random searches, actually followed a series of connected topics through the software's maze.However, the Explorapaedia routes are simple to follow, without being simplistic in either aim or content: each page enables your child to click on pictures that offer information at greater depth, without leading them down blind alleys that must then be retraced step by tedious step.That, as with so many earlier packages, is the first failing of Dogs. The egg poses five questions, the answers to which must be hunted down before you can return to the spaceship to claim your reward.In playing the game, the children take in all kinds of interesting biological and geographical information - and some of it probably even sticks in their minds - while they are having fun. The computer offers new stimuli: animating an essay, or having the machine read out sums, can sometimes strike a chord with a child who has difficulty in the classroom. At first they were drawn in by the faintly "Far Side-ish" execution of the video graphics - little tricks that, for example, enable you to click on the grizzly bear and topple a bee's nest down from the tree on to his head.But the main thing that hooked them was the exploratory game, in which a bizarre fowl lays an egg in the spaceship.

And being seen as a "computer expert" can suddenly motivate a stubborn child to learn.1:45pm: I call in on Year 4, who are studying the Romans. Four children are touring ancient Colchester, courtesy of a PC game that is designed to bring history to life. They can score points by identifying artefacts and eliciting information from citizens. A toga-clad figure with the improbable name of Brian appears on the screen, offering the young tourists a chance to design a mosaic "We shouldn't waste our time," says nine-year-old Matthew. "Let's look for more objects."2:15pm: If it is Year 5, it must be the Tudors. Katie, Andrew and Elena take me on a computerised Journey Back Through Time to find out about the Spanish Armada. When we arrive at 1588, an extract on Elizabethan naval power appears on the screen and the three read the text aloud.

The passage is long and complex, but then comes the chance to zap the Armada in a competitive game - provided the children can answer a question: "Who rebuilt the English Navy?""Hawkins" is the chorus. After the action, in which the quiet Katie zaps Andrew into oblivion, I ask: "What did Hawkins do?""Er ... rebuilt the English Navy," replies Andrew, after a considered pause.Mrs Shennon, their teacher, explains that the Tudors software is on trial at the moment "It's quite expensive," she says. "I think it's around pounds 20."She nods towards the two girls sitting at the BBC Micro in the corner.

Venetia and Elisa are busy answering questions that test vocabulary and spelling, and consulting a hardback dictionary for help The bell sounds for afternoon break. The girls stay put.2:45pm: In a corridor area set aside for computing, I meet Rachel and Hayley from Year 6, who are both working on portable machines Rachel is writing about herself ("I am 11 years old. I want to be a poet or a novelist, but I will also need a job ...") while Hayley is transferring research about William Morris into a database as part of a project to produce a handbook on Great Victorians.Rachel leaves her machine, and Lawrence arrives carrying a floppy disk, ready to write about himself. "Don't you have to save Rachel's work before you start?" asks Hayley. Lawrence cannot remember how to do this, but proceeds to find out through a gung-ho series of experiments.In contrast, Hayley tries to work out what to do before she hits any keys, pausing to ask me: "Does the computer want a capital letter here?""Just try what you think," I suggest. "If the computer doesn't approve, it will let you know."Their teacher, Mrs Boldrin, explains that the children take it in turns to take the portables home at weekends.