Warm response to Ultimate Adventure

“[Ultimate Adventure is] a rare religious education ICT resource that every school should have.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — The Scottish Bible Society’s multimedia CD-ROM Ultimate Adventure has attracted considerable interest among “computer-literate kids [who] these days don’t always begin with books,” says Executive Director the Rev Douglas Campbell. The Society is “greatly encouraged by the initial response” to this package of three CD-ROMS which takes users on a choice of nine interactive journeys through the world of the Bible.

Based on the Danish Bible Society’s Bible Journey 2000 interactive product (see World Report 355/23), Ultimate Adventure is intended for use among children aged 10 and over of all faith backgrounds.

Challenges

Users are guided on each journey through reconstructions of biblical settings by features such as a Personal Bible Assistant, audio dialogues, challenges, slideshows and Bible links. At the end of each journey they are able to test their knowledge by answering 25 multiple-choice questions. Experiencing the world of the Bible interactively over 20 to 40 hours, especially by being able to meet and question 50 eyewitnesses from Bible stories, introduces users to subjects including Christian beliefs, biblical life and the Bible as a sacred text.

Licences for Ultimate Adventure have been purchased by schools and organisations working with young people, and the Society has been receiving positive feedback.

One headteacher described the package as bringing biblical characters to life “in a challenging and interactive manner” and hailed it as “a rare religious education Information and Communications Technology (ICT) resource that every school should have”.

Steve Mallon, National Youth Adviser for the Church of Scotland, was equally enthusiastic, stating that he found Ultimate Adventure to be “easy to install and navigate with an intuitive and welcoming platform”.

He continued, “Whether you use this resource in a school or a church setting, it is inevitable that young people will discover things about the Bible that they simply didn’t know before.”

A representative of the Berwickshire Christian Youth Trust enthused, “It’s very interactive and it’s great to be able to meet and speak to key characters. It is certainly a valuable tool to bring the Bible to life.”

Life-messages

Mr Campbell is confident that Ultimate Adventure, which is also being distributed in England and Wales by the British and Foreign Bible Society, will “encourage youngsters to enjoy and explore the Bible, its stories and life-messages in an exciting and attractive way,” and that it will continue to have an impact for some years to come. (WR 377/7 - 6.03)