Welcome to Professor Ziggy's wonderful website! Endowed with the world's most powerful brain, Professor Ziggy sees it as his duty to educate the younger generation so that some day they might be as smart as he is. As you can imagine, that requires a lot of educating. With the help of his sidekick Fluffy, Professor Ziggy is creating educational aids to do just this.

His first Opus is Professor Ziggy's Super Simulation System :

Introduce children to computer simulations with Professor Ziggy's Super Simulation System targeted at Year 3, age seven and older. PZSSS presents a three dimensional physical world with a series of diverse systems constructed from virtual building blocks. Missions charge the student with investigating these systems based on physical forces.

Key features :

• Simple Interface : focussed on running the simulations. Children don't need a high computer literacy to use PZSSS. Staff don't need a high computer literacy to help them!
• Real-world Applicability : the simulations are constructed around physical problems that relate to the child's own experience-based understanding of the real world. Simple experiments in the classroom prove the validity of the simulation software.
• Diverse Investigations : cover a range of simulation applications, such as machine efficiency and testing systems for safety. These simulation experiences provide a strong foundation to classroom discussion on what simulations are and how they are useful.
• Full 3D World : greatly improves the real-world relevance of the software experience. The child has full control over the camera, differentiating what they see from passive cartoon to active system.
• Emphasis on Understanding Simulations : part of understanding simulations is knowing that they aren't always true to life. Simulations such as biological ecosystems cannot be evaluated and proven in class. If such a simulation shows increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases wheat growth, the child has no way of knowing if the simulation is true to life or not. As PZSSS's physical simulations can be related to in class activities, the authenticity of the simulation can be proven.
• Optimized engine : developed to run on old, low-specification PCs. Any computer newer than 6 years old should run PZSSS flawlessly. Older computers can still run PZSSS, though with degrees of slow down, despite it being a modern 3D physics simulator.
• Fun Experience : a healthy mix of humour with the character led interface and printable worksheets keeps children engaged, creating an ICT task they are happy to engage in.

example Worksheet page

System Requirements :

PZSSS was developed to run on old computers despite being a modern 3D physics simulator. Requirements can be hard to qualify as slower components don't stop the program from running - it just runs more slowly. A simple rule of thumb is any computer from the year 2000 onwards, with a Pentium III class processor or better, will run PZSSS well. Older Windows 98 computers will likely run PZSSS but with degrees of slowdown. As the program is free to download and test, you can check if your computers are suitable simply by installing and running it, without having to worry about technical mumbo-jumbo. The following is a broad summation of recommended minimum specifications but computers not reaching this spec may still run PZSSS at useable speeds.

Requirements :

1. Microsoft Windows PC class computer
2. Microsoft Windows 98 or later operating system
3. Microsoft DirectX installed (installation utility included with PZSSS)
4. 16 MB RAM*
5. 16 MB free Harddisk space**
6. 600 MHz Pentium III class CPU or faster
7. 3D graphics card, such as an nVidia VANTA or better

* 16 MB RAM is the requirement to run Windows 98 anyway. PZSSS only uses a few megabytes of RAM in operation. Running lots of programs concurrently can reduce available RAM and affect performance. On older PCs especially you should not run other programs at the same time as running PZSSS.

** 16 MB free Harddisk space is required to fit the PZSSS program. More will be needed during installation for temporary files, and more still will be needed to fit DirectX if not already present on your computer. Also you should never run a PC with a  nearly full harddisk drive as it can greatly affect performance. Ideally you should have 5% or more free space on the C: drive after all programs are installed.

Try for free:

PZSSS is freely available to try. Download and install the program to try a limited demo version with most of the missions unavailable, but all of the features. This way you can be sure of compatibility before you purchase. Should you decide to purchase, a Registration Name and KeyCode will be provided that will unlock the software to the full product. To download, click this download button...

Pricing:

Software Geezers is a Registered Retailer with Curriculum Online so you can purchase using eLCs.

• Schools : £25 per computer; £65 site license
• Individuals : £10 for home use
• Tiny Schools : Special concessions

When you're ready to buy, individuals can buy PZSSS at £10 for home use (such as for home schooling), while schools can buy PZSSS for £25 per computer, or only £65 for a site license. That's the whole school with no needing to worry about how many machines you have it installed on. Special concessions are available for small schools too. If you're a tiny five-pupil school in the Welsh hills or Isles of Scilly or somesuch, contact us directly with school name, location and size, and we'll arrange something suitable. Professor Ziggy believes educational resources should be fairly available to all.

To buy with a credit card or through PayPal, visit the Software Geezers online store...

If you would rather pay by cheque, you can fill in an order form by clicking the below button where you will be invoiced, and a Registration Keycode will be provided when funds have cleared...

Contact:

If you have any queries or comments, feel free to contact us at

professorziggy@softwaregeezers.com

All media, character names and designs Copyright © 2005 Software Geezers. All rights reserved.
Professor Ziggy is a Trademark of Software Geezers. Software Geezers can be visited at our website
www.softwaregeezers.com