Software

Sara R. Johnson (srjo@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
Fri, 11 Apr 1997 14:16:45 -0400

Greetings all!

I fear I'm about to introduce another one of those well-canvassed
Frequently Asked Questions, but I have searched the archives and explored
all of the usual resources on the web, and I still don't feel I've found a
satisfactory answer to this question.

I will be teaching NT Greek in the fall, and I would like to find one or
more good software tools for drilling Greek vocabulary and forms, with a NT
focus if at all possible. The U of R is heavily dominated by Macs, and I
have no access to a multimedia PC to test PC software, so I would prefer to
explore only Mac options unless there is some PC-only package which is an
absolute sine qua non.

I know that there are some software tools that accompany Mounce's Basics of
Biblical Greek, available for download on the teknia website. I've also
read about Parsons Technology's Greek Tutor, but from everything I can
discover Greek Tutor is PC-only. Surely there must be more out there,
especially for the Macintosh. What am I missing?

As a peace offering for introducing this tired old question, I can highly
recommend a couple of software packages designed for classical Greek. =)
There is a software package called Gramma (Centaur Systems) which is meant
to accompany Athenaze; this one is so good, and so easily customizable,
that I might end up using it even for an NT course. You can choose exactly
which forms you want to drill, and the vocabulary section can be customized
to add new vocab lists.

There is also a fairly good software tool written to accompany
Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek, called the Electronic Workbook
(UC Berkeley Press). The main disadvantage is that this one is less easily
customizable, and unlike Gramma, it doesn't allow students to type in
Greek. But it has a good accent drill, and some of its drills can be
extrememly challenging -- a good test for the student who wants to stretch
his/her skills. And you can add your own vocab lists.

Both of these are based on Hypercard, and so are Mac-only.

Incidentally, I'd also be curious to hear about favorite Hebrew drills for
the Mac, but that's only for my own benefit -- I am constantly struggling
to improve my rather pathetic Hebrew. The Greek question is more pressing.

Thanks in advance!

Sara R. Johnson
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Religion and Classics
University of Rochester
srjo@uhura.cc.rochester.edu