Preface.
As a Master Teacher I have the advantage of being involved in a number of different teaching media. I wanted to share my experience with you. First, please remember that no software program can take the place of a good classroom experience and supportive parents/guardians. Second, software, if used properly and selected with a specific objective in mind, is a wonderful supplement to formal learning. I have found many excellent programs and the ones reviewed here are representative, but the list is not all inclusive. You’ll need to know the skills and maturity and interests of your own child first. Look for programs that have a s pecific objective, a logical sequence to content, and “just make sense” to you. Let your child install and set up the software - this helps ensure “ownership” and respect of the program by your child. At first, be there. Support your child’s attempts to get into the program, but don’t do the work. After all, it is your child’s learning experience. Third, the age “range” on the box may or may not be typical for your child and is usually best directed to a child in the middle of the range.
Mrs. Sylvia Hill, who coordinated this year’s reviews, is a Master Teacher at the Rice School/La Escuela, a joint venture between Houston Independent School District and Rice University. The School’s web site is http://chico.rice.edu/armadillo/Rice/Rice_home.html .
The Magazine would like express its appreciation to Mrs. Hill for her time and commitment to our community along with her associate, Ms. Remi Willoughby. Editor
Math Blaster: Episode 2 Secret of The Lost City
Math Blaster 2, by Davidson Software, is a game that you can play on Windows 95. The purpose of the game is to help students ages 8-13 improve their math skills. The games explore addition, subtraction, fractions, and decimals. This is an exciting progra m, because it allows the student to use their imagination to create an outer space environment. I felt like I was taking a trip to another world, once I started the program. I was lost in space! Blasternaut, Spot, and Galactic Commander were right where Doctor Minus wanted them, stranded on a deserted island. The math adventure really began when their ship was smashed to bits with the Army of Negatrons on their trail. The only way they would be saved was through the solving of the equations through team work. I joined the crew and helped them unlock the secret of the Legendary Lost City. I did not want the Negatrons to catch the crew members. I had to work hard to catch the Negatron. Every time I caught a Negatron, I got extra bonus points for the crew . I completed the equations, identified attributes, and worked to save the crew from Doctor Minus. Once I solved the problems, the doors to the space tower were unlocked. Then, I had to help the crew correctly solve the puzzle to reveal the secret of The Lost City. Once the secret was revealed, I was able to defeat Doctor Minus.
The games in this program are excellent for students that need to learn how to do division, fractions, and decimals. The games are challenging, because you must use your thinking skills to move through the games. This program will help students recall an d review math facts. Since math is everywhere in our society, I think Math Blaster 2 is an excellent way to help students learn about math in a creative way. For more info go to http://www.davd.com.
By Catherine Clement, grade 4
The Logic Quest
The purpose of the game, by the Learning Company, is to catch the evil wizard that tries to stop you from finding the lost treasure. In each tunnel there is a problem to be solved. After each one is solved you put together the clues you have to find the gold. After you have beaten the game one time, it gets harder the next time. When you have beaten the game enough times, you become the highest rank in the game. I thought this was an excellent feature for this game of logic.
This game is directed to all fourth and fifth graders at the age of 9, 10, 11 or 12 years of age. It has great math problems to solve for everyone. It has multiplication problems and lots of word problems for your kids to solve. When you have gone up as high as the game will let you, you will become a math genius! Everybody wants to be a math genius!
The installation was very easy. When I put it in the case that goes into the computer, the program comes on. Then when you are in the game, you type in your name and then listen to the crow that tells you what to do. There are three skill levels: Beginne r, Advanced and Expert. These are levels that you have to beat to move up in rank and move towards being a math genius.
It was not easy to move around the program, because when you clicked on one of the five parts it would take about two minutes to load and make a new scene. Another reason is because of the hard-to-do problems. But it was fun to look around the program an d do the problems.
In the first level it is kind of easy, but you could see the difference in the other levels. It is not very easy to accomplish, because the problems that you have to do are pretty hard to accomplish. This game challenges a student to put on his or her th inking cap.
I really enjoyed the game, because it challenged me to become a better math student. I liked the way the program starts at a level and moves toward more challenging problems, as you advance through the program. Becoming a math wizard is another exciting feature, because it helps a student know how well he is doing in math. My teacher always tells me that math is everywhere and I need to be knowledgeable in math. Logic Quest is a wonderful way for a student to become more knowledgeable about math and the ir mathematical surroundings. For more info go to http://www.learningco.com.
By Andy Long, grade 4
Reader Rabbit Interactive Journey 2
Although I am a fourth grader, I found Reader Rabbit Interactive Journey 2 by the Learning Company to be an exciting learning experience. It showed me that reading can be fun for children of all ages. The program was designed to help children become love rs of reading and language. The most interesting part about this program is that there are actually books that go along. As I entered the program, I was instantly carried onto an imaginative railroad, that led me on a fantasy journey to build my reading skills. This adventure guided me toward building my phonics skill and developing my reading comprehension skills. As I started with three friends on a journey, I was asked to type my name on a keyboard. I was asked to do this, because later on, I was abl e to see how well I was doing in percentages. I had so much fun, because the graphics were colorful and there were a lot of sound effects.
During the first journey, I had to follow Sam on his vacation while he was looking for his imagination. As I entered into a room, I had to sort words. As I did the activities, Mit, The Monkey was able to take the lid off the urn and get a gem out of it, if I got the correct answer. Just for fun, I gave Mit, The Monkey the wrong answer and he could not get the gem, because he could not get the lid off the urn. After the sorting game, I went to another game that focused on the beginning sounds of words.
Reader Rabbit’s Interactive Reading Journey 2 has an interesting collection of stories that can be listened to by the reader. The reader is able to turn the pages of the book by clicking on an arrow. The most interesting thing about the story books is th at the words are highlighted as the words are being presented. The reader is able to reread the sentence that has been read in an area that shows a microphone. Then, the reader can listen to what has been said by clicking on a picture of an ear.
This program continued to show excitement because it definitely appealed to the imagination, and because it took me on other interesting journeys, such as Ant’s Rhyme Time Sandwich Building Game that helps children identify words that rhyme, and Sally Sy llables that helps children see that words are made up of smaller parts as they group syllables to form words.
Reader Rabbit’s Interactive Reading Journey 2 is an excellent example of a program that can be used to teach children how to read. It also concentrates on important reading skills that every child should know to become an excellent reader and a lover of reading and language.
I really enjoyed this program, because it was fun and it focused on skills that I use in my everyday reading. For more info go to http://www.learningco.com.
By Sarah Scnitzner, grade 4
Amazing Writing Machine
Imagi Maker Series
The purpose of the Amazing Writing Machine by Broderbund is to give you ideas on how to make writing fun. It is directed towards students that are ages 6 to 12. Any student that needs to improve in the area of writing and spelling will enjoy using this p rogram, because it makes it easy to write topics on your own or use topics that are already a part of The Amazing Writing Machine. The program was easy to install on Windows 95. In minutes, I had entered the program and was ready to explore the activitie s. When I began the program, blinking lights immediately got my attention. There were sounds coming from the computer that reminded me of percussion instruments. This was truly an attention getter. The contents were easy to understand, because the print was big and it was easy to correct mistakes. At first, I found it to be somewhat difficult to get around through this product because, for example, when I wanted to get to the poem section, I had to quit and start over. I wanted to go to each activity wi thout stopping to start over. However, once I got beyond this obstacle, it was easy to do the activities in the different areas.
The Amazing Writing Machine allowed me to write, illustrate, and publish my own stories that I had created. I was able to do everything on one screen, once I got familiar with the steps I should take to complete the writing activities. At first, I was fa scinated, because there were so many things to do in each writing area. I was able to decide on whether I wanted to write a poem, an essay, a story, a letter, or just write a journal entry.
I found that once I began to understand the program, I was able to find some creative ways to write. For example, I could use pictures in my essays. There was an area that I could click to get facts that were interesting to write about. For example, did you know that a slug has four noses? I immediately wanted to find out more information about the slug and write an essay about slugs. Then, I clicked a strange looking mouth that imitated someone that was laughing. Once I clicked on the laughing mouth, a riddle appeared. This is an example of one of the riddles: What is a snake’s favorite subject? Hiss-Tory.
I think the reading robot is the most useful tool in this product. The reading robot would tell me what I had typed and the robot would read it to me. I found this product to be unique, because it allowed me to practice my weekly spelling words in the jo urnal area. It also has a special feature that allows you to put pictures in your stories that you write.
The Amazing Writing Machine has a lot of interesting features. It will help you enjoy writing even more, because there are an unlimited amount of ways you can use this software to create interesting essays, poems, stories, letters, or journal entries. Fo r more info go to http://www.broderbund.com.
By Corey Hecksel, grade 5
Thinkin’ Things Collection 3
Have you played a game called Thinkin’ Things, by Edmark? The purpose of the computer program is to help students build their thinking and problem solving skills. This software is directed toward students that are ages 7-13. I like this, because it can b e challenging for any students that are in the primary and intermediate grades. I am in a multi-age classroom and the students in my classroom range from ages 8-11, and this software can be used by all of the students in my class, since the age level is so broad. It was easy for me to install the software. All I had to do was put the CD in the CD drive and the installation process started. It was easy to move about the program and it was a lot of fun, too. It was also easy to achieve what I wanted to ac complish. The content was easy to understand.
I especially like the inventive names that were given programs such as Stockopus that featured an octopus stock broker! I had to make a lot of decisions because I had to choose the right parts to solve the problems. I had to think and use the problem sol ving skills, such as finding the pattern predicting outcomes and working backwards. Fipple Place challenged me to do a lot of reading. I am sure this program will continue to improve my comprehension skills. Lastly, I enjoyed exploring the Carving Blox. It allowed me to use scientific vocabulary words. The vocabulary introduced words such as gravity, friction and inertia. I was given the opportunity to form a hypothesis and make observations about it.
Overall, I thought both the graphics and focus on developing my thinking skills were very exciting. And I was able to work on strengthing my problem solving skills. All of the problems introduced to me by Mighty Math are important because we must be succ essful problem solvers in an ever-changing world. For more info to http://www.edmark.com.
By Sam Taylor, grade 5
Mighty Math Carnavelle
Mighty Math by Edmark is a designed to meet the math needs of kids ages 5-8. It is very easy to install.
Once I was inside the Mighty Math Countdown, I entered the carnival. I was able to choose from five activities. To enter each activity, all I had to do was click on one of the five areas. The activities were Giggle Factory, Snap Clown, Carnival Cars, Pat tern Block Roundup, and Bubble Band.
Snap Clown allowed me to solve problems based on counting, number comparison, and mathematical operations. This area helped me concentrate on subtraction, addition, and multiplication. Pattern Block Roundup focused on geometry. I was able to solve proble ms that involved geometric shapes. I investigated patterns, shapes, and symmetry. I joined Eddie and his Bubble Band as they play bubbles that could be counted, grouped, regrouped, added or subtracted. I could actually manipulate the bubbles to help me s olve the problems.
I had to make a lot of decisions, because I had to choose the right paths to solve the problems. I had to use a lot of problem solving strategies, such as finding a pattern predicting outcomes, and working backwards. I am sure that this program will impr ove comprehension skills. All of the computer programs were exciting, because they were very graphic and the overall focus was on critical thinking skills. I was able to work on strengthening my problem solving skills. All of the problems that I was intr oduced to in Mighty Math are important, because we must be successful problem solvers in a ever-changing world. For more info go to http://www.edmark.com or e-mail: pctech@edmark.
By Sam Taylor, grade 5
The Living Books Series 2
Living Books, a 4-CD set (Random House and Broderbund Company), makes reading come alive. The software is designed for students in the primary grades; however, intermediate students will enjoy the Living Books, also. The Living Books includes four differ ent learning experiences that give the student a chance to explore some interesting reading materials. Living Books gives the student a fun and fantastic way, of learning about characters and objects that come alive, and brings a new dimension to reading stories. It is really an exciting way to get students to be more interested in reading. I particularly enjoyed the stories, because they were familiar reading material. I was already familiar with most of the characters. It even had a program that featu red poems that were written by Jack Prelutsky from The New Kid On The Block .
Another interesting feature was that the stories could be read in more than one language. If I wanted the story to be read in Spanish, all I had to do was click the “Spanish” button on the screen before choosing to view the story. Once the story was star ted, it was written and spoken in the language that I clicked. Out of the four selections from the Living Books, The New Kid On The Block, Harry And The Haunted House, Sheila Rae The Brave, and Just Grandma and Me, Grandma and Me had three languages that I could choose from. I could have the story read in either English, Spanish, or Japanese. I thought this was definitely a neat way to explore reading. This feature made the Living Books even more interesting, bec ause any student that is interested in learning how to speak another language can learn how to read from this software.
The software was presented in a very colorful way, whereas any child would enjoy learning how to read from this program. It kept my attention, because the colors were bright and vivid. I also enjoyed the music. Sheila Rae is a unique way to explore readi ng in a creative way, because it is a sing-along adventure in reading. I could even listen to the music on a regular CD player.
Seemingly, this The Living Books were designed to meet the needs of children that are in the primary grades. Some of the most exciting parts of the stories were the “hidden” places. When you press your mouse key on them, you never know what will happen. That is an adventure in itself. However, I think any student will enjoy exploring the Living Books, because it allows the learner to see reading in a different way. For more info go to http://www.broderbund.com.
By Corey Hecksel, grade 5
Jump Start 1st Grade
The purpose of this program by Knowledge Adventure is to teach beginning readers how to read better by reading specific stories to them. Frankie, the mascot, asks the student to pick a story to read. The story is read to the student line by line, and eac h story is followed by a few simple comprehension questions to test the child’s understanding of the story. I believe that the questions are simple enough to make the child feel successful, yet challenging enough to force the child to pay attention to de tails in the story. This is followed by phonics and spelling skills. The student learns letter sounds and blends. This program also has vocabulary building activities that are good for those students who already know their sounds. It skillfully builds on their knowledge of using picture words coupled with sight words like The, Your, My. The program in my opinion is designed for children from about the age of five. It is grade-appropriate for the average first grader.
The installation is very easy and straightforward, and the hardware installation requirement is minimal. Navigating around the program was easy, yet challenging enough for the child. The program was tested with a five-year-old in an advanced kindergarten class. She was not able to navigate the whole program in one day. There was always something challenging to do the next time. The content of the program was easy to understand. The program’s mascot was very entertaining.
Some of the program’s interesting and special features are Frankie, the mascot, who tells the student what to do, beautiful graphics that instantly catch the student’s attention, and instant reward for a job well done the in form of verbal praises like “ Well done!”, “You are right,” or firecrackers and dancing.
The only question that the student had was to know the purpose of the little boy with a hat who appears at the beginning of the program with no apparent assignment. On the whole, the student thinks that the program was a very good one, and she would tell her friends about it.
By Mayowa Willoughby, Kindergarten, Askew Elementary
Kid Phonics
The program opens with someone playing the piano. This is captivating for the targeted audience. Kid Phonics, by Davidson Software, is designed for children ages four through seven years. The purpose of the program is to introduce and teach phonics to ch ildren of these ages. The sounds are introduces by dinosaurs of different colors. Each of the dinosaurs introduced different sounds through songs - Country, Rock, Blues, and Rap. The program was tested with a five-year-old in an advanced kindergarten cla ss, and she enjoyed listening to all the rhyming songs. Navigating through the program was not difficult, though a little challenging. There are two different programs - Sound Buster and Word Builder, each with three levels of difficulty. Each of the pro grams is user friendly. It rewards the child when she gives the correct response, but it does not respond to a wrong response.
I like the Word Builder because it systematically takes a child through forming words with sounds, and then building sentences. The dinosaur then reads the sentence with emphasis on each of the sounds. The words in the Word Builder are in different categ ories that children are either familiar with, or they will enjoy learning; for example, words from the farm or from rain forrests.
The installation of the program is very easy and straightforward. It requires no expert knowledge. Also, the hardware requirement is minimal. Seeking help through the Help Menu is also easy. The singing dinosaurs, amazing graphics, and familiar objects a re some of the program’s interesting features.
By Mayowa Willoughby, Kindergarten, Askew Elementary
The Neighborhood Map Machine
(a teacher/student classroom program)
Neighborhood Map Machine, by Tom Snyder Productions, is designed to empower the student to succeed in an ever-changing world where boundaries are constantly shifting. Since geography is an important part of every person surroundings, this software offers a hands-on experience that allows the students to get in touch with the real world. Neighborhood Map Machine guides the students as they venture out to learn more about where they live, where they have been, and where they are going. This well-organized program helps the students map out connections to the real world. It has a well conceived teacher manual that contains thematic unit that explores different areas of geography. The unit puts emphasis on symbols, movement, interaction, and economics. The teacher’s manual has a well-developed lesson plan that allows the teacher to easily teach a geography lesson that states the goals and outcomes of a particular lesson. The lesson plans also have a list of computer activities that are designed for the Neighborhood Map Machine software. To add to this, th e manual gives the teacher some challenging extensions that can be used for creative enrichment in the classroom.
The geography objectives are clearly stated which quickly and easily helps develop lesson plans. The skills are focused on five geographic themes as contained in the National Geographic Standards. The first theme emphasizes “location.” The goals, time, o verview, materials and activities guide the teacher through developing the four different lessons. Under each of the lessons the teacher has these topics: direction symbols, scales and distances, and grid coordinates. For instance, under Symbols, these a ctivities are introduced: The Goal, Understand what symbols are and why we use them, To use a key to identify symbols, and to use symbols to plan and give directions. The typical time allowed for activities is 3-6 class periods. An example of a student a ctivity: The student collects a variety of symbols from magazines, signs, etc. and then compares them with pictures of buildings and objects they represent. This is definitely a hands-on experience that relates to the real life situations. And this is ju st a sample of how this “course” can add an enriched learning experience.
The fun part begins when the student applies the things learned to the computer program. The steps in the computer learning process are clear and precise. The students are asked to open the map files which give the students three additional great ways to investigate by exploring, creating and mysteries. Individual maps can be printed for each student or for a larger geographic area for the class. For “extra credit” there are several enrichment extensions to further challenge the mind and child’s creati vity.
The software is wonderful and the teacher manual is fantastic; because it is well-organized, it gives the teacher a lot of activities to use with the Neighborhood Map software. This program takes full advantage of the explorer in every child. For more in fo call 1-800-342-0236.
By Mrs. Sylvia Hill, Master Teacher in grades 4-5 at the Rice School/ La Escuela. n
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