It’s back-to-school time, and along with pencils and notebooks many parents this year are purchasing a more high-tech school supply: software. Indeed, August ranks second only to December as the month in which the greatest number of educational titles are released.
Here’s a roundup of some of the newest and most notable new releases from the top two educational software companies: Broderbund and The Learning Company. The prices listed are suggested retail; expect to pay considerably less at software discount houses.
“Reader Rabbit’s Interactive Reading Journey” (Learning Company; IBM, Mac; $99) is the epitome of how to do everything right in designing children’s software. The sound and animation are superb, the characters are clever and the activities are fun. Included in every box are 40 printed stories and even a microphone to hook up to your computer. Geared to develop the reading skills of kids 5-8, this program was the top-selling educational title of 1995; this version is a just-released upgrade. Look for “Interactive Reading Journey II” in the fall. Rating: (star) (star) (star) (star) (out of four stars)
“Interactive Math Journey” (Learning Company; IBM, Mac; $99) is designed for kids 5-9 and has 25 activities to learn such concepts as addition, subtraction, fractions, measurements and shapes. The sprightly songs, clever animation and spoken help all combine to make this a pleasant learning experience for the child. Rating: (star) (star) (star) 1/2
“Write, Camera, Action!” (Broderbund; IBM; $40) helps kids 8-12 develop their reading and writing skills by completing the script for an animated mystery movie called “The Case of the Maltese Malcolm,” about a missing cat. Children not only serve as writer, director and editor of the film, but also as public relations and advertising manager. If they have a microphone, they can even record sound effects and new dialogue. This is an ambitious program that will be best appreciated by especially imaginative and thoughtful children. Rating: (star) (star) (star)
“Kid Pix” (Broderbund; IBM, Mac, $25) is the re-release and upgrade to the No. 1 selling art software for children. Aimed at kids 3-12, this magical program will enchant users of any age who like to exercise their creativity. Unlike some of the other titles here, where the learning activities are tightly structured drills, “Kid Pix” lets you improve your artistic expression by giving your imagination free rein. A sister program, “Kid Pix Studio,” lets kids paint, draw and animate their own cartoons. Rating: (star) (star) (star) (star)
“Ultimate Children’s Encyclopedia” (Learning Company; IBM; $60) is a multimedia reference library geared for kids 7-12. The program includes 28,000 short articles, 3000 illustrations, a children’s dictionary, a thesaurus, an atlas, a biographical dictionary and more. A nice touch helps to forestall plagiarism: If kids cut and paste text into school reports, a notice appears saying where the text is from. However, is a kids’ encyclopedia really necessary? Are “real” multimedia encyclopedias like “Encarta” too hard for children to use or to understand? For me the answer is no, but if for you the answer is yes, this would be a good buy. Rating: (star) (star) 1/2
“Practice Makes Perfect” (Learning Company; IBM, Mac; $45) helps users of any age learn a foreign language. Available for French, German or Spanish, the Windows version uses speech recognition technology that evaluates your pronunciation from “tourist” to “native speaker.” Though it still has a few glitches (a Colombian friend was barely rated a native speaker of Spanish!) this program should improve your foreign language skills dramatically. Rating: (star) (star) (star)
Techno education
Computer Learning Month is an annual event held each October that focuses on the role technology plays in our education at school and at home. Its activities and contests are of special interest to teachers.
For details and a free copy of “Computer Learning,” write or call: Computer Learning Foundation, Department ED96, POB 60007, Palo Alto, Calif. 94306; 415-327-3347.
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Free-lancer Dennis Lynch’s e-mail address is DennyLynch@aol.com
