Don’t let “My Personal Tutor: 1st and 2nd Grade’s” bland title mislead you. This multisubject educational software package from Microsoft (Windows 95, $35) explains why the industry giant thinks so highly of itself. Quality content, inspired design and scrupulous attention to detail combine to create a vibrant learning experience for elementary school beginners.
This trio of CD-ROMs scheduled for September release is hardly “the complete solution for building reading, math and thinking skills” that some of the promotional material boasts. But the program and its trademarked TutorAssist learning technology (introducing Professor P.T. Presto) certainly offer engaging learning experiences fine-tuned to children’s skill levels and capacity for new challenges.
– In the first CD-ROM, “Sam’s Hide & Seek Adventures,” Sam the Monkey explores six rooms in a museum while collecting and unscrambling clues to find his hidden friends. Along the way, players learn and reinforce reading skills through 24 interactive stories and poems and six reading games. Decoding the clues also exposes children to American Sign Language and Braille.
“Sam” makes huge strides in overcoming flaws inherent in most software reading programs that push rote skills at the expense of story content or offer little more than animated storybooks children quickly tire of.
“Sam” deftly focuses children’s attention on content and integrates specific skills in context. Sadly, it does this with frequent interruptions to the story the first time around. Correct answers earn distracting clues, reinforcing the notion that kids should read to win something — as if the joy of discovering what’s inside each book isn’t reward enough.
But to Microsoft’s credit, all the tales, poems and nonfiction stories are well-written and engaging. And most are lusciously designed: A story about an artist and her work is breathtaking. Adults need to build on the enthusiasm these interactive books will inspire.
– The second CD-ROM, “Sky’s Space Station Voyage,” offers seven games of math challenges in addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, money, place values and comparative number values. Players must collect clues to unmask an alien stowaway.
For instance, children can buy costumes to outfit the undercover space police or sharpen number skills sorting space junk in the Recycling Center. The observatory offers an illuminating, hands-on method of exploring fractions.
– The third CD-ROM, “Turru’s Daring Sea Quest,” offers five games to introduce and sharpen “thinking” skills while collecting keys to free a trapped sea creature. Children face increasingly difficult brainteasers while telling time, creating patterns, sorting and classifying players for Melody’s Band and practicing logical thinking skills to help renovate Barlow’s Lighthouse.
The math and thinking selections are similar to what’s offered in other quality multisubject software programs. But presentation pushes Microsoft’s package ahead of the pack.
The TutorAssist technology is not a cutesy gimmick; rather, it offers more than 1,000 ingeniously tailored “prompts” by Professor Presto to help young players build upon what they already know to figure out what they don’t.
Presto is seldom an intrusive presence. The program seems to detect the difference between a simple “typo” a child quickly moves to correct and a real error. Advice is doled out promptly but sparingly. Children are guided to think productively for themselves.
Clean, uncluttered story lines never overwhelm the point of the activities. Directions are clear and precise, and, in something seldom seen, trickier activities even warrant a quick demonstration to help players get a confident start. Careful attention to detail adds information and reinforces themes in ways that captivate children.
The main disadvantage is that CDs have to be switched each time children want to work on a different subject. Yet, each CD offers a good overview of 1st- and 2nd-grade skills, making for a good value at the price.
Overall: (star) (star) (star) 1/2; gameplay: (star) (star) (star) 1/2; graphics: (star) (star) (star) 1/2; sound: (star) (star) (star) (star)
