Date: Fri 05-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

CD-ROM-Buyer's-Guide-schools

Full Text:

CD-ROM Buyers Guide: Kids Love CD-ROMs, But What To Buy?

(with graphics)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

CD-ROMs can make excellent gifts for students with computers. They are both

educational and fun. With over two thousand education software titles of

varying quality and usefulness available, however, shopping for software can

be confusing.

The Bee has compiled a list of recommendations, based on suggestions by

teachers, media specialists at local schools, Consumer Reports and Educational

Press Software Awards.

When shopping for a CD-ROM read the specifications on the box to make sure

that the program can run on the computer. The two most common problems are

incompatible software and not enough memory.

Some software will run on both Mac or Windows platforms, but many are made

specifically for Mac or Windows, so be sure the program is compatible with the

computer it will be run on.

Fast-action games typically require much more memory than most educational

CD-ROMs.

Where To Shop

Selection, prices and return policies can vary substantially between computer

stores, mail-order catalogues and on-line stores.

On-line stores such as www.thunderbeam.com offer an enormous selection of

educational software at competitive prices. Jeanne Bugay, Newtown Middle

School Media Specialist, said that she "would suggest calling Library Video

and Software Company at 800/843-3630 for a catalogue. They have quite a

selection of software titles, and good write-ups. I buy from them all the

time."

Other mail-order catalogues such as Mac Zone or PC Computing are also worth

checking out. Some mail-order companies allow a 30-day free trial period,

others will give an allowance for returns even if the software has been

opened.

Walk-in stores often offer excellent prices on selected software. Mrs Bugay

cautions, however, that many walk-in stores will not allow software returns

once the plastic is torn off the product, even if it will not run on your

computer. So check the store policy before buying.

What Do You Want?

Mrs Bugay recommends that the buyer have an objective before they shop. Once

you know what you are looking for, the process of selection becomes much

simpler.

One program might motivate a student to memorize their arithmetic facts or

become a better speller. Another might teach a child reasoning and thinking

skills by making them apply scientific reasoning to solving a mystery or by

challenging them to create a city with budget constraints.

One might give them a strong foundation on playing the piano, while another

becomes the tool for creating artwork, books, or multimedia presentations.

CD-ROM encyclopedias are also very popular, allowing for easy access to

reference materials. Many but not all educational CD-ROMs are highly

entertaining. If your main aim is entertainment, you may want to look into

fast-action games that are not listed here.

Long-Term Appeal

Some programs are similar to books, in that you go through them start to

finish, then you are done. Others, such as encyclopedias and production

programs, have a longer-lasting appeal.

Living books, with stories and surprise animations, are an irresistible

introduction to reading for a young child. But once the child completes the

book a few times, the element of surprise is gone.

Likewise, geography programs at the middle school level and Myst and Riven at

the high school level have strong appeal, but once a student has completed the

program they are generally done with it.

Other programs have multiple uses. Encyclopedia programs are useful as long as

the material stays up to date.

Creative production programs, such as Hyperstudio, Kidpix, Crayola Art 2 , and

Print Shop can be used in so many ways, their appeal is generally longer

lasting than other types of programs.

Recommended Ages

Don't count on the recommended age ranges written on software boxes being

accurate, especially at the younger age levels.

Consumer Reports recently issued a press release that noted, "A product marked

`6 to 12 years' may be better for kids 5 to 11 years."

Software manufacturers have a natural tendency to try to increase the spread

of age appropriateness to increase their potential market, and sometimes they

simply put the wrong ages on the box, so it is worth looking carefully.

Recommended Programs

Alphabet Express , by School Zone Interactive, gives the pre-schooler so many

letter-related activities that they can't help but learn their letters, while

having fun at the same time.

The Land Before Time Animated Moviebook , by Sound Source, reads a story about

dinosaurs, which keeps children clicking to get surprise animations. There are

also short video clips on each computer "page," and, when children find a

hidden icon, they can play spelling and matching games from within the story.

Build-A-Book with Roberto, by Theatrix Interactive, is a creative program that

won an Educational Press Software Award.

Pre-school To

End of First Grade

The top-rated interactive storybook by Consumer Reports was 101 Dalmations

Animated Storybook , which keeps kids clicking on the mouse while they learn

to read.

Just Grandma and Me , by Broderbund, is a captivating clickable story book (in

Spanish or English) that highlights groups of words as they are being read.

Children can click on words to have them read, or click on the pictures to see

amusing animations.

Pre-school To

End of Third Grade

Crayola Draw 2 , by Micrografx, is a full-featured easy-to-use drawing program

with multiple drawing tools, symmetry, animated stickers, games, jokes, and

limited word processing functions. The interface is great for young kids, and

since it can be used in so many ways kids keep coming back to it. However, a

nine-year-old might find the jokes and games too childish.

Preschool To The

End Of Elementary School

KidPix is an easy-to-use, excellent drawing program, similar to Crayola Draw.

KidPix is available in many local schools.

Piano Discovery for Kids gives children who like a methodical approach to

learning a series of lessons to learn to play the piano. The program carefully

guides the child from learning to play the first note to playing full songs on

a midi-keyboard attached to the computer.

First or Second Grade

Jump Start 2nd Grade and Jump Start 1st Grade , where Frankie the Dog leads

children through the cyberclassroom, were both highly recommended by Consumer

Reports.

Elementary Grades

Sewell Pruchnik at the Library Media Center at Sandy Hook School recommended

Treasure Math Storm, Thinking Things, Reader Rabbit, Magic School Bus series

and Microsoft Dinosaurs for elementary students.

Reading Blaster 2000 was one of the top rated programs for language arts by

Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports also recently announced a number of titles that excel in

enhancing a child's creativity.

The report states that "Orly's Draw-a-Story got the top rating for ease of use

and superb design in a program that actively involves kids in stories told by

Orly, a cool Jamaican girl. Storybook Weaver Deluxe , also highly rated, lets

kids write their own stories."

For the child interested in ocean life, Imagination Express: Destination Ocean

allows them to research, write and animate stories they create about sea life.

Elementary & Middle School

There is a wide assortment of excellent math programs at the elementary and

middle school levels, some excellent reference materials, and some fun

introductions to medicine, history, and geography.

Oregon Trail leads the user on a journey of discovery, and is recommended by

Sewell Pruchnik of Sandy Hook School.

The Amazon Trail, The Oregon Trail II, and The Grand Canyon Journey also

recount the daily adventures (with maps) of people trekking through these

geographic areas, and are popular programs.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in the USA is Carmen

Sandiego? let students learn where cities and countries are located as they

solve a mystery using deductive reasoning.

500 Nations by Microsoft teaches students about traditional native North

American culture and history, in a sensitive way, approved of by native

leaders.

There are several music programs, such as Finale , which allow students to

compose and edit music and sound effects on the computer.

The student can play a midi keyboard attached to the computer, and/or

manipulate written notes on the screen, then listen to their work.

Mighty Math Zoo Zillions was rated highest for fun and skill-building in math

programs by Consumer Reports. Math Workshop Deluxe and the Great Math

Adventure were also highly rated.

For kids who enjoy a little competition, Math Blaster makes arithmetic and

number patterns fun. Young people blast garbage, find hidden equations to

recycle garbage into space ship fuel, and catch the right numbers to fit

between other numbers.

In order to save the universe, students needs to know their arithmetic. There

are several versions of this program, and each version has many levels and

many types of arithmetic functions to practice.

Middle School

And Beyond

The Fennels Figure Math , by McGraw Hill, requires reasoning skills. Most math

programs drill arithmetic skills, but this program motivates students to

overcome a variety of difficult reasoning problems. With The Fennels Figure

Math, young people search a house for clues and for objects that they can

trade for the right to solve math problems, which will then give them what

they need to solve an overall mystery. Some problems are so difficult that it

is helpful to have more than one student or an adult around to help out.

For productivity at the middle school level, Mrs Bugay recommends Print Shop,

Print Artist and Click Art .

Recommended by Educational Press are Print Artist 4.0, by Sierra On-Line, How

to Draw the Marvel Way , by Cloud 9 Interactive, Inc, and Dr Sulpher's Night

Lab by McGraw-Hill Home Interactive.

City planning is an exciting challenge with Sim City or Sim City 2000 . With

Sim City 2000 , students can be challenged to create a city to withstand

Godzilla, or an earthquake, while staying within their budget. Mrs Bugay

recommends the Sim City and Sim Farm programs which are entertaining, while

challenging kids to use higher level thinking skills.

With Sim Farm , students make a productive farm and try to stay out of the

red.

Karen Mann, library media specialist at Newtown High School, is excited about

a new program which would introduce students to CAD programs that they will be

using in high school.

The program, LegoCad , provides the students with all the construction parts

they need to build a car on the computer screen.

The student then creates line drawings, and converts them into a

three-dimensional representation of their car which they can then rotate to

view from all angles.

There are a number of good medical programs available. 3D Body is a

spectacular program where the user can "fly through" various body systems,

such as the ear, the digestive tract or the heart.

Another part of the program allows children to play doctor, diagnose disease

and cure patients by shooting bacteria, etc. There is also a children's

medical encyclopedia and a concentration game for learning terminology. It

does, however, need a significant amount of computer memory to run. Another

popular medical program is Body Works 4.0 .

For reference, National Geographic has just announced a new CD ROM series

containing every story and photo from National Geographic since its beginning,

a great resource for elementary and middle school students' projects.

National Geographic also has excellent earlier releases, such as Mammals: A

Multimedia Encyclopedia , and GEOBEE .

Perhaps a reference encyclopedia such as Encarta Encyclopedia, 3D Atlas 98, US

Atlas and Almanac, ABC World Reference, World Book, Comptons, Grolier, The

Wonders of Learning CD-ROM library , or the Wide World of Animals , all

recommended, would add to a student's home resources.

Mrs Bugay said that some reference encyclopedias are much better than others.

Her favorite is Encarta Encyclopedia. She said that "Encarta Encyclopedia is

great for grade five and up. It's fun, has a nice lay-out, and kids love using

it!"

Electric Library , by Infonautics Corporation, won the most prestigious award

given by EdPress in the home learning category, the Golden Lamp Award, and is

also recommended by Newtown High School.

High School To Adult

By high school age, students will appreciate a reliable word processing

program such as Word or WordPerfect , and programs relating to their specific

areas of interest.

The Internet can be a source for reference, and can provide current news in

any field, dictionaries in hundreds of languages (www.dictionary.com) and

on-line encyclopedias for general background information.

CD-ROMs such as Microsoft Bookshelf, Britannica Online '97 by Encyclopedia

Britannica and Electric Library are also excellent reference sources.

For entertainment which is also educational, Myst and Riven are two good bets.

Myst has sold over three and half million copies, more than any other software

game. The user enters a dramatic abandoned alien world and must figure out how

to use the various clues left by former inhabitants.

It requires higher level thinking skills, application of scientific concepts,

and good judgment to figure out what is going on, and who to believe.

Riven , the sequel to Myst, has just been released. The application of

mathematical and scientific principles is necessary to explore and save an

alien world which uses a base-5 mathematical system, with sound equivalents.