Geometer's Sketchpad is an almost amazingly capable tool for the classroom environment. Combining geometry with a capable drawing program, it's both fun and instructive. You can create drawings by plotting points, arcs, and vectors from the menu or by using familiar drawing tools with your mouse. Once you've created an object, experience its dynamic aspects by dragging it with your mouse. All geometric relationships are preserved, allowing you to examine an entire set of similar cases in a matter of seconds. The animations and broad capabilities of Geometer's Sketchpad make it an ideal tool for exploring certain aspects of physics, trigonometry, calculus, and more. You can actually create slick multimedia presentations that translate abstract problems and principles into easily grasped reality. Although the basic skills required to use Geometer's Sketchpad are easily picked up, this is a complex program with a steep learning curve, making it a teaching aid that should hold students' interest for a long time. Excellent documentation and loads of examples are included. Reviewed on Jul 13 1998.
