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-
-
-
- K-5 Educational Software Guide
-
- 1993
-
- Worthington Parent and Teachers Association (PTA)
- Technology Committee
-
-
- The PTA Technology Committee of the Worthington Elementary School
- prepared this educational software guide to assist parents and
- teachers in purchasing software for children. Worthington, as a
- kindergarten through 5th grade elementary school, is the focus
- for the grade ranges of the software rated in this guide.
-
- This guide isn't meant to be a definitive authority of current
- commercial educational software on the market, but, rather, it's
- a guide to assist you in what qualities to look for in software
- before you purchase. This guide provides a starting point of
- things you may choose to consider when purchasing educational
- software and a listing of some educational software currently on
- the market. Noncommercial software, such as those available
- electronically from the Internet, CompuServe, America Online and
- sold by EDUCORP, isn't considered in this guide, although some of
- it is very good. The PTA Technology Committee in no way endorses
- any software listed in this document.
-
- If you're interested in learning more about available educational
- software, we suggest reading the books listed as references for
- this evaluation or visiting your local library or bookstore. The
- more you read about educational software, the more informed
- you'll be and the better able to meet the learning and/or
- entertainment objectives you may wish to establish when
- purchasing educational software.
-
- This software evaluation is not to be construed as an endorsement
- of any commercial software by the Worthington Public School
- System, Howard County, Maryland, USA; its teachers; the PTA; or
- the Howard County School Board.
-
-
- 1. Getting Started
-
- What should you consider when purchasing educational software? We
- recommend that you establish learning objectives, find software
- that meet those objectives, then choose among them by purchasing
- software that are compatible with your computer system and within
- your budget. Let's go through these steps.
-
- 1.1 Learning Objectives
-
- Unless the software is to be used strictly for entertainment, you
- should always consider what you want your child to learn from
- using it. According to most current studies of educational
- software for young children, software should possess the
- following attributes for greatest educational value: easy for a
- child to use without adult supervision; open-ended and
- exploratory; able to grow on demand with the child; quick
- responses to a child's actions; clear sound, color graphics, and
- animation; appropriately challenging; lively and entertaining;
- and a builder of self-esteem (Haughland and Shade 1990; Hohmann
- 1990; Salpeter 1992). Minimizing the necessity of adult
- supervision or tutorship doesn't imply that adult interaction is
- impossible or undesirable. It means that children are able to use
- the software without adult supervision (often by virtue of its
- graphical, spoken, and mouse interface) and, hence, often feel
- heightened satisfaction and empowerment from such software. This
- capability is especially effective in environments where a
- computer is always available and a children's computer interface,
- such as Edmark's KidDesk or Apple's At Ease, is used. Some
- software (e.g., Edmark's Millie's Math House) offers modes that
- allow the child to choose levels of difficulty and the amount of
- adult interaction.
-
- The learning objectives used in this guide are based upon the
- above criteria and public school curricula for the listed age
- ranges. Parents often seek software that will directly help their
- children with school. For example, if your child needs additional
- tutoring in mathematics and is in the second grade, we recommend
- that you consult with your child's teacher to ensure that you
- purchase software that's compatible with the second grade
- mathematics curriculum and your child's current abilities. You
- may prefer different learning objectives or have more open ended
- goals (e.g., exploration, drawing). The learning objective should
- be kept simple and within the capabilities of your child. Do not
- purchase software that will be so difficult to use that your
- child becomes discouraged. Look for software that is fun and
- challenging.
-
- 1.2 Purchasing Software
-
- We highly recommend that you check out software before you buy
- it. This is usually accomplished by seeing the same software at a
- friend's house, library, or school; visiting a software store; or
- buying the software with a return guarantee. Some publishers
- offer money back guarantees and a few software vendors allow you
- to return software within a reasonable time (usually 1 week)
- provided that you have not damaged the software, its
- documentation, warranty cards, and packaging.
-
-
- 2. Is The Software Compatible With My Computer System?
-
- Finding software that will work on your computer system is
- usually accomplished by reading from their catalog or asking the
- software vendor or publisher on which computer systems the
- software will efficiently run. Here's what you'll need to know
- about your computer to determine if a particular piece of
- software is compatible with your computer system.
-
- 2.1 Matching Your Computer to the Software
-
- Software vendors usually separate their software based upon
- computer type. Once you've found software for your type of
- computer, you need to be sure that it's compatible with your
- computer's specific processor and operating system (OS). To
- select compatible software, it's unnecessary to fully understand
- the details of your computer type, processor, and OS, you only
- need to know what you have. Some popular configurations,
- hopefully yours, are listed below by computer type.
-
- 2.1.1 IBM PC Compatible (I)
-
- IBM personal computers (PCs) and IBM PC compatibles (e.g., AST,
- Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Tandy) use various processors such as
- 8088, '286, '386, '486, or Pentium. The model of the processor is
- usually found on the front panel of the computer. You'll also
- need to know your operating system and its version number. PCs
- generally run the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS or
- simply DOS) or DOS with Windows. Type the command "ver" at the
- DOS prompt (usually C>) to find out the version number (e.g., DOS
- 6.0).
-
- 2.1.2 Apple (A)
-
- Apple Computer, Inc., makes Apple IIe and used to make Apple IIGS
- computers, which run DOS 3.3 or ProDOS operating systems.
- Apple IIGS computers can run many Apple II programs, but the
- reverse isn't true.
-
- 2.1.3 Macintosh (M)
-
- Apple Computer, Inc., also makes the Macintosh series of
- computers (e.g., Macintosh II, LC, Performa, Classic, Centris,
- Quadra), which run System 7.1 (or older version numbers; e.g.,
- System 6.0.4). To see this information, pull down the Apple menu
- from the menu bar and choose "About This Macintosh…" (or "About
- the Finder…") for your model designation, System Software version
- number (OS), and Total Memory.
-
- 2.1.4 Amiga, Atari, Commodore (C), NeXT and others
-
- For any computers we haven't mentioned (e.g., Amiga, Atari,
- Commodore, and NeXT), match your machine, its processor, and OS
- to the software's requirements.
- 2.2 Random Access Memory
-
- The amount of random access memory (RAM) within a computer is
- measured in thousands (K) or millions (M) of bytes. Most PC
- software usually takes at least 640K bytes of RAM, while others
- may take a few million bytes of RAM (e.g., 2M RAM). Your computer
- operating manual may state how much RAM your computer has
- (assuming that you haven't changed it). You may also notice how
- much RAM your computer has when you turn it ON. On a Macintosh,
- the amount of RAM is the number following "Total Memory" shown in
- "About This Macintosh…" under the Apple menu. On a PC, type "mem"
- or "chkdsk" at the DOS prompt to determine the amount of RAM.
-
- 2.3 Disk Space
-
- Most modern software that features sound and color animation
- requires a hard disk. If you're not going to run the software
- from floppy disks, find out how much hard drive disk space it
- requires. If you're going to install the software onto your hard
- drive, make sure that you have enough disk space. Like RAM, hard
- disk space is measured in millions of bytes or megabytes (MB). On
- a Macintosh, double click the hard drive icon (usually in the
- upper right corner of the screen), the hard drive's window opens
- and the available disk space shows in the upper right corner of
- the hard drive's window (if you don't see this, choose "by Icon"
- from View on the menu bar). On a PC, type the command "dir" at
- the DOS prompt and the unused number of bytes will be displayed
- following your directory (1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes).
-
- 2.4 Media
-
- Be sure you can read the media that the software is delivered on.
- Software is usually delivered on the following media: 5.25"
- floppy disks, 3.5" double density floppy disks, 3.5" high density
- floppy disks, or Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM).
-
- 2.5 Peripherals
-
- You should ask whether other peripheral devices are needed, such
- as a joystick, mouse, sound input, sound output, printer, CD-ROM,
- or special graphics color monitor. Macintoshes generally use 12"
- or 13" color monitors. PCs generally use CGA, EGA, VGA, or Super
- VGA monitors (some PCs display this information when turned ON).
-
- 2.6 Further Information
-
- If you're ever in doubt about these matters and your software
- vendor can't help, we suggest that you visit your library or
- bookstore and pick up a book or magazine that gives you a simple
- tutorial on the workings of a computer. If you really want to
- learn more about computers, we suggest that you join a computer
- users group; attend a workshop; or take a computer class, often
- given by community colleges.
-
-
- 3. Evaluation
-
- We used several independent educational software publications,
- listed in the References, along with our own Worthington Software
- Database Form surveys to come up with a comprehensive evaluation
- of the listed software. We did not attempt to rate all available
- software, but only software that was readily available in the
- market for personal computers and that had undergone some type of
- independent evaluation by an educational institution.
-
- We limited our evaluations to the categories of reading/letters,
- mathematics/numbers, social studies and science, and
- multidisciplinary (primarily mathematics and reading combined
- into one program) software. We made no attempt to evaluate
- language, music, keyboard, spatial relationships, clock reading,
- writing, environment, animals, drawing, graphics, or other
- educational software. Perhaps we'll undertake these evaluations
- at a later date.
-
- We evaluated software based upon a particular educational
- institution's and/or independent evaluator's evaluations. In each
- case, cited software should fulfill its overall learning
- objective(s) and be relatively easy to use, as explained in
- section 1.1. We used the following evaluation categories:
-
- A- to A+: Meets or exceeds learning objectives and is user
- friendly with absolute minimum adult supervision or
- tutorship.
-
- B- to B+: Meets standard learning objectives and can be used with
- minimum adult supervision or tutorship.
-
- C- to C+: Meets minimum learning objectives and should be used
- under adult supervision or tutorship.
-
- 3.1 Publishers
-
- We have included a complete name, address and telephone number of
- each listed software publisher evaluated in this guide. You may
- want to call the publisher before you purchase their software and
- ask for their (often free) software catalog.
-
- 3.2 Sources
-
- We also have enclosed the names of a few software vendors that
- you may also contact to purchase software. These vendors often
- provide very competitive pricing for the evaluated software and
- overnight delivery service.
-
-
- 4. The Ratings
-
- Listed for each piece of software is the age range (as
- recommended by our survey), our evaluation grade (using the
- criteria explained above), the computers for which the software
- is available (at the time of this writing!), the publisher, and
- approximate cost. Please note that software is often ported to
- many computers and, thus, the COMP column is highly subject to
- change (especially for popular software). Also note that
- publishers often merge, making the PUBLISHER column subject to
- change, too.
-
-
- Comments
-
- We welcome your comments on this guide. You can contact the
- chairperson of the Worthington PTA Technology Committee by mail:
-
- Dr. Joe Campbell
- 4795 Ilkley Moor Lane
- Ellicott City, MD 21043-6531
- USA
-
- or, preferably, via electronic mail at
-
- Internet: jpcampb@afterlife.ncsc.mil (or
- 74040.305@compuserve.com)
- CompuServe: 74040,305
- America Online: CELP
-
-
- References
-
- "Parent's Guide To Highly Rated Educational Software." Educational
- Products Information Exchange (EPIE) Institute (800-635-
- 5345), 1989.
-
- Buckleitner, W. "High/Scope Buyer's Guide to Children's Software
- 1992." Ypsilanti: The High/Scope Press (313-485-2000), 1992.
-
- Haughland, S. and D. Shade. "Developmental Evaluations of Software
- for Young Children, 1990 Edition." Albany: Delmar (800-347-
- 7707), 1990.
-
- Hohmann, C. "Young Children & Computers." Ypsilanti: The High/Scope
- Press (313-485-2000), 1990.
-
- Neill, S. and G. Neill. "Annual Guide To Highest Rated Educational
- Software." ASCD (800-521-8110), 1993.
-
- Salpeter, J. "Kids & Computers: A Parent's Handbook." Carmel: Sams
- (in bookstores), 1992.
-
-
- 4.1 Reading/Letters
-
- SOFTWARE NAME AGES EVAL COMP PUBLISHER COST
- Alphabet Blocks 3 up B I M Bright Star 3
- Animal Alphabet and
- Other Things 3-6 B A Queue 2
- Dinosaur Discovery Kit 3-8 C ? First Byte 2
- Easy as ABC 3-6 B A ICM Queue 2
- Electric Crayon ABCs 3 up B A I Merit Software 1
- First Letter Fun 3-6 B A MECC 3
- Flodd, the Bad Guy 2-6 C A I M Tom Snyder 2
- Fun From A to Z 3-6 B A MECC 2
- Jack and the Beanstalk 2-6 C A I M Tom Snyder 2
- Just Grandma and Me 3-8 B+ I M Broderbund (CD) 2
- Kids Time 3-8 B 2 M Great Wave 2
- McGee 2-6 C+ 2I M Lawrence Prod 2
- McGee At the Fun Fair 2-6 B- 2I M Lawrence Prod 2
- McGee Visits
- Katie's Farm 2-6 B 2I M Lawrence Prod 2
- Mickey's ABCs 2-5 B+ I Walt Disney 2
- Midnight Rescue
- (Super Solvers) 7-14 B- I M The Learning Co 2
- Milliken Storyteller 4-7 B- 2I M Milliken Pub Co 2
- Muppet Word Book 3-6 B- A I Sunburst Comms 3
- Number Munchers 9 up B- A I M MECC 2
- Paint With Words 3-7 C- A MECC 2
- Phonics Plus 4-8 C+* I Stone 2
- Pictures, Letters
- and Sounds 5-6 C+ A Hartley Course 2
- Playroom, The 3-7 A* A I M Broderbund 2
- Puzzle Story Book 3-8 C- ? First Byte 2
- Reader Rabbit 1 3-7 B-* A2ICM The Learning Co 2
- Reader Rabbit 2 5-8 B* I M The Learning Co 3
- Reading and Me 4-7 B-* A I Davidson 2
- Reading Comprehension 6-7 B- A I Houghton Mifflin 4
- Reading Maze 3-7 C M Great Wave 2/3
- Spell It Plus 6 up B- A I M Davidson 2
- Spellbound
- (Super Solvers) 7-12 C+ I M The Learning Co 2
- Spinnaker Reading 1
- (Peter Rabbit) 3-6 C+ A Queue 2
- Stickybear Reading 5-8 C+ A IC Optimum Res 2
- Super Munchers 8 up B- I M MECC 2
- Word Munchers 6-10 B- A I M MECC 2
-
- __________
- *Currently used by Worthington students at home.
-
- **Software that performs multiple functions such as math and reading.
-
- COMPuter: A = Apple, 2 = Apple IIGS specific (many A are 2 compatible),
- I = IBM PC compatible, C = Commodore 64, M = Macintosh
-
- COST: 1 = less than $25.00 2 = $25.01 - $50.00
- 3 = $50.01 - $75.00 4 = greater than $75.01
-
-
-
- 4.2 Mathematics/Numbers
-
- SOFTWARE NAME AGES EVAL COMP PUBLISHER COST
- Alligator Mix 7-9 C+ A IC DLM 2
- Arithmetic Critters 5-7 C A MECC 3
- Balancing Bear 6-10 C+ A I Sunburst Comms 3
- Base Ten Blocks 5-12 B 2 M The Learning Box 3
- Berenstain Bears Learn
- About Counting 4-7 C I Compton's New 2
- Counting Critters 1.0 3-6 B A MECC 2
- Decimal
- & Fraction Maze 8-13 B- M Great Wave 2/3
- Dragon Mix 9-12 B+ A IC DLM 2
- Jumping Math Flash 7-10 B A Mindscape 2
- Kids Math 3-8 B M Great Wave 2
- Learn to Add 3-7 C A IC Queue 1
- Math and Me 3-6 B A I Davidson 2
- Math Blaster Plus 6-12 A* A2I M Davidson 2/3
- Math Blaster Mystery 10 up B A I M Davidson 2
- Math Magic 5-10 C A I M Mindplay 2
- Math Rabbit 5-7 C A2I M The Learning Co 2
- Math Shop 10 up B- A I M Scholastic 2
- Math Shop Jr. 6-9 C+ A I M Scholastic 2
- Mickey's 1,2,3's 2-5 C I Walt Disney 2
- Millie's Math House 2-6 B+* I M Edmark 2
- Number Farm 3-6 B+ A IC DLM 2
- Number Maze 5-12 B- M Great Wave 2/3
- Number Munchers 8 up B A I M MECC 2
- Numbers Count 3 up B- A IC Merit Software 1
- Operation Neptune 10 up B- I The Learning Co 3
- Outnumbered
- (Super Solvers) 7-14 B+* I M The Learning Co 2/3
- Stickybear Math 6-9 B- A IC Optimum Res 2
- Stickybear Numbers 3-6 C A IC Optimum Res 2
- Winker's World of
- Numbers 6 up B- A Wings for Learn 3
- Young Math 4-8 C I Stone 2
-
- __________
- *Currently used by Worthington students at home.
-
- **Software that performs multiple functions such as math and reading.
-
- COMPuter: A = Apple, 2 = Apple IIGS specific (many A are 2 compatible),
- I = IBM PC compatible, C = Commodore 64, M = Macintosh
-
- COST: 1 = less than $25.00 2 = $25.01 - $50.00
- 3 = $50.01 - $75.00 4 = greater than $75.01
-
-
-
- 4.3 Social Studies and Science
-
- SOFTWARE NAME AGES EVAL COMP PUBLISHER COST
- Bushbuck Charms, Viking
- Ships and Dodo Eggs 12 up B- I PC Globe 2
- Castles 12 up B- I Interplay 3
- Eco-Saurus 4-9 C+ ? First Byte 2
- Headline Harry and the
- Great Paper Race 10 up B+ I M Davidson 2/3
- Oregon Trail, The 10 up B A I M MECC 2
- Where in the World is
- Carmen Sandiego 8 up B+* A2ICM Broderbund 2/3
-
-
- 4.4 Multidisciplinary**
-
- SOFTWARE NAME AGES EVAL COMP PUBLISHER COST
- Miracle Piano, The
- Teaching System 10 up B- M Software Tool 4
- (music/piano playing)
- Muppets On Stage 3-6 B- A I M Sunburst Comms 3
- (counting/letters)
- Playroom, The 3-6 A* A I M Broderbund 2
- (letters/time/numbers)
- Quarter Mile, The 5 up C+ A I Barnum Software 2
- (math/letters/numbers)
- Talking Alpha Chimp 3-7 B 2I M Orange Cherry 3
- (letters/counting)
- Treasure Mountain! 5-9 B* I The Learning Co 2
- (Super Solvers)
- (read/math/sci/think)
- Treehouse, The 5-9 A- A I Broderbund 3
- (math/language/music)
-
- __________
- *Currently used by Worthington students at home.
-
- **Software that performs multiple functions such as math and reading.
-
- COMPuter: A = Apple, 2 = Apple IIGS specific (many A are 2 compatible),
- I = IBM PC compatible, C = Commodore 64, M = Macintosh
-
- COST: 1 = less than $25.00 2 = $25.01 - $50.00
- 3 = $50.01 - $75.00 4 = greater than $75.01
-
-
-
- 5. Software Publishers
-
- Barnum Software
- 2201 Broadway, Suite 201
- Oakland, CA 94612
- (800) 332-3638
-
- Bright Star Technology, Inc.
- 14450 North East 29th
- Suite 220
- Bellevue, WA 98007
- (206) 451-3697
-
- Broderbund Software
- 500 Redwood Blvd
- Novato, CA 94948
- (800) 521-6263
-
- Compton's New Media
- 345 4th Street
- San Francisco, CA 94107
- (800) 572-2272
-
- Davidson & Associates, Inc.
- P.O. Box 2961
- Torrance, CA 90509
- (800) 545-7677
-
- DLM
- One DLM Park
- Allen, TX 75002
- (800) 527-4747
-
- Edmark Corporation
- 6727 185th Avenue North East
- Redmond, WA 98052
- (800) 426-0856
-
- Electronic Arts
- 1820 Gateway Drive
- San Mateo, CA 94404
- (800) 245-4525
-
- First Byte, Inc.
- Clauset Center
- 3100 South Harbor, Suite 150
- Santa Ana, CA 21704
- (800) 523-8070?
-
- Great Wave Software
- 5353 Scotts Valley Drive
- Scotts Valley, CA 95066
- (408) 438-1990
-
- Hartley Courseware, Inc.
- Box 419
- Dimondale, MI 48821
- (800) 247-1380
-
- Houghton Mifflin Co.
- Educational Software Division
- 1 Beacon Street, 30th Floor
- Boston, MA 02108
- (617) 725-5000
-
- Interplay Productions
- 3710 South Susan
- Suite 100
- Santa Ana, CA 92704
- (800) 969-4263
-
- Lawrence Productions
- 1800 South 35th Street
- Galesburg, MI 49053
- (800) 421-4157
-
- The Learning Company
- 6493 Kaiser Drive
- Fremont, CA 94555
- (800) 852-2255
-
- The Learning Box
- 4508 Valley Crest Drive
- Arlington, TX 76013
- (800) 743-9450
-
- MECC
- 6160 Summit Drive North
- Minneapolis, MN 55430
- (800) 685-6322
-
- Merit Software
- 13635 Gamma Road
- Dallas, TX 75244
- (800) 238-4277
-
- Milliken Publishing Company
- P.O. Box 21579
- 1100 Research Boulevard
- St. Louis, MO 63132
- (800) 325-4236
-
- Mindplay
- 3130 N. Dodge Blvd
- Tucson, AZ 85716
- (800) 221-7911
-
- Mindscape/SVE
- Society For Visual Education
- 1345 West Diversey Pkwy
- Chicago, ILL 60614
- (800) 829-1900
-
- Optimum Resource, Inc.
- 10 Station Place
- Norfolk, CT 06058
- (800) 327-1473
-
- Orange Cherry Software
- P.O. Box 390
- Pound Ridge, NY 10576
- (800) 672-6002
-
- PC Globe, Inc.
- 4700 South McClintock Drive
- Tempe, AZ 85282
- (800) 255-2789
-
- Queue, Inc.
- 338 Commerce Drive
- Fairfield, CT 06434
- (800) 232-2224
-
- Scholastic Software
- 2931 East McCarty Street
- P.O. Box 7502
- Jefferson City, MO 65102
- (800) 541-5513
-
- Software Tool Works
- 71 Leveroni Court
- Novato, CA 94949
- (800) 231-3088
-
- Stone & Associates
- Suite 319
- 7910 Ivanhoe Avenue
- La Jolla, CA 92037
- (800) 733-1263
-
- Tom Snyder Productions
- 90 Sherman Street
- Cambridge, MA 02140
- (800) 342-0236
-
- Sunburst Communications, Inc.
- 101 Castleton Street
- Pleasantville, NY 10570
- (800) 321-7511
-
- Walt Disney Computer Software Inc.
- 500 South Buena Vista Street
- Burbank, CA 91521
- (800) 688-1520
-
- Wings For Learning
- 1600 Greenhills Road
- P.O. Box 660002
- Scotts Valley, CA 95067
- (800) 203-4510
-
-
- 6. Software Vendors
-
- 6.1 Nationwide Sources
-
- Educational Resources (800) 624-2926 (full line catalog,
- school versions, lab packs)
- Egghead Software (800) 344-4323
- Learning Services (800) 877-9378 (full line catalog, school
- versions, lab packs)
- MacConnection (800) 334-4444
- MacWarehouse (800) 255-6227
- TigerSoftware (800) 666-2562
-
-
- 6.2 Local Sources
-
- Computer City
- Price Plaza II
- 597A E. Ordnance Rd
- Glen Burnie, MD 21060
- (410) 508-3865
-
- CompUSA
- Governor Plaza
- Glen Burnie, MD
- (410) 768-1612
- (800) 451-7638
-
- Egghead Software
- 14201 Baltimore Ave
- Laurel, MD
- (301) 725-3105
- (800) 344-4323
-
- Egghead Software Institutional Sales
- 8815 Centre Park Dr
- Columbia, MD
- (800) 786-4344
-