Home PublicationsL&LIssuesVolume 27 (1999-2000) March (No. 6)

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Programs mentioned in this column have not been reviewed by the International Society for Technology in Education; their appearance here does not constitute an endorsement by Learning & Leading with Technology or ISTE.

Corrections

Two errors appeared in the print version of Software Releases in the March issue of L&L. First, in the description of Breaking the Code by Lerner Educational Software, French linguist Jean François Champollion was incorrectly identified as Championne. Second, in the descriptions of Yoiks!™ and Extreme Yoiks!™, The Web address for TERCworks™ was listed incorrectly. The correct address is http://tercworks.terc.edu. We regret the errors and any inconvenience they may have caused. These errors have been corrected in the descriptions below.

I Spy Junior
I Spy Spooky Mansion

If you haven't seen any of the Start-to-Finish books, then begin with the classic adventures, which include Treasure Island, Red Badge of Courage, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Each package is designed the same. Students follow along as the story is read to them. Packaged along with each Mac/Win CD-ROM is a copy of the abridged book and an audiocassette of the story. I was particularly impressed with the design of the quizzes. Clearly the goals are to improve both comprehension and vocabulary, not to punish students for misspellings. The stories have been condensed and retold, so they are easier for struggling students, but the excitement and appeal to middle and high school students remain intact. A single copy of any of the three titles costs $65, all three titles in the Classic Adventures Pack cost $174, and a total of 15 CD-ROMs and pairs of accompanying materials cost $399. Don Johnston Incorporated; 800.999.4660 or 847.526.2682; www.donjohnston.com

If you are trying to meet simple educational goals such as developing student creativity, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills, then you should examine the most recent version of MicroWorlds Pro from LCSI. Yep, the Logo people. Using MicroWorlds Pro, students can create projects that can be saved in HTML and posted directly to the Web. Here are a couple of the features that might catch your interest: animation in one click, a Fat Bits editor for shapes, compatibility with Microsoft Works' spelling checker, Excel's charting power, 24 editable brushes, melody editor, buttons for hypermedia links, compatibility with MIDI, AVI, WAV, and other files … I'll stop here, but the list is much longer. Okay, one more feature—it includes the most powerful Logo ever developed. For your own Macintosh/Windows package, you'll need $139.00. LCSI; 800.321.5646 or 514.939.8700; www.lcsi.ca

Macromedia Director 7

Macromedia Director 7 comes in a K–12 education edition for the classroom teacher. The $99.00 package includes 12 hours of course curriculum to learn and teach how to use the software. Teachers and students can turn text, graphics, sound, animation, and video into interactive multimedia content for the Web, CD-ROMs, or DVD-ROMs. Only available for educators and students, this full version of Director has a maximum of 500 frames per movie, 24 channels per score, 200 cast members, and, at most, two casts per movie. The Director 7 K–12 Edition is available in a single box, 10-pack, or as part of their Education Volume License Program—which has a minimum of 25 units. Specify the Macintosh or Windows version when you order from an authorized education reseller. For more information visit www.adobe.com/education.

Mac OS 9

It's amazing how old software is becoming; we now have Mac OS 9. This newest Macintosh operating system from Apple Computer allows for different desktop configurations for different individuals. The minimum requirements are an Apple computer with a PowerPC processor and 32 MB of physical RAM (set virtual memory to at least 40MB). The operating system has some excellent time-saving tools. The Voiceprint Password is designed to prevent others from using your Internet accounts. Sherlock 2 helps conduct searches on the Internet—especially helpful for shopping. Keychain allows you to store all of your IDs and passwords using just one password. File sharing over the Internet between any two Macintoshes appeals to my work-at-home lifestyle. Updating one's operating system also means gathering new versions of frequently used utilities. To save some time, included on the CD-ROM are Aladdin DropStuff 5.1.2, Aladdin Stuffit Expander 5.1.4, America Online 4.0, Internet Explorer 4.5, Netscape Communicator 4.5, and Palm Desktop and HotSync 2.5. Apple, Inc., www.apple.com

Typing Tutor 10

Typing Tutor 10, from Knowledge Adventure, is designed in an Internet environment. Students learn how to type while they learn how to create e-mail messages and practice navigation. Use the four options called Lessons, Practice, Progress, and Games to create a program of coursework for students. Practice features more than 200 passages from biographies, history, popular fiction, and more. Use Personal Bookshelf to preselect topics of interest for practice sessions. Other controls include choice of difficulty levels, background screens, musical selections, type sizes, and lesson lengths. Virtual e-mail regularly congratulates students as they advance and offers suggestions for continued success. The Teacher's Guide includes a section on business correspondence. The hybrid Mac/Win CD-ROM costs approximately $60 for the education version with a license for two computers. Order from an educational reseller, call Knowledge Adventure at 800.545.7677, or visit www.knowledgeadventure.com/home/.

Copyright © 2000, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.