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Software
Releases
By Judi Mathis Johnson
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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.
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Ice Cream Truck  
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Ice Cream Truck, a new simulation from Sunburst, integrates tools
into an engaging challenge where students make decisions in order to make
a profit selling ice cream. Students may decorate their Ice Cream Truck
before setting out to sell ice cream at various locations. Marketing strategy
is included in the equation; a painted truck can add appeal and attract
sales. Students make decisions about how many supplies to purchase and which
stops to make (or just one) at the school, houses in the neighborhood, the
park, or the train station. A Results screen displays how many cones, fruit
bars, and Shuttle Pops were sold. Weekly results are stored in a spreadsheet.
Students practice skills in arithmetic operation, working backwards, data
gathering, estimation, recognizing patterns, and money sense. When the sales
run is over, it’s back to the warehouse to prepare for another day
of selling.
This simulation of running an ice cream truck incorporates a
spreadsheet, calculator, and a journal. Students can describe their selection
strategies and level of success and suggest new strategies. Another aspect
setting this program apart is the ability for students to change the variables:
ice cream preferences, temperature, and population. This Mac/Win CD costs
$99.95. Sunburst Technology, 800.321.7511 or 914.747.3310, www.sunburst.com
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Virtual Labs: Electricity™
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Virtual Labs: Light™
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Edmark
has released two programs for science students in Grades
6–12.
Virtual Labs: Electricity™ provides a circuit board,
parts,
and tools for creating a virtual circuit. Parts include
batteries,
switches, lights, resistors, capacitors, breakers, a fan,
wood block,
heater, doorbell, and more. Students design circuits to
solve problems
or to explore concepts. Virtual circuits provide plenty of
practice
without the loss of air quality. Remember the wonderful
aroma of
burning wire?
Virtual Labs: Light™ provides lasers, mirrors, lenses, filters,
barriers, targets, and tools. Students can explore the nature and colors of
light, reflection and mirrors, and refraction and lenses. A button in the program
directly links students to the Sci-Clopedia, a collection of relevant definitions,
examples, and illustrations. Each binder contains more than 40 lab worksheets,
answer keys, and useful information. Each Mac/Win CD-ROM contains the Virtual
Labs program and The World Book Bonus Science Reference; the latter is navigated
using a Web browser. Electricity has 98 articles, and Light has 81 articles.
The school edition costs $79.95 and includes two CD-ROMs and the binder. Edmark,
an IBM company, 800.362.8290, www.edmark.com
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Map Machine 
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Visit the National Geographic Education Web site (www.nationalgeographic.com/education) and check out the Map Machine.
New geographic information is updated regularly, and corresponding maps
are available. |
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Science Seekers™: Hidden in Rocks
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Hidden
in Rocks is the first title in a new science series based
on solving
real-world problems and representing collaboration between
Tom Snyder
Productions and the National Center for Science Literacy,
Education,
and Technology of the American Museum of Natural History.
Using
Hidden in Rocks, students in Grades 5–8 decide which
is the
best fossil-hunting site in Vastland. Six color posters of
the land
formations come in the package, one per group of four
students.
Students study terrain views of six Vastland sites and
choose one.
Students learn about rock formation and types, the rock
cycle, basics
of plate tectonics, and erosion. Scientists guide
students’
investigations at each step by describing how
technological tools,
such as satellite imagery and computer modeling, have been
used
to solve similar problems. The package comes with a
Mac/Win CD-ROM
and a booklet containing numerous copyable pages to go
along with
the three investigations. Tom Snyder Productions,
800.342.0236,
www.tomsnyder.com
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I thoroughly enjoyed the original version of The Writing Trek
for middle and high school students. I look forward to examining in depth
The Writing Trek: Grades 4–6. Students travel to “discourse
houses” in the village to learn about various writing genres by meeting
writers and practicing each genre. The locations include Poetry Corner,
Design Studio, Story Place, News Center, Research Hall, and Theater.
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In
addition to the projects and ongoing journal keeping,
skill lessons
are available at each site for specific practice with
sentence structure,
spelling, paragraphing, punctuation, and vocabulary
development.
Five writing resources can be accessed from any project:
an almanac,
a writer’s handbook, a rhyming dictionary, a lexicon,
and a
thesaurus. Whether purchasing 1 Mac/Win CD-ROM or 10, the
price
is $89.95. Sunburst Technology, 800.321.7511 or
914.747.3310, www.sunburst.com
In
the turbulent waters of software development, a goodly
number of
excellent titles that were aboard floundering ships have
found a
safe harbor at Grolier Educational. In particular, the
Theatrix
titles—Juilliard Music, Snootz Math, and both
Hollywood titles—can
be found at Grolier. Call 800.371.3908 for a catalog.
Knowledge
Adventure has released the teacher editions of two of
their grade-focused
math programs. In the first, students explore the
Intergalactic
Zoo and in the second the Intergalactic Fairgrounds, both
with the
characters Max Blaster, GC, and Mel. Each has five levels
of age-appropriate
math content. Students ages 5–7 can practice their
skills in
counting whole numbers and counting in number patterns;
greater
than and less than; measuring and comparing length,
weight, and
temperature; sorting simple and complex sets; learning
addition
and subtraction facts; solving number stories; telling
time to the
quarter hour; and counting and recognizing money. For
students ages
6–8, the skills include adding and subtracting,
reading and
analyzing charts, identifying and completing number
patterns, recognizing
simple and equivalent fractional parts, sorting simple and
complex
tangram puzzles, telling time, counting and recognizing
money, and
completing simple multiplication. Either title comes with
two Mac/Win
CD-ROMs and binder-ready lessons with blackline masters.
Both have
extra print features for extending the lessons into other
work or
for homework. Knowledge Adventure, 800.545.7677, www.knowledgeadventure.com
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That’s A Fact Jack!® Read 
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That’s A Fact Jack! Read, is now available from Tom Snyder
Productions for reviewing literature. Each package comes with questions
covering 10 books installed in the That’s A Fact Jack! game format.
In all, 45 packages cover 450 books. Disc 18, Mystery and Adventure, for
Grades 3–5, covers 10 books including Stuart Little, Encyclopedia
Brown: Boy Detective, and Tuck Everlasting. Students can play individually,
in groups, or as a class. The questions vary from one game to the next
on the same book.
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Other discs for Grades 3–5 include American History Before 1900,
Examining Values, Animal Stories, Discrimination and Prejudice, and Surprising
Animals. Sample packages from Grades 6–8 include Survival, Freedom and
Revolution, Jewish Experiences in World War II, and The American Civil War.
Three collections for Grades 8–10 are titled Sports and Life, Fantasy and
Adventure, and The Ways Families Work. Discs costs $39.95 or $59.95. Call 800.342.0236
or visit www.tomsnyder.com to request a complete catalog or for the complete
listing. This special That’s A Fact Jack! Read catalog contains three listings,
by disc contents, book titles, or author, so it is easier to identify which
package to purchase. The packages do not include the books.
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Judi Mathis Johnson
(judimj@iste.org)
has evaluated educational software since 1979. She
has published
with ISTE since 1986 and continues to edit its
Educational
Software Preview Guide. Contact her at 2749
Birdsong Lane,
Powhatan, VA 23139; 804.598.6138.
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Copyright © 2000, ISTE (International Society for Technology
in Education).
All rights reserved.
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