2004 Notable Computer Software for Children
2004 Notable Computer Software for Children Committee: Barbara Scotto, Chair, Brookline (Mass.) Public Schools; Dianne Baasch, IMediaSource, New York; Julie Cohen, Berkshire Country Day School, Lenox, Mass.; Kirsten G. Cutler, Sonoma County Library, Rohnert Park, Calif.; Caren S. Koh, Queens Library, Jamaica, N.Y.; and Bina Williams, Bridgeport (Conn.) Public Library.
Exploring the World of Thomas Day. Thomas Day Project / New Hope Publications. Win/Mac (Gr. 4 & up)
Archibald, a young apprentice to cabinetmaker Thomas Day, involves students in a search for clues that will free him from jail. Live action film clips, animations, and reproductions of primary and secondary sources bring this time period to life. Other features of this appealing CD-Rom include worksheets, teacher resources, curriculum standards and more. Quicktime and Adobe Acrobat required.
Form Wild: Birds, Insects, African Animals. Kaulfuss Designers. Win/Mac (Gr. 4 and up)
Each unique disc in this series is a treasure trove of PDF files containing full-color, printable cutouts that fold into three-dimensional creatures. Most entries include facts about the animals, how to identify them, and a simple craft activity. Students and families alike will use this exceptional program for school reports, decorations and more. Insects, African Animals and Birds were previewed, but in all there are currently eighteen discs available on different themes.
Garfield’s Typing Pal. DeMarque. Win (Gr. 2 and up)
Everyone’s favorite fat cat teaches the basics of typing with humor galore. Exercises steadily increase in difficulty as users become more adept at keyboarding. Fun games such as Cookie Catch and Cosmik Ball improve skills and encourage children to continue playing.
I Spy Fantasy. Scholastic. Win / Mac (Gr. 3 and up)
Just as the I Spy books have challenged young people to look very carefully at what is before them, this latest I Spy disc allows children to explore minute details in castles, spaceships and other fantastic environments.
Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster. Viva Media. Win/Mac (Gr. 3 and up)
The carefully sequenced activities in this chess course build the skills needed to play this game. Humorously quirky features include wilting flowers, exploding toilets and dueling peasants for hours of fun even before the first pawn is moved in an actual game of chess.
Math Missions: The Amazing Arcade. Scholastic. Win/Mac (Gr. 3-5)
Math Missions: The Race to Spectacle City. Scholastic. Win/Mac (Gr. K-2)
In these two math adventure programs, players solve problems using math skills appropriate to their grade level. Colorful characters and unique settings keep interest high. Skills developed include sorting, arithmetic, geometry, and problem solving.
2004 Notable Online Subscription Services
Authors4Teens. Greenwood Publishing. www.authors4teens.com
Don Gallo interviews authors who write books for young adults. Photographs, complete bibliographies, links, information about author appearances, reviews, and the full text of the extensive interviews and frequent updates make this site especially useful.
Cobblestone Online. Carus Publishing. www.cobblestoneonline.net
An easily searchable text database provided by Carus Publishing contains the full text of articles from periodicals such as Appleseeds, Dig, Cobblestone, Calliope and others. Children in the younger grades can use much of this material.
Facts On File Online. Facts On File. www.fofweb.com
Text from Facts on File print publications are presented in a useful package of interactive databases geared to both students and teachers. The Curriculum Resource Center and Curriculum Resource Center, Junior Edition provide excellent supplementary material for library and classroom use. Of special note are the Science Experiments which are extremely detailed and carefully planned.
unitedstreaming. United Learning. www.unitedstreaming.com
An educational on-demand service with over 22,000 video clips designed for use in K-12 classrooms and libraries that have up-to-date technology. Video content clips can be searched and played by specific subject area and grade level.
World Book Online. World Book, Inc. www.worldbookonline.com
This general reference database contains the full text of World Book Encyclopedia as well as a dictionary, an atlas, a student encyclopedia in Spanish and more. Of particular interest to young users are sections called, Surf the Ages, Media Showcase, and Today in History.
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