Science Educational Software

What To Look For

We all want the best for our kids, especially when it comes to their educations. But we also live in the real world and want to be sure we’re getting the most we can for our money. So how do we tell the good science software programs from the not-so-good ones.

Here’s a quick primer on the features that might be included in a good software program. You don’t necessarily need to find them all to know you’ve found quality software. But knowing the kinds of features that are available will make it easier for you to compare programs.

1. What’s the age range of the program? You should be able to find this in the description of an online listing, or on the box, if you’re browsing in a brick and mortar store. Be sure the program is right for your child’s abilities. If the program is too simple, your child will become bored quickly. But if it’s too hard, he may get frustrated and resist working with the program in the future. Neither of these scenarios fosters learning. You should check to be sure the interactions in the game don’t violate any of your principles, too. Unfortunately, there are quite a few science based games on the market that have some violent interactions in them.

2. How many concepts are covered? You don’t want to pay a lot of money for a program that only teaches one scientific principle. But if the price is right and the program or game is interesting and gives an in depth demonstration of the subject, then one-subject software may be fine. You should check, too, that the program is up to date. Some principles of science haven’t changed in hundreds of years, but others are changing almost daily. Just make sure the program you investigating doesn’t include outdated material.

3. What do the reviews say? Reviews from other parents and teachers will tell you volumes about the quality of educational software. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the easiest places to find honest reviews is on Amazon.com. Amazon invites purchasers of its products to come back and write a review for the benefit of other users. And Amazon doesn’t edit what folks write. So go look up any program you’re considering and read the reviews. If you can’t find your program listed there, type the title of your program into either Google or Ixquick. Put the title in quotes ” “, and add the word review outside the quote marks. You’ll find all kinds of sites that way. At least some will be honest reviews of the software.

4. What’s the range of learning activities included? Different children learn in different ways. One of the best aspects of computers is their ability to teach one-on-one, while still including a variety of activities to engage as many senses as possible. Having variety in the program will increase the chances that the software will touch your child’s learning style. It also increases the fun factor of any program, keeping the kids interested. After all, the longer they play, the more they learn. It’s also a major plus if the program offers the ability to choose different levels of difficulty. This can keep make it good for more than one age, thereby stretching your purchase dollar.

5. Is there an assessment function? Any good educational software will have some type assessment included. It may be built into the story line of a game. For example, your child can only advance to the next level if certain challenges are conquered on this level. Or, it may be a more formal assessment area, where parents or teachers can log in to see a progress report.

6. Are there support materials? Many science educational programs come with a teacher’s guide that will give you an idea of the kinds of activities you should do in the real world to supplement the concepts in the program. This is very helpful. A user’s guide for more complex science programs is also beneficial.

7. Can worksheets be printed from the program? Not all science programs lend themselves to this, but some software gives you the ability to print extra materials like coloring pages or worksheets to reinforce the learning. This is a great feature.

8. Is there technical support? What are their hours and is there a phone #? This one doesn’t need any explanation. I don’t know anybody who hasn’t had trouble at some time with a piece of software. If you’re going to spend good money on it, you want to be able to reach technical support when you run into trouble. If there’s no number, you’re taking your chances. Having said that, I do know of excellent companies that do nearly all their support by email. Just know what you’re getting into here.

9. Are there free upgrades? This isn’t common unless you downloaded the program from the web. It sure is nice, though. Free upgrades assure that your program isn’t going to be outdated anytime soon.

10. Are add-on modules available? This is also uncommon, but it certainly is a money saver, if you can find it.

11. Are there other programs available in the series? It’s great if you can find a quality program that’s part of a series. If you decide to get other programs for your children, it will provide a familiarity and a sense of constancy for them.

Well, that’s it. I could probably go on about this subject for quite a while longer, but I’m sure you get the idea. Be sure to leave a comment if there are other parameters you use for choosing your educational software.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: science software

I wanted to veer from my list making long enough to give you a short review of a specific piece of science educational software today. This one’s an oldie (if you call 10 years old) but a goodie. It’s designed for children ages 8 to 12 years. But don’t be surprised if you enjoy it, too.

The program is called Thinkin’ Science ZAP! by Edmark. It won some prestigious awards when it was first released: 1998 ComputED EDDIE Aware–Science; 1998 Parents’ Choice Award–Parent’s Choice Foundation; and, 1998 Software Magic Award–Parenting. The science topics covered in this program–sound, light, and electricity–are timeless. So this is a highly recommended program. The only drawback my be that it’s a fairly simple interface. To me this just means that a lot of the clutter and noise of more modern games is reduced, but you might feel differently.

Your child will learn through an interactive game. The premise is that they are to be a guest director at a theater called the Wonder Dome. The shows here are a combination of light, sound, and electricity. Suddenly, the theater is zapped by lightning, and the control systems are useless. Your child’s goal becomes to learn about light, sound, and electricity so the show can go on.

The program provides a wonderful learning environment for each area. In the Electro Loft you can experiment with circuits, batteries, wires, switches, and other components to learn how they work together. In the Sound Wave Studio your child gets to ’see’ sound waves, play with the frequency and amplitude of hundreds of prerecorded sounds, and even record their own. In the Laser Lab, you can manipulate mirrors, lenses, barriers, mixers, splitters, and filters to make light bend, bounce, or blend. You get to create your own laser show. This is all great fun for the kids, but there’s learning going on at every level.

To accommodate different kinds of learners, each environment offers two different paths through the section. Children can explore at will (Explore Mode) or they can work in a more sequential path (Question and Answer Mode). It’s all well designed not only to teach about the specific topics in the program, but also to teach the user the basics of scientific method.

Bonus material include a Sci-clopedia of Facts and a collection of 222 topically related articles from World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. There’s some great stuff in here. There’s also an Educator’s Guide. An added bonus is that ZAP! will run on a PC or a Mac. And Edmark has other associated programs. So if you like this one, you can feel confident that that others in the series will be good as well. Finally, because it’s a somewhat older program, you can find it for a really reasonable price. Be sure to check this one out!

Technorati Tags: elementary science software