News of the Latest Products and Technology for K-12
TitleWatch
by Kathie Felix, News Editor
TitleWatch lists recently-released
educational software and electronic media products that relate to the K-12
curriculum. This list is primarily but not exclusively comprised of CD-ROM
products; other electronic formats are noted in the text. Suggestions for
entries and press releases should be addressed to Kathie Felix,
5746 Union Mill Rd., PMB 605, Clifton, VA 20124 or kfelix@infotoday.com.
Cross Curriculum Skills Detective Middle School assesses student achievement
in more than 75 math, language arts, reading comprehension, and critical-thinking
skills and concepts presented in Riverdeep titles such as Mighty Math
Astro Algebra and Cosmic Geometry, Carmen Sandiego Word
Detective and Math Detective, and ClueFinders Math Ages
9-12.
This collection of skills-based diagnostic tests assesses skills covered on
most standardized tests. All test items are keyed to specific learning objectives,
as well as state standards and benchmarks. The content areas include numbers,
operations, measurements, geometry, pre-algebra, data analysis and probability,
reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, language mechanics, vocabulary,
and spelling. Teacher Reports assess student learning with learning standards.
A Teacher Resource Binder with lesson plans and additional student activities
is included. Windows/Mac CD-ROM. $99—school edition, single user. $250—lab
pack, five users. $900—network site license, 50 users. Flexible site license
pricing is
available, based on the number of specified work stations. Riverdeep, 888/242-6747
or http://www.riverdeep.net/.
Early Learning
Flash Action Phonics Made Easy helps students aged 6 years and
older practice beginning phonics skills. Youngsters explore letter sounds,
vowel sounds, rhyming families, letter blends, and more. The program
tracks progress and rewards success with four play areas, each of which
reinforces newly practiced skills. Windows/Mac CD-ROM. $15—single
copy price. School Zone Interactive, 800/253-0564 or http://www.schoolzone.com/.
Photo Kit Junior for preK-2nd grade students enables young photographers
to use their own images to create animated books, puppet shows, multimedia
picture shows, and more. Designed to build literacy skills, the program
offers seven activity centers, a text-to-speech feature that reads aloud
the text the child has written, bilingual English and Spanish language
options at any point in the program, and child-friendly photo editing
and drawing tools. A print feature can convert finished products to PDF
format so they can be sent via e-mail or posted on a Web site. Windows/Mac
CD-ROM. $65—single copy with Teacher Resource Book. Child-friendly
digital cameras are available at prices starting at $40. APTE, Inc.,
800/494-1112 or http://www.apte.com/. Health/Science
Visualizing Addiction is a discovery-based teaching tool for
students in grades 9-12 that allows young people to see for themselves
how addictive drugs affect the brain. The course features a guidebook,
a multimedia CD-ROM with eight interactive lessons, three animated tutorials,
and a set of resources on the neuroscience of addiction. With this material,
students can perform quantitative measurements and analyses of actual
brain imaging data. Lesson plans are provided for health teachers and
science teachers in the areas of psychology, biology, and chemistry.
The program meets or exceeds National Health Education Standards, National
Science Education Standards, and The National Educational Technology
Standards. The single-user Teacher Pack containing a CD-ROM and guidebook
is free to the first 5,000 educators requesting a copy. $25—single
pack, student use (one CD and a workbook with hints, not answers, to
questions). $700—classroom pack, student use (30 CDs and 30 workbooks).
$2,000—school pack, student use (90 CDs and 90 workbooks). $6,000—district
pack, student use (270 CDs, 270 workbooks). Center for Image Processing
in Education, 800/322-9884 or http://www.eVisual.org/. Mathematics
The Flying Carpet takes elementary students on a mathematical
journey through Egypt as they search for a lost pet. Youngsters soar
over Cairo, an oasis, the pyramids, and the Sphinx, descending at each
to complete a variety of math activities. The program focuses on basic
math skills, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, money calculations,
time, dates, geometry, measuring, and more. An on-screen guide offers
navigation help. The program can be saved and resumed for future work.
The Flying Manager feature allows teachers to set student passwords,
track student progress, and customize network settings such as sound,
animation, music, printing settings, time allowed for each activity,
and levels of difficulty.Windows CD-ROM. $60—single copy price.
Multiple pack and site license pricing are available. Tool Factory,
Inc., 800/220-8386 or http://www.toolfactory.com/.
Holt Middle School Mathematics Premier Online Student Edition for
grades 6 to 8 offers an interactive online version of the Holt Middle
School Math textbook curriculum. The program provides mathematical
models and manipulatives, supplemental resources, and intervention strategies
and tools. An optional Learning Management System (LMS) allows teachers
to customize the curriculum and align the coursework with state standards.
The LMS can be used to assign homework and tests, track student progress
against
state and national standards, differentiate instruction, and assign remediation
work. A sample of the program can be accessed at the site containing all of
the Holt online textbooks—http://my.hrw.com/. Pricing varies. Holt,
Rinehart and Winston,800/992-1627 or http://www.hrw.com or http://www.harcourt.com/.
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