Software Evaluation
Publisher: Sunburst Communications, a Houghton
Mifflin Company
Date Published: 1998
Platform: Mac or Windows
Price: Single - $79.95-129.95 (per
installation)
Ten - $79.95- 129.95 ($9.99 – 12.99
per installation)
School Unlimited (either Complete
CD-ROM or disk or School pack of 80 CD-ROMs) - $599.95 ($7.49 per installation)
Installation:
You need: (for Windows installation)
§
486/33Mhz
processor or better
§
Windows
95 or Windows 3.1
§
256-color
Super VGA graphics
§
12 MB of
RAM (Win 95) or 8 MB of RAM (Win 3.1)
§
8 MB of
hard drive space
§
2x CD-ROM
drive or faster
§
Sound
card
§
mouse
(Very
easy installation, as it uses the installation wizard. The only problem was that the program only
runs with 256color screen, so you must reset the colors before the program will
run.)
For
MAC:
§
Color
Macintosh-compatible monitor
§
System
7.1 or later
§
12 MB of
RAM
§
8 MB of
hard disk space
§
2X CD-ROM
drive or faster
Content Area: Learning to read
Range of Grade Levels:
The grade listed is
preschool, but this could also be used for beginning readers in grades K-2.
Content Description: Include an elaboration about the
specific content, purpose, flexibility/versatility, games levels, description
of game with examples, player description, time needed to play, and best use
(individual, small, whole group).
The player clicks on different places
on the Promenade to explore. Inside
each of these places there are options of games. The player might play a game where they must match a given word
with its picture and word. When the
mouse sweeps over the word, the narrator says that word. The child is praised for correct answers and
encouraged to try again if the answer is wrong. This game helps children identify words with pictures and what
the words sound like. The more the
child answers correctly, the harder to questions become. This particular game appears a couple of
different times in different shops.
Another game option is painting. The child can choose different tools and
colors to draw a picture. They are
encouraged to find the letter that is hidden beneath the canvas, which appears
when they color over it.
A third option is a sticker game. In this activity, the player matches
“stickers” to their shadows. There are
many different scenes for the player to choose from, including one that spells
out their name.
The individual child would best use
this game. They may need assistance from the teacher every now and then, but
can generally work alone. This CD would
work best for beginning readers at any grade level. The amount of time needed for play would vary, depending on the
reading level of the player. For very
beginning readers, the amount of time needed to complete the tasks would be
longer.
Strengths/Weaknesses: The ease of play for this CD is
fairly easy. Some of the words given
may be a bit difficult for beginners.
Some of the games incorporate sound only clues. This may be a weakness if the child has a
hearing disability or if the player is not able to hear the game for any other
reason. One of the weaknesses is that
the same game (matching words) is repeated too many times. This game option is available in almost
every “store”, only with different graphics.
There is not a great variety in the games available.
One of the strengths is that in the
matching game, it will say the word that the player is to match, and it will
also say the words that are available to pick from when the mouse is dragged
across them. Also, the cartoon
characters give the directions in a very clear manner. This game, overall, is fairly simple, with
very young children probably able to play it alone.
Rating: I would probably rate this software a
7 out of 10. It doesn’t really offer a
whole lot of variety. However, the
games are simple enough for beginners to play, yet offers varying levels of
difficulty as the child progresses.
User Comments:
Way Cool Software Review: Learning to Read on the
Promenade
Reviewer: Sarah K. Ross, Teacher
Barksdale Elementary School
Rockdale County Public Schools Conyers, GA
EMail: sross@rockdale.k12.ga.us
Learning to Read on
the Promenade by Sunburst, 1998
Comes on a Mac/Win CD-ROM
Package includes teacher's guide with activities and blackline masters.
Evaluated on a Dell PC
Date reviewed: 12/98
List price: $79.95
Rating: 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. Way Cool.
Learning to Read on the Promenade teaches basic pre-reading and early reading skills through a series of games and activities to Kindergarten level students. The games and activities take place within locations found along the Promenade, such as a baseball field, theater, bookstore, and soda fountain. Animated rewards encourage students to visit their favorite activities to build their reading skills. Reading skills and activities include: matching letters and their names, identifying initial word sounds, finding rhyming pairs, matching words with pictures, recognizing and writing uppercase and lowercase letters, exploring colors and patterns, creating personal artworks, listening to and responding to stories, matching words and word sounds, recognizing letter order, reading three-letter words.
Learning to Read on the Promenade applies a balanced approach to reading instruction by combining systematic phonics and alphabet instruction with literature experiences, phonemic awareness, critical thinking skills, and creative expression activities. The software tracks the learner's progress and adjusts the flow of information to optimize learning. For example, if a child is having difficulty recognizing uppercase letters, the program automatically selects this type of question for drill. The software includes The Teacher Zone, which allows the teacher to set up class lists and monitor children's progress. The Teacher Zone presents detailed information about each child's skills by presenting tables that record both correct and incorrect responses. The program also automatically generates Parent Reports to print and send home to strengthen the home/school connection.
There are ten varied educational and entertaining activities that keep the child engaged. This software is relevant for pre-reading and language and would work well with either regular education or special education students. The Teacher Zone is very useful in that it allows teachers to monitor progress.
The students actually have fun using this software! Students in Kindergarten through First grade would enjoy using it?
The software seemed a little slow in running, but other than that it's great.
This software was used successfully in a Special Education resource program with K - 2nd grade students with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and intellectual disabilities.
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~wwwpcse/learnr.html
Learning to Read on the
Promenade, Preschool
Reviewed by Jannean Muehlfeld
Published by Sunburst Communications
|
Age
Group: Age 2 to 5 |
PC
version requires:
Windows, 486, 8M RAM, 8M hard drive, CDx2
Mac
version requires:
System 7.1 or later, 12 MB RAM, 8 MB HD
Description:
This game is great
for children from ages of 4 to 6 years old! Not only does it teach the letters
of the alphabet and basic words, it also teaches them how to recognize the
sounds and pictures of everyday objects. An example is the sound of children playing
on a playground or the sound lightning makes. The child has to match the
picture to the sound as well as the name, which is a plus. The animation is
lively and the voices are darling, not annoying like some cartoon voices can
be. The child controls the action with one click of the mouse.
Features:
·
Class lists
to monitor children's progress
·
The Teacher
Zone presents detailed information about each child.
·
Characters
that give clear directions
·
Reinforces
not only letters, words, and pictures, but sounds.
·
Personal use
of the child's name in certain activities
Technical Aspects:
This program was
very easy to install. I just used My Computer and clicked the install icon. The
icon is the same rainbow used as a symbol to return to the main menu. This is
easy for the child to remember. The only problem we have run into is caused by
lack of patience. My 6 year old wants everything to come up RIGHT NOW and
sometimes it takes a few seconds for the graphics/video to load. When she
clicks more than once, (five or six times), she causes two different videos to
talk at once or the computer to lock up. What it has done is given me an
opportunity to teach her about patience.
Report and Conclusions: This is a wonderful game. I
would recommend it to anyone with children between the age of 4 and 6, although
my 11 year-old played it the other night for almost an hour. :-)
Links:
www.kidsdomain.com – offers Crafts,
Contests, articles and kidstuff, along with software reviews. Kid-friendly site. Has many great reviews for educational and games software.
http://www.learningwarereviews.com/ - Offers reviews on children’s
software. Has a limited selection, but
is up to date.