I have rather mixed feelings regarding this new program. I was upset to discover that this is a collection of (very) old programs that many of you probably already own. This is never clearly stated on the box, and unless you recognize the screen shots, you will not know. SHAME! On the other hand, some of these classic programs are better than any of the whiz-bang, glitzy programs companies have been falling over themselves to make in the past decade. This is a good case of "buyer beware."
If you do not own the following programs, this is a terrific investment. These are also good programs for those still living (excuse me) in the dark ages of computing. The minimum requirements are a 200 MHz computer, but I know I ran most of these long before I owned a system that fast. Remember *I* do not gaurantee your purchase, however.
Spelling: Super
Solvers Spellbound!
Reading: Super Solvers Reading
Grammar: Word Munchers
Science: The Way Things Work 2.0
Writing: EasyBook Deluxe
Social Studies: Oregon Trail (very old version 1.2!)
Geography: World Explorer Deluxe
Basic Math: Awesome Animated Monster Maker Number Drop
Fractions: Fraction Attraction
Beginning Typing: Type for Fun!
Reference: Simon and Schuster New Millienium Children's Encyclopedia
If you do not own these programs already, you can not find many of them unless you scour used-software stores, or know where to purchase older classics (like cdaccess.com). Older kids, and computer junkies will get a kick out of seeing some of their 'old favorites.' Kids in their teens undoubtedly grew up with these programs.
One major thing this package lacks, is the ability to track your children's progress. The package is not pulled together in any real manner. You will, as a matter of fact, need to remember how to manually install programs in some instances. This is not a good package if you want to track your children. It is a good collection of programs, however.
While I can not say these are "state of the art" programs (ha!) they are definately worth purchasing if 1) you don't have these, 2) you have an older computer that does not work well with newer software, or 3) you had these once upon a time on true floppy disks, or want a major trip down memory lane.
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Grading for Elementary Advantage 2002 |
| Caveat: These are old classics. Do not purchase if you want to wow the neighbors with your new computer system! :-) |