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Encarta Reference Library 2004
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Publisher: Microsoft
Major Resource Areas: Interactive encyclopedias and article resource base, current and historical maps, timeline directories by continent, interactive world atlas, dictionary, Thesaurus, instant translation dictionaries for five languages, picture and Discovery Channel video library, virtual tours of historical sites, and a Homework Center for students. The program also has one year free online updates for all content areas.
Age Range: 10 - adult Grades: 5 & up
Minimum Reqs: Win 98, 2000 Professional, Me, or XP (see detail below)
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Pricing 5CD-ROM Version
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Pricing - DVD Version
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Program Description Who Is This Program For
Why We Selected This Program Computer Requirements
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Many of us tend to think of Encarta as an encyclopedia. The Encarta Reference Library (2004 edition) is more like a high tech library and homework centre suited for students doing assignment research and information gathering. With it's enormous article database and interface with the internet, Encarta is a research library in your computer
To describe Encarta in it's totality would be to write another encyclopedia, so we won't. What we are going to focus on are the aspects of the 2004 Encarta Reference Library that make it worth considering for teachers and students, vs. the other great high tech library, better known as the internet.
When you launch Encarta, you will have in front of you a browser and, within the browser's window, Encarta's Home Page. (click here). All the major content areas and sub areas are listed in the top tool bar and across the bottom of the page, so it is easy to immediately see what resources you have at your fingertips. On the left, there is a search function and the article list below.
If you are doing research for a paper or presentation, just type in the topic and select an article. Once you are into the article, you will find subarticles, video clips, and recommended web sites, (see example) so you are always able to deepen and refine your exploration of the topic area. As you discover sections of information that you want to save, Encarta's Researcher tool allows you to drop the information into a folder. What you might not expect is that you can easily save the bibliographic and source information for that specific article. Very handy when constructing your paper's bibliography.
If you are having trouble getting started on a project, Encarta's Homework Helper (see Homework Helper) provides you with a substantive range of specific "how to" guidance papers such as how to write a ...research paper, book report, science project, lab reports, personal essay or an oral presentation, to name a few.
If your project includes statistics and charts, you will find both a ton of statistical content within Encarta, as well as a chart making tool, so you can both gather statistics, easily create quality charts from scratch, to insert into your document.
If you are wondering what topic to choose for a project in either the history or geography area, for example, Encarta has over 50 "virtual tours" which allow you to enter famous historical or geographic sites and navigate your way around. For the simply curious, the virtual tours are very interesting. In this the 2004 edition are over 30 Discovery Channel videos as well.
As you navigate your way through a virtual tour, little windows will pop up that you can open and read about famous people or events that relate to the site, as you would listening to a tour guide when on a walking tour of a real historical site. One tour that you wouldn't necessarily expect to find, is a simulation of climbing Mount Everest. You get to experience and see what every stage of the climb to the top is like, including actually seeing and hearing an avalanche.
Encarta also has very high quality resources in the form of interactive atlases, translation dictionaries in five languages, a "famous quotations" library, and much more that can be very handy when doing work assignments.
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Click Images To Enlarge
Encarta's Home Page
The Interactive Atlas
An Example Of a Resource Page with Links
Encarta Time line allows the user to access history in a different way
The Homework Center showing all the types of resources that a student can access
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As a homework or research tool for students, the 2004 Encarta Reference Library is appropriate for any learner from the ages of 10 to 12 and up to adult. This program will have it's greatest use and value to either some one in need of ideas for any research based project, or, if he or she already has a topic area, as a working tool to find, gather, and organize information (from both within Encarta and from the internet) and even as a working tool to develop elements of the final presentation (i.e. graphs, charts and text layout).
With this type of usage value, Encarta would be excellent to have at home, on school computers and in a library, in short, any place where a student might go to start working on an assignment.
We have had the chance to see most of the available CD-ROM and online based encyclopedias over the past few years and, in our view, Encarta has emerged as not only most comprehensive in terms of content, but also the most useful as a working tool for students doing project assignments.
What, first and foremost, stands out is simply that the navigation of the program is very easy. If you know how to use a internet browser, operating Encarta will be exactly the same. Also, once you start to explore specific content, you will always find links to related content from any given page. You will never have to backtrack to find related information. Again the program makes subject area exploration very easy and engaging.
The tools for students abound within this program. Instant word translation dictionaries for the five western languages. The Literature Guide, in the 2004 edition, gives you a synopsis of over 120 classics in literature. You can make all kinds of charts - bar, line, pie - as you are researching. Everything you gather can easily be pasted into Word, Excel or Power Point All these characteristics make the business of research and organizing information alot easier and allows the student to work efficiently in the information gathering and material organizing stage.
As a teacher, a librarian, or a parent, there can be comfort knowing that a student learner is getting quality information (versus what can be "who knows what from where" on the internet) and that when the student is going beyond the content of Encarta itself, the "Editors' Picks" internet links within Encarta, will guide them to top quality content (that you would not necessarily discover using a search engine). Encarta moves seamlessly between it's own content and the internet and back. It is very easy to operate.
The Encarta Reference Library is a good example of how well crafted new technology, can make a student's work process, an easier and more engaging experience. Computer based activity is how more and more students are doing their work. Encarta enables them to use the resources of the internet, combined with a first class encyclopedia and article library, all platformed on a very useful technology work station.
Reviewed by Dan Lang - Sr. Editor - Learning Village
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Pricing 5CD-ROM Version
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Pricing - DVD Version
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Platform: PC with a Pentium 233 MHz (300 MHz recommended) or higher processor. Memory 64 MB of RAM for Windows 98 or Windows Me; 128 MB for Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP. Hard Disk Up to 375 MB of available hard-disk space. Drive Quad speed or faster CD-ROM drive. Operating System - Microsoft Windows® 98, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Me, or Windows XP operating system. Miscellaneous 16-bit sound card with speakers or headphones. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 software (included on CD) or later. Requires up to 45 MB of additional hard-disk space; 25 MB additional needed during install. Hard Disk Up to 2 MB of additional hard-disk space for each month's installments. Access to the Internet
or to see other reference programmes
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary - all ages
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