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Educational: 5.0
Overall Design: 4.5
Ease of Use: 5.0
(4.0 = good, 4.5 = very good, 5.0 = excellent)
Below are the other programs in the Zoology Zone series.
See Spiders Content Reference Guide
See Example Pages from Spiders
To order Spiders from the
CDROM Store,
See Bears Content Reference Guide
See Example Pages from Bears
To see interactive segments of Bears, click any image below.
(Shockwave plug in required!)
What Is a Bear?
Grizzly and Black Bear Comparison
Plans For Winter
Seasonal Eating
Bear Denning
Grandpa Bear's Lullaby
Bear and Squirrel Winter Sleep Comparison
Scavenger Hunt
To order Bears from the
CDROM Store,
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| Program Description | Commentary | Who Is This Program For |
| Why We Selected This Program | Computer Requirements |
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Zoology Zone is a series of three CD ROMs that provide young students an introduction into the world of raptors, bears and spiders. A mixture of audio-visual presentations (narrated mini movies), interactive learning activities, music, quizzes and games, are all designed to engage the learner and help them understand and retain the knowledge conveyed. (This is the first review that provides large interactive screen shots and animated clips to give you a better sense of the program. Take a look around. Ed. Note)
This review will be about Zoology Zone - Raptors. Zoology Zone - Bears and Spiders (see left), are almost identical in structure, design and style to Raptors, which we are profiling here.
Zoology Zone is organized into five learning areas ("Zones") - All About Me, How I Grow, Where I Live, How I Eat and Did You Know which cover all aspects of the world of raptors. There are also tabs on the main screen (click here to see Raptors main screen) to a library with internet links for extended learning, a glossary of terms, and direct access to all the learning games.
Within each zone, there are typically 4 to five sections which, if followed sequentially, will start off with an audio visual presentation followed by interactive quiz games that test your knowledge and then interactive activities that will add new information/learning about the subject.
In Raptors, All About Me explains ornothology (the study of birds) and describes the different types of raptors (owls, falcons, hawks). A narrated story of the well known Indian legend of the hawk who saved the lives of an Indian band and came to have legendary significance. Then a game will have you dismantling an owl pellet to see what type of little critter the owl had recently eaten. Another learning module introduces Brenoulli's Law and how it applies to the dynamics of the wings and flight of birds.
Across all of Zoology Zone's five learning zones, there are 25 separate learning strands and interspersed content delivered with interactive learning modules (see a working module) and games to maintain the active interest and engagement of the learner.
Zoology Zone also has interviews with experts in the field. In Raptors, Karl Grantmyre, director of a raptor shelter describes how they care for injured birds, for example. The workshop area of Zoology Zone has a good range of suggested learning activities that can assist the teacher in possible classroom activities away from the computer or provide assignment ideas for learners.
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See Example Pages from Raptors
An introductory video on the bald eagle
Learning about the eggs of different birds
A game on species of birds around the world
A quiz with Mr. Owl
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The students really loved Zoology Zone. As far as holding their attention --- all 28 students were mesmerized by it. They continued throughout a 45 minute lesson to be totally engaged in the program. The reading level was a plus with the resource. Even with the students reading below grade level the option to have the audio allowed the weaker students to participate fully in the learning activities.
- Rosalie Thomas: Grade 3 Teacher
The students loved the CD ROM! They laughed at the jokes and cartoons, thoroughly enjoyed the games and proceeded energetically through the learning activities. In testing their learning, results indicated a high level of understanding and retention of information. Students really like using computers when they can use a program like Zoology Zone and take charge of their own learning. The program allowed them to choose their own pathways to learning and consequently appealed to a variety of learning styles in my classroom.
- Barbara Ferchuk: Primary teacher
The music and the games really appealed to my students. I appreciated the fact that the students were really involved with their own learning and this allowed me to circulate around the class helping students who had questions. The design of the program permitted students to easily navigate through the many learning activities. At the same time, the design permitted me to see at a glance how students were progressing with their learning.
- Jeanette Thompson: Grade 4 Teacher
The program was efficient in providing students with rich learning activities in a manner that motivated them to progress efficiently through the activities. The whole class proceeded through a full unit of study in one week. The same unit, without the CD ROM would have taken much longer. Terrific sense of humor in the learning activities. My students giggled and enjoyed the colourful cartoons and intriguing animation sequences.
- Sally Deck Special Education teacher
This program with it's combination of written text and overlay of narration, is ideal for children ages 5/6 - 10 and, in the classroom, grades 2 -5. Zoology Zone is designed for the classroom, but would be equally suitable for home schooling, as a resource in the library, and for the parent of any young emerging lover of birds and animals at home. Having seen how kids have responded to the program in the classroom, we believe that many, who have an interest in this area, would enjoy using the program in their own time, at home.
In the classroom, this program will work for a group of children at different levels in their reading ability, as all the text is supported by narration such that understanding is not dependent on one's reading skill.
Obviously, this program is a for a teacher who has access to computers and is looking for learning tools that will engage their students and enhance the learning experience. A Teacher Resource Manual is included on the CD ROM to help teachers use Zoology Zone in their classroom. (Access the Teacher Resource Manual in .pdf format). To read this file, you should have Acrobat Reader on your computer, if you do not have it, download it here, it's free.
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The quality of the learning content in this program is rock solid. What really stands out is the ease of navigation for younger children and the design that makes the learning experience for younger children so engaging. The designers give just the right amount of information before you are asked questions and are involved in games that will be both testing for what you have retained, as well as introducing new information in the process. What, in part, makes the program engaging is that sections that are testing retention have been turned into games that the kids are happy to undertake.
The more you look into Zoology Zone you find design details that make it extremely user friendly. For Instance, at the bottom of screen there is a small yellow bar that lets you easily move between any of the pages in a section, if you are looking for a particular screen.
What we also liked about Zoology Zone is the full use of different types of multimedia which really keeps up viewing interest. One moment you are watching and listening to a mini movie on hawks and the next moment you are seeing a very funny animated character, like a talking owl, leading you through a game.
Zoology Zone's content was written by teachers, it was commissioned and approved for use in schools by the Alberta Department of Education. It also won the 2001 Gold Award in Education at the New Media Digital Arts Competition in Alberta Canada. Zoology Zone is currently being used in elementary schools across Canada and given the content is about nature, would be of applicable value in any elementary school learning situation. If you have a teaching interest in this area, these programs we strongly recommend.
- reviewed by Dan Lang
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Pricing and Online Ordering
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Windows: Pentium Processor 120 MHz or faster, Windows 95, Windows98, 2000, NT, XP, 32MB RAM
Macintosh: Power Macintosh 120 MHz or faster, System 7.5.3 or later, 16 MB of Free RAM
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or to see other science programmes
My Amazing Human Body - ages 5-10
Magic School Bus Explores Bugs - ages 4-9
The New Way Things Work - ages 8 - 15
Pinball Science - ages 9-15
Field Trip To The Rainforest - ages 9 - 16
Deep Space Explorer - ages 12 & up
Starry Night Enthusiast - ages 12 & up
Science Matrix (cell biology) - ages 12 & up
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