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Educational: 4.8
Overall Design: 4.7
Ease of Use: 4.8
(4.0 = good, 4.5 = very
good, 5.0 = excellent)
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Program Description Commentary Who Is This Program For
Why We Selected This Program Computer Requirements
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Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion enter into a sailing race and end up shipwrecked on Pirate Island. They need to find the necessary parts to build a new ship. To get the parts, they will need to explore 9 different areas found on the pirate's map of the island.
Reader Rabbit Math allows the user to choose the areas they want to explore. Six of the nine activity areas are designed to teach through simple exercises a fundamental area of math, and 3 of the areas are designed to test your skills (see above).
In "Going Bananas" (see middle right) you lay out the right number of banana peels on the path, so the pirates will slip and fall. You can put the banana peels in groups of 100s, 10s or 1s . As you add or take away bananas, you can see the corresponding math equation. The combination of moving the banana peels and watching the math equation change is engaging while visually demonstrating basic adding and subtracting.
In "Monkey Pizza Party" (see bottom right) you are dividing pizzas into the right # of pieces (fractions) by selecting which number to divide by to get the right denominator. By putting toppings on the right number of pieces, you get the right numerator.
In "Tourist Trap" you need to free Sam the Lion by paying the right amount of money. You do this by selecting a combination of bills and coins to add up to the correct amount.
The cartoon animated story line succeeds in captivating the interest of the user. It has 6 levels of difficulty which self adjust to the level of the user and it can be easily pre-set to a specific level of difficulty. The 6 levels of difficulty allow for the range of challenge and levels of learning for the 6-9 age group. The program also offers detailed performance tracking by skill area for each user.
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"I liked trying to catch the coconut with the right number on it. You had to move fast" – Ryan, age 7
"I liked drawing the shapes of the sails that they needed for the boat." Cathy, age 8
" Dividing the Monkey pizzas was just like my sister and I do all the time at home. Making sure that we both get the same." Perry age, 9
For any boy or girl who would benefit from additional practice in basic math as they are being introduced to these areas in the early school years. It is also for the child who enjoys a self directed program, where they are free to explore on their own. It is also for any child with whom you may want to encourage the possibility that "Math can actually be fun."
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When you are introducing math to younger kids it is great if the experience can be fun instead of - "I can't do this" or worse "This is boring". The characters of Sam the Lion, Polly the Parrot and the rather goofy pirates, as well as the design of the activities themselves, make the experience of exercising their math skills enjoyable for the users.
The program as well, is very supportive of the view, that there is nothing wrong if you don't get the answer right the first time. You are simply encouraged to keep going and given hints that help you get to the right answers. The program is well designed and encouraging to the user.
We also liked the way that Reader Rabbit Math helped the user learn how to do addition and subtraction ( "Going Bananas"). You are learning by experimenting - moving the banana peels around and at the same time, you are seeing the answer in mathematical form change - as you move the banana peels on or off the path. This is a clever way to see and learn the mechanics of basic math.
This program encourages learning by experimenting. The program also makes learning and doing basic math an enjoyable experience, something that wouldn't occur to many of us based upon our own past experience.
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Pricing and Online Ordering
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Platform: PowerMac™ Media: CD-ROM, RAM : 16MB, Hard Drive: 20MB, Video : 256 colour or better CD-ROM: 4X or better
Platform: Windows® 3.1 Media: CD-ROM CPU : 486/66Mhz or better, RAM : 16M Hard Drive: 20MB, Video : Super VGA (640x480x256 colour) CD-ROM: 4X or better, Sound : Windows compliant sound device, Mouse : Microsoft mouse or compatible
PlatformWindows® 95/98 Media: CD-ROM, CPU : 486/66Mhz or better, RAM : 16M, Hard Drive: 20MB, Video : Super VGA (640x480x256 colour), CD-ROM: 4X or better, Sound : Windows compliant sound device, Mouse : Microsoft mouse or compatible
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or to see other math programmes
Disney Ready For Math with Pooh - ages 3-6
On Track Math Series - ages 3 -9
Math Workshop Deluxe - ages 6-12
Mia - Just In Time - ages 8 - 12
Carmen Sandiego Math Detective - ages 8-14
Neufeld - Understanding Math - ages 10-16
MathTrek Grades 7 & 8 - ages 12-14
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