A Choice Made Easy
Choosing educational software for children is certainly not an easy task. Because so many options are available, it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the vividly colored packages, the intriguing characters, and fantastic claims of academic enhancements. How in the world does one actually choose? Fortunately, all is not lost. A software package is available, which truly encompasses those qualities, and does so without assaulting the purchaser’s pocketbook. My Personal Tutor by Microsoft, is a budget sensitive, educational enhancement package for childaren, with exciting graphics and an incredible academic framework. For this reason, a recent review of this program stated that “Microsoft has made a great contribution to children’s learning” (Dr. Toy).
In fact, My Personal Tutor is the best choice of children’s educational software.
The activities in My Personal Tutor facilitate learning in vital academic disciplines. Because of the technological advancement of our society, today’s students require more strength in critical thinking, reading, and math skills than ever before. This three CD set is dedicated to enhancing skills in those areas. For example, in Turru’s Sea Quest, the student further develops thinking skills in order to advance through the game format. By solving unfinished sentences, analyzing and completing number or shape patterns, challenging memory with matching, and matching analog compared to digital time, the child assists Captain Scratch in setting free the endangered sea creatures. In another CD, Sam’s Hide & Seek, the child strengthens reading skills in a virtual museum, with six separate rooms where the child plays interactive word games or reads stories in order to help Sam find his friends. However, the word games are not simple mindless entertainment. For instance, by solving incomplete sentences a story emerges. During this process, an amusing, vividly colored picture is painted depicting the story the child is creating. In another challenging exercise, the student reads stories and answers questions relating to the story content in order to gain points, thereby fostering comprehension. Finally, in a third CD, the child’s world becomes an incredible space station where the goal is to help a new friend, Spy, capture alien stowaways. In Spy’s Space Station, traditional math of the p...
... middle of paper ...
...osoft is the best choice of children’s educational enhancement software.
Works Cited
Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products for 1998. San Francisco, CA. 1999.
Microsoft Kids Page. Redmond, WA. November 17, 1998.
Outline
Thesis: My Personal Tutor is the best choice of children’s educational software.
I. The activities in My Personal Tutor facilitate learning in vital academic disciplines.
A. In Turru’s Sea Quest, the student further develops thinking skills.
B. In Sam’s Hide & Seek, the child strengthens reading skills.
C. In Sky’s Space Station, traditional math is transformed into exciting activities.
II. Through well-designed game objectives, My personal Tutor generates long term interest.
A. All the activities are designed as a means to an end.
B. The goals are met methodically through a sense of teamwork
C. The interactive characters are encouraging throughout the challenge.
III. Parents can feel confident that the purchase of this set is a cost- effective enhancement to the child’s education, as well as an excellent source of reinforcement for vital social skills.
A. The price is only $14.95 after the rebate.
B. My Personal Tutor is not limited to academics only.
Things like technology will eventually be what is teaching our children and we need to be ready to help and it is proven that some kids learn better with online school than going to regular school. We know that some things on technology is bad for our kids but we want to make sure we are educating our kids not only at school but also at home and we can do that with all the technology and software that is available to us. The three software’s I chose for preschoolers is ABC Mouse, Curious World and Agnitus. According to parenting.com ABC Mouse is used to teach children age two through seven year old their ABC’s, colors and numbers through songs music and games. The cons of ABC mouse is that not all children are able to do this website and it doesn’t always help children who have trouble learning online. I feel that many schools who have computers or iPad in their preschool use ABC mouse because it is a very simple way for kids to learn easy and valuable things. The second program that parenting.com recommends for preschoolers is Curious World this program is used by all age of children through preschool to elementary
Gundersen, Waxman, Engelhard, and Brown (2010) found in their study that 50 million people (including 17 million children) were food insecure in 2010. Poverty and food insecurity affects the lives of billions of people worldwide and millions of people in the United States. More than two billion pe...
In a special education classroom, a new world has been opened up. For the younger and lower engaged students, we have the online program starfall. This program is uploaded from the computer to the Smartboard. The students can work on vowel sounds, vowel rules and sight words all with radiant animation in color and sound. They see the words and sounds and make a visual connection. We can also use the online program Raz-kids for the student to read a story on their level of instruction. The teacher can also check the students’ comprehension with a quiz that follows each story. It is like being at a picture show. The big screen brings reading to a wonderful and pleasurable level. The program gives the teacher a report that tells what readi...
The use of computer based games as learning tools in the classroom has steadily increased over the past several years and is a trend that David Martz, sales VP of education software company Muzzy Lane, believes will continue in the future. Among the games developed by Muzzy Lane is Making History, in which the player leads a European nation in the years preceding World War II (Electronic Education Report 2). Playing a game such as this one allows the learner to immerse himself or herself in the period they are learning about rather than...
"Teaching Games for Understanding ." Teaching Games for Understanding . N.p.. Web. 16 Sep 2013. .
...will enjoy this book and use it to introduce areas such as history, poetry, geography, cooking, counting for the younger audience and language. Language and math components of the story can be used for reinforcement at www.winslowpress.com.
Grönroos, C. (2004). The relationship marketing process: communication, interaction, dialogue, value. Journal of Business & Industrial marketing, Vol 19, Issue: 2, 99-113.
Properly introducing technology into early childhood classrooms is the first and crucial step in producing a new and useful tool for students to use to enhance their learning. Many researchers do not recommend introducing computers to children young than three because they are not developmentally ready ((Haugland, 2000). It is useful to start off introducing a computer to young children in a group setting because it is general information all children need to know. The teacher may begi...
Globalization, the acceleration and strengthening of worldwide interactions among people, companies and governments, has taken a huge toll on the world, both culturally and economically. It’s generating a fast-paced, increasingly tied world and also praising individualism. It has been a massive subject of matter amongst scientists, politicians, government bureaucrats and the normal, average human population. Globalization promoted the independence of nations and people, relying on organizations such as the World Bank and also regional organizations such as the BRICs that encourage “a world free of poverty” (World Bank). Despite the fact that critics can argue that globalization is an overall positive trend, globalization has had a rather negative cultural and economic effect such as the gigantic wealth gaps and the widespread of American culture, “Americanization”; globalization had good intentions but bad results.
... This game will have taught students to increase their knowledge of literacy and allow them to experience it in a custom environment that will keep them entertained for hours of learning and excitement.
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.
Not many people would argue that computer technology is bad for the K-12 classroom. There is, however, a serious and thought-provoking debate going on regarding computer technology in the classroom. At issue is to what extent and at what age should computers be integrated in American classrooms. There is no question that a certain level of technology will bring improvements in academic achievement. In one study on children of low socioeconomic status a definite improvement was seen. It was noted that, “Increasing the technology available to students encourages, facilitates, and supports student achievement – at the elementary level, the most profound effects were found in the area of mathematics” (Page 391). Page also states that, “numerous studies have demonstrated that young children’s self-esteem or self-concept directly affects their academic performance” (Page 391).
As an emerging teacher, it has come to my concern the potential benefits and or harm technology has on young children. By the end of the 1980’s one out of every 4 preschool rooms had a computer, today almost every preschool is equipped with at least one computer. Children over the age of 3 are within Piaget’s preoperational stage. This states that they are concrete learners that are interest in and pick up on newly learned symbolic representation easily (Wardle, 2008). However children at this age ne...
Hunger and malnutrition are very serious issues in many different countries throughout the world. Hunger and malnutrition stem from one problem, the lack of sustainable agriculture. The United Nations has set forth a series of goals that aim to reduce the effects of hunger in the world. The first of these goals was Aba Grangou, which is a program that aims to end world hunger. The second of these goals has to do with the sheer volume of people that experience hunger, both adults and children. The United Nations has recognized the problems that come with the lack of food stability, and they have also come up with some programs that help to combat the lack of sustainable food sources. Throughout the world, millions of men, women, and children
Customer Relationships is about building a relationship of trust and convenience. A customer wants the company they are working with to be intuitive. To know their needs before they do. They want to feel respected, they need to believe you are honest and have integrity. This relationship breeds comfort and familiarity and causes the consumer to continue to do business with your company. This relationship that is built develops a personal relationship, like a friendship and it is one that the consumer cannot get from the store down the road and it is that personal touch of sincerity, of knowing their needs, of servitude that will turn them into lifelong branded customers.