Looking for fun and educational holiday gifts for children? Lesley University is offering its annual tip list for choosing children's software.
Eileen Barnett, director of Instructional Computing and Educational Software at Lesley, has evaluated more than 400 new titles this year and offers suggestions on hardware and software, as well as some fun and educational Web sites.
Lesley University, a nationally recognized leader in education, is a member of The Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium that annually provides of list of worthwhile software for educators. The university's educational technology collection is comprised of more than 2,100 titles for preschool though college.
A few of this year's recommended educational software and hardware products include:
"KidzMouse"( Kidzmouse - http://www.kidzmouse.com) has added some new "kid-friendly computer mice" to its collection. MarinaBug is a purple and green creation sure to win a child's heart. For the creative child, there is the "Design Your Own," which comes with stickers. These mice are specially made to fit small hands and work with a squeeze of the hand. Optical versions are available.
"The Letterbugs Get Ready for School" (Sunburst Technology - http://www.sunburst.com)Preschool through primary grades. With the help of Dr. Icky, an entomologist, children create a bug collection by completing phonics and spelling activities.
"Millie Meter's Nutrition Adventure" (Tivola Electronic Publishing - http://www.tivola.com) Preschool though primary grades. Children join Millie Meter as she learns what happens to food on its journey through the human body. They learn about the Nutrition Pyramid as they meet a variety of fun creatures such as Fussy, the stomach, and Chloe, the ruler of the large intestine.
"Kreative Komix Super Hero Comic Book Maker" (Visions Technology in Education - http://www.toolsforteachers.com) Elementary and up. A multimedia writing tool that encourages children to write and animate their own super hero comic books. Other titles in the series include "Kreative Komix U.S. History Comic Book Maker" and "Kreative Komix Fairy Tale Comic Book Maker."
"Digital Photo Activity Kit" (APTE - http://www.apte.com) Primary through middle school grades. Digital photography is a wonderful tool for enhancing a child's writing. This outstanding tool provides children with everything they need. For under $100 you get a kid-friendly starter camera and activity software that offers seven activity areas - Writing Center, Travel Center, Special Events, Craft Corner, Movie Maker, Photo Center and Picture Games. A toggle allows users to switch back and forth easily between Spanish and English.
"Graphire2" (Wacom - http://www.wacom.com) Primary through adult. Do you have a budding artist in your midst? Check out the Graphire2 tablet. It is a reasonably priced graphics tablet that comes with a mouse, pen and tablet. Each tablet also comes with a free copy of Painter Classic, a drawing and painting program.
"Brain Cogs: The Test-Taking Survival Kit" (Fablevision - http://www.fablevision.com) Elementary through high school grades. If you only purchase one title for the young person in your life this year, I strongly suggest this outstanding title from Fablevision. This product, developed in conjunction with The Institute for Learning and Development and Research, helps students determine their personal learning styles and then guides them to develop personalized strategies for test taking. They learn how to "oil" their "rusty brain cogs."
"Inspiration 7" (Inspiration - http://www.inspiration.com) Middle School through college. This new version of Inspiration will help learners harness visual learning. It enables users to easily create and use concept maps and webs to easily transform thoughts into the foundation of written projects.
"Biscopia" (Tivola Electronic Publishing - http://www.tivola.com) Elementary and middle school grades. A young researcher finds herself abandoned in the world of BIOSCOPIA. Using the principles of human and cell biology, genetics, botany and zoology, players must solve puzzles that unlock the doors leading to the trapped researcher. "Where Science Conquers Evil."
"TI-Handhelds" (Texas Instruments - http://www.education.ti.com) Middle school through adult. For the math wiz, be sure to check out the new Texas Instrument handhelds - TI-83, TI-83 and TI-89. Each of these handhelds offers affordable and durable calculators for students. Each comes with a number of free software applications.
"Virtual U" (Virtual U - http://www.virtual-U.org) High school and up. Ever had the urge to run a university or college? This Windows-based product puts you in charge. You take the role of the president and take over the management of the school, including dealing with teaching, research, financial aid, faculty salaries and fund raising. This product is free for download or can be ordered on CD-ROM.
This year also has seen some wonderful Webs site come online. Be sure to check these out:
http://www.howstuffworks.com - Ever wondered how black lights work? Or how ESP works? This web site has the answers.
Go to http://www.fablevision.com/northstar/read.html to read The North Star, a beautifully illustrated tale for children and adults. It is now available in Spanish.
A project funded by the University of California Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies provides a Web site that offers some insights into how students, including many of Middle Eastern descent, view September 11, America and the Middle East. http://www.videotapestry.org.
Be sure to visit the "Star Sleep for Kids" Web site, which is hosted by none other than Garfield. The goal of the site is to help students understand the importance of sleep. It features online mysteries for children to solve. http://starsleep.nhlbi.nih.gov
Knowledge Adventure is offering parents and teachers a free analysis of a child's preferred learning style. http://www.jumpstart.com offers a variety of tools and resources along with the learning styles test.
http://www.hotmath.org provides students with free tutorial explanations for typical homework problems.
And finally, be sure to check out Fablevisions's new venture with Verizon's SuperPages at http://www.superpages.com/enlightenme. It is a wonderful site for students in grades 5 through 8. Its goal is to inspire creative thinking and problem solving, deductive reasoning and logic. Peter Reynolds' The Peetnik Mysteries - an on-line mystery - kicks things off.
Lesley University (www.lesley.edu) is a 13,000-student, multi-site university for women and men. Anchored by a strong liberal arts curriculum, Lesley offers undergraduate and graduate programs in education, the arts, human services, and management at its Cambridge and Boston campuses and at more than 150 sites in 18 states. Lesley's six schools include the School of Education, the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, the Adult Baccalaureate College, the School of Management, The Art Institute of Boston, and Lesley College, an undergraduate women's college.
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