| NAME OF PRODUCT: Oceans |
| PUBLISHER: Microsoft |
| COPYRIGHT DATE: 1995 |
| Version Reviewed |
| Platform: WIN | Format: CD-ROM |
| Content Areas/Topics Covered: Biology, History,
Literature, Art
This CD-ROM covers everything you'd ever want to know about oceans, including marine life, the different types of oceans, and how man has interacted with oceans. |
| Intended Audience |
| Early Childhood (preschool-grade 1) | Adult Remedial |
| Elementary (grades 1-6) | Educator |
| Middle (grades 5-8) |
Special Needs |
| Secondary (grades 7-12) |
General Interest/Other |
| Please rate the software on each of the listed categories according to the scale given. After completing each section, please provide supporting comments for your ratings. |
| Content | Poor | Fair | Average | Very Good | Excellent |
| Developmental/Age Appropriateness | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Educational Value | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Accuracy | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Interest Level/Appeal | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Interactivity | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
5 |
| Technical Quality (Audio, Visual, etc.) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| COMMENTS
The educational value of this CD-ROM is quite high, because it covers everything you've ever wanted to know about oceans, including how oceans work, the different plans and animals that inhabit oceans, the geography of oceans, and how man has interacted with oceans, including historical information about early explorers. The accuracy appears to be pretty high. I think this CD would appeal to a wide audience (I know I had fun with it!) because there is so much information and it is presented in an interesting way -- every time you go to a new topic, there is a "forward" button that takes you to a related topic. There are lots of videos and audio clips as well. The only interactivity is with some games, which are the weakest part of the CD. They mainly involve trivia questions but they don't expand on the trivia information at all. |
| USE | POOR | FAIR | AVERAGE | VERY GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| Ease of Use | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Clarity of Instructions | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Quality
of Support
Materials |
1 | 2 | 3 | |
5 |
| COMMENTS
It is a very easy program to use. The first page brings up four main sections, and each new page you bring up has several links relating to a common theme. At least one of the links has a video (the videos are cool!). Each link also has a related topic link that takes you to a completely new page. Some words are highlighted in grey; when you click on them, you get a definition of that word. The index is neat -- it's got pictures of each item along with the name. Although this was the Educator's Edition, the only support material was something like a poster -- it didn't have a lot of information on it. But the CD covers so much that this would be a good resource for a classroom. |
| FEATURES | POOR | FAIR | AVERAGE | VERY GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| Feedback | 1 | 2 | |
4 | 5 |
| Adjustability/Multiple
Levels Offered |
1 | 2 | |
4 | 5 |
| COMMENTS
The feedback from the games was not very helpful. Most of the games were matching games, and the little bit of information you got to help you match items didn't give you a good understanding of the item. Also, sometimes there were more than one item that fit a description, yet the match would not work unless it was the specific item the game was looking for. For example, there is one game that is an aquarium where you can pick and choose things like fish, sea urchins, and octopi to put in the tank, and then see what will survive and what won't, but there is no explanation of why a certain type of organism would not survive with the other organizations. There is some adjustability since the games are more geared at younger kids but older students and adults will enjoy watching the videos and exploring different topics. |
| OVERALL |
| Strengths
The strengths of the Oceans CD are that it has a lot of interesting information about sea life, geography, history, and even art and literature relating to the ocean. There are lots of videos, photographs, and audio clips as well as some trivia type games. You can explore a theme -- for example, Predators and Prey or early explorers -- or just go from one suggested topic to the next. I was also impressed with how you could click on a highlighted word and have the definition of that word pop up. |
Areas for Improvement
I found one of the weakest areas to be the games; they tend to be trivia quizzes but I was frustrated with them because there were no explanations for why my choices were wrong. Perhaps kids would enjoy them more. |
