COMPUTER SOFTWARE REVIEW
GEOSAFARI
Publisher: Educational Insights
Reviewer’s name: Michele Dabrowski (Middle-School Pre-Service Teacher)
Target Population: Grades 4 - 12
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
GEOSAFARI is a multimedia game that combines the fun of competition with the active learning process. It provides a workout for your brain, by testing your knowledge of history, science and geography. The user may focus on any one of these topics, or choose the Super Safari Challenge where all three areas are quizzed.
The voice of GEOSAFARI is Richie Havens. His deep, low voice leads and coaches players through the game. The players are commended for correct answers and encouraged when wrong answers are given. The player may enter his/her own name into the system or pick a nickname for the existing database. The database contains silly names like Superkid or Genius. The program allows for 1-4 players, but teams may be setup to accommodate extra users. Trophies and awards are given for player’s achievements. There are several types of competition that the user may choose to enhance his/her experience. The free-for-all and take-over formats are just a few.
GEOSAFARI is loaded with exciting trivia challenges. The multimedia game offers 45 sub-categories with over 3,000 details. The science section provides detailed quizzes on a wide variety of topics. The topics range from botany and anatomy to the solar system and weather.
Each sub-category has an interactive challenging quiz. To prevent the challenges from becoming guessing games, GeoBytes are revealed after each correct answer. The GeoByte provides the user with a fact about the question that he/she just answered. To insure the Byte is recognized, an audio guide reads it aloud. At the end of the quiz, the player may retry any question he/she missed. If a player receives a perfect score he/she will be honored with a fireworks display. The players can also earn trophies and have them placed in a special display case. GEOSAFARI is a fun, interactive way to review and present science, history and geography facts.
CONTENT CLARITY:
The program is a multimedia game. Therefore, new quizzes and challenges will always need to be updated. The program does cover a wide variety of topics that are presented in many middle school curriculums and, therefore, could be used by multiple classes and grade levels. Each quiz question is presented in a different format. This helps keep the users interest and adds an additional challenge. The sections of the program are very easy to access and navigate. The audio guidance that is presented throughout the program provides an enormous amount of assistance. Each topic is explained with detail and accuracy.
TECHNICAL QUALITY:
The program is very simplistic. Each screen is explained by the audio guide and is equipped with well-diagrammed buttons and links. A beginner can easily install and navigate GEOSAFARI. The navigation system is presented in well-developed sections. Each section is represented with appropriate words and symbols. The sounds and graphics correspond with the subject matter. They provide added enjoyment and instruction. The audio director adds humor and guidance to the program. The program is a multimedia game. Consequently, it has many decorative graphics and animation. There are sections of the program that contain functional graphics, such as anatomy illustrations and quick-time videos of weather patterns. The quick-time videos are necessary to answer many of the quiz questions.
USE OF TECHNOLOGY:
The use of multimedia and technology is modest. There are small clips of videos, but additional footage could enhance the user’s experience. The program is a basic trivia game with a vast amount of science, history, and geography data, presented in an entertaining manner. The teacher cannot internally modify the program. It contains a set amount of questions and quizzes. There is a way to track the student’s success by viewing his/her trophy case. But this may not always be an accurate evaluation tool since many answers may have been correct guesses.
ROLE OF STUDENTS:
The player must follow the constraints of the program. It is not an open-ended program. Even though there are thousands of facts presented, there is only a set amount of quizzes to conquer. The user has some control over the categories he/she chooses but the author controls the program’s operations. The program does support group interaction and competition--two learning strategies that go hand-in-hand in middle school. The students can compete against themselves to better their score or compete against each other. Either way, they are learning about subject matter and enjoying themselves at the same time. The program helps students to review for an exam by quizzing them on test information, or it can be used as a reward for good work.
ROLE OF TEACHER:
The program is self-contained, allowing little room for external coaching. But in order to be successful on GEOSAFARI, the user must first acquire a significant amount of background knowledge. This is when the teacher plays an important role. The teacher can extend the program by surveying the class and finding out what quizzes they did well on and which quizzes they did poorly on. This information can be used to plan future lessons and evaluations. The program can also allow the teacher to evaluate what type of questioning works best with his/her students.
CLASSROOM USAGE:
This program can be used as a learning extension. The students can test their newly acquired skills on this interactive multimedia game. The program allows groups of students to work together in teams. This minimizes the amount of computers and software needed in the classroom. One student can also effectively manipulate the software. The student can compete against his/her past high score or existing scores. The teacher should review the categories presented before introducing the program to the class. This will allow the teacher to review any categories that are unfamiliar or new. It will also minimize the student’s frustration level.
CRITICAL SUMMARY:
GEOSAFARI is an entertaining, interactive multimedia game, which allows students to be quizzed on science, history, and geography topics. The program contains multiple categories and thousands of subject matter facts. The game grants trophies and awards to successful players. These may be reviewed as a method of monitoring the player’s progress. The program uses quick-time footage to enhance the level of entertainment and education. It also has a simplistic navigation system that makes maneuvering through the program a snap. The program is designed to be aesthetically pleasing, filled with humorous graphics and animation. There is an excellent audio director that guides you through the GeoChallenges. The category quizzes are all designed to keep the user interested and on task. GEOSAFARI provides a user-friendly way to reinforce subject matter.
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10
EXPLANATION OF RATING:
The program does not utilize the computer to its full extent. The are many areas where additional quick-time footage would be beneficial. The program is limited by the amount of predefined quizzes but does contain an abundant amount of them. It does, however, include detailed graphics and some excellent animation. In addition, the program accommodates groups of students, which can be very beneficial. The best feature is that the user enjoys learning new information because it is presented in a fun, interactive way.
Last revised: January 15, 2003