COMPUTER SOFTWARE REVIEW
WIDE WORLD OF ANIMALS
Publisher: Creative Wonders (ABC Electronic Arts)
Reviewer’s name: Michele Dabrowski (Middle-School Pre-Service Teacher)
Target Population: Grades 5 - 12
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Wide World of Animals is an extremely well detailed and documented comprehensive guide to the animal kingdom. The user is exposed to dozens of time-lapse videos detailing migration, the Continental drift, the Ice Age, and evolution. The biomes of the world are presented in a 360-degree panoramic format, for the user to explore. Another option is to search through each biome and examine the wildlife. Sounds, background information, and common ancestors of each animal can be investigated. The footage is so real, you truly get an accurate image of each biome and its inhabitants. Video stories are an additional software feature. The story topics include: camouflage, adaptation, communication, cooperation, finding food, homes and nests, locomotion and parenting. They are all well developed and are accompanied by audio guides. The program also portrays the association between animals and the plant. The user can view where certain animals are found on the globe or located their migration patterns. The global portion also allows you to investigate the range in rainfall, the variations in temperature or the ocean currents throughout the world. Honing in on any one country for further information regarding the population, the amount of animal skins they import or export, the deforestation, or the amount of pollution they exhume, is another option. The program contains a section called the Taxonomy Tree. Here, the user can view how animals are related to each other and where they branch off of the Taxonomy Tree. The user may choice to further study any of the animals in this section. Once chosen, a detailed description, with actual images will appear. Over 700 species of animals are detailed and ready to explore. The last portion worth mentioning is the Stampede. The Stampede is an exciting trivia game played by the user. As the player answers the questions his/her responses are timed and recorded. The faster the player answers the more mileage points he/she will earn. The goal is to see how quickly you can circle the planet.
CONTENT CLARITY:
The accuracy of this program is remarkable. The amount of detailed animal descriptions and accurate global statistics make this program an exciting learning tool. The use of time-lapsed footage and incredible graphics intensify the learning experience. The program does not appear to exclude any vital information. The program gives users a lifelike sensation of being in the various animal kingdoms due to the realistic quality of the quick-time videos. In addition, users get a clear and accurate picture of what life is like for hundreds of animals and how the global world affects them. The program lets users view animals and statistics from all parts of the globe, rendering it free of any bias toward a specific country.
TECHNICAL QUALITY:
The program is effortless to maneuver through and even includes a browser section to simplify navigation. Even a novice computer user may successfully utilize and install it. Installation was presented in step-by-step directions and took only seconds to complete. Aesthetically speaking, the program was wonderful. The video footage and biomes are so realistic, you feel like you’re viewing actual videotape. All of the animation, sounds, and graphics perform a function. They help the user identify or further understand the subject being viewed. They are not just included to make the program more ornamental. No bugs or errors were located within the program.
USE OF TECHNOLOGY:
Superb use was made of the computer. Multimedia is utilized to its full extent. The program incorporates live action video footage and video stories to intensify the learning experience. Connections are made between the animal world and the planet that would otherwise take several resources to explain. The program encompasses such a vast amount of information that it could easily lend itself to a social studies/science team taught lesson. Global repercussions on the world’s animals make an excellent topic for a classroom debate. Furthermore, this program contains all the research information needed to conduct such a lesson. This program is an excellent research tool or KWL but does not contain a means for tracking or monitoring the student. There are several sections that contain animal statistics that could be incorporated into a lesson plan.
ROLE OF STUDENT:
The program is open-ended, allowing the student to be in full control. The program has such an enormous amount of information and exploratory sections that the user has endless searching options. Utilizing the program as a study guide or research tool can be very beneficial to the student. Using a large-screen projection system, the program could be used for full-class instruction. The program is pre-designed by the author, but enables the user to become the researcher and seek out all that the program has to offer. There is no internal monitoring system, but lesson plans and worksheets could easily be connected to the program and used for student evaluation. The program provides students with the opportunity to make global connection to the animal and science knowledge they have newly acquired.
ROLE OF TEACHER:
The program is basically self-contained, equipped with an authorial voice
throughout. The teacher can modify the learning outcomes by combining
structured lesson plans with the software program. The program provides many
global facts and figures. This data can be used to create student worksheets or
research assignments that can be completed using the Wide World of Animals
program. The teacher may also use this software to introduce a new topic and
project it on a screen for the entire class to view and follow along. With the
enormous amount of both social studies and science information presented, the
program lends itself to a team-taught lesson plan. The teacher may need to first
give a general over view of the topics presented and the navigation system. The
teacher’s guide is loaded with excellent lesson plans and activities that
utilize the program.
CLASSROOM USAGE:
An individual student or the entire class can effectively utilize the
program. The individual student can research topics of interest or test their
knowledge with the stampede section. The class as a whole can view the program
while the teacher instructs about a given topic. The topics that are covered
are well detailed and visually appealing. This may help the teacher keep the
class on task. The program contains an enormous amount of information and will
require a large amount of time to thoroughly look through. The teacher should
view the software thoroughly, to prepare for classroom implementation. The
software has so many exciting and entertaining sections it could also be used
as a class privilege.
CRITICAL SUMMARY:
The program is a global discovery of the Wide World of Animals. The program allows the user to experience the wonders and treasures of the animal kingdom, while making global connection. It incorporates thrilling, in-depth videos and stories of hundreds of species. Moreover, it places the user right in the animal kingdom, where he/she can experience the thrills and chills of life in the biomes of the world. The program teaches students how animals communicate and survive together in all types of environments. It also reveals the taxonomy links between species. A single student, a pair of students, or an entire class can effectively utilize the program. The realistic graphics and unparalleled 360-degree panoramic footage puts this software in a class by itself. The use of multimedia enhances the active learning experience.
OVERALL RATING: 10 out of 10
EXPLANATION OF RATING:
The program takes full advantage of the multimedia capabilities. It
incorporated outstanding graphics with detailed audio guidance. It is
open-ended, allowing the student to work through it at his/her own pace. The
program makes excellent global connections. Basic animal facts and figures come
to life in this dynamic piece of software.
Last revised: January 15, 20003