Eyewitness History of the World
Irwin
Publishing, 1998
(800)
263-7824
Grade
Level: 4 – 12
Social
Studies
Reviewed
by
Software
Description: This program covers topics from
hominids to the Gulf War. Some topics are
covered in great detail while others are a little thin in the detail
department. The “getting started” pages
are helpful, but the accompanying guide is confusing because it begins with a
table of contents that is a bit misleading.
If the user skips right to the “getting started” pages, time will be
saved. This program claims to be
suitable for grades 4 – 12, but some of the language seems more appropriate for
the middle and upper grades.
Accuracy of Content:
The content appears to be accurate, but in some places key information
or terms have been omitted. For example,
the program talks about Brown v. Board of Education, but never refers to the
case by name. On the other hand there
are also some great, brief histories included for numerous countries. The vocabulary may be daunting for younger
students so teachers should thoroughly preview the program before setting them
loose to ensure that they understand the content.
Technical Quality: Virtually
no experience is needed to install the program.
I found the installation disc to be very clear in walking the user
through the process. However students
may get a little confused once they are in the program because it is very easy
to get off track, and there is no clear way to get back to where they
were. It is also difficult to stay in
one time frame because the program covers such a huge array of time periods and
topics.
Use of
Technology: This program makes
pretty good use of technology. There are
two very helpful features that allow students to find topics quickly. One is using key words and the other is an
encyclopedia navigator, organized by topic. The teacher may opt to use the key
word search to facilitate navigation until the students become proficient in
using the program. Some of the links are
narrated, but others are not, which I found a little distracting. If the student is working on a worksheet, but
has to stop to read the next screen the student may become distracted. Also this could be an issue for students who
have difficulty decoding the more complex names and words. Finally, since there is no way for teachers
to track students’ progress, they will need to closely monitor their students
to see that they are able to work through the program and find the correct
information.
Role of
Students: Students will be
empowered by the software because there are so many topics that they can choose
to examine. They will also have the
opportunity to interact with one another by working as a team to search and
record information. They can also use
“Quiz Master” where they may compete with one another.
Role of Teacher: Because of the complexity of the program,
teachers will need to do some extensive planning to guide students as they get
started. The teacher will probably need
to spend at least half an hour showing students how to navigate the
program. Although the materials included
are quite good and require higher thinking skills such as predicting, cause and
effect, and drawing conclusions, some worksheets were a little difficult to
understand and may require some reworking/rewording for student
comprehension. Each activity does
identify learning outcomes and expectations which is helpful.
Classroom
Usage: This software could
be used effectively by one student or with a partner, but it may be difficult
to use one program with the whole class since there are so many topics and
paths to be chosen. The software could
be used to compliment the curriculum by allowing students to further research
topics of interest to them, but covered only briefly in class.
Critical Summary:
Overall, this is a worthwhile program.
Its use of technology and ability to hold ones interest is good. The content is accurate and covers a vast
amount of information so that one program could be used with many different
curricula. The only concern I would have
in using this program is that it difficult to navigate at times. Students may become frustrated because “going
back” is not always an option. Also, I
worry that since some of the information is narrated while other parts are not,
students may tune out that which is not narrated, or that some words may be too
difficult for younger students to understand.
Finally, it will take some time for students to be able to use the
program independently and will require a good deal of work and guidance from
the teacher. It is not a program that
could be used for only one class period.
Overall Rating (On a Scale of 1 to
10): 8
Explanation of Rating:
I gave this program 8 out of 10 because while there is a good deal of
valuable information included in this program, it will take some time before
students can navigate proficiently making it useful.