Rekan yth, 4 Apr 99 Silakan dipertimbangkan, manfaatnya CD ini; 60 US$ per buah. Salam, A Rusli >Subject: CNN: Education series "I Love ..." CD-Roms >Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 10:00:11 +0700 > >No nonsense, no frills in "I Love ..." education series > >April 1, 1999 >Web posted at: 2:55 p.m. EST (1955 GMT) > >PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Reuters) -- I was shocked, yes shocked, when I >loaded "I Love Math!" a CD-ROM from DK Interactive Learning that tries to >teach math skills to youngsters ages 7 to 11. > >The licensing agreement -- the long, often-incomprehensible document that >you are supposed to read before you can install your software -- was only >two paragraphs. And it was in English, not legalese. > >But after playing around with "I Love Math!" and DK's other "I Love" titles, >the simplicity is not surprising. The products take a no-frills no-nonsense >approach to the goal of overcoming a child's aversion to math, science and >spelling. And they do it without being too dry or too dull. > >Consider "I Love Math!" With a chipper old dog as their host, youngsters >must use a time machine to prevent two evil urchins, Gretchen and Wilbur, >from going back in time and destroying history. It's a pretty lame premise, >but most "edutainment" games are forced to find silly pretexts in hopes of >keeping youngsters interested in the problems. > >In ancient Egypt, the child must break down a wall by answering Egyptian-era >math word problems. In Atlantis, the youngster must use knowledge of >fractions to replace broken pieces of piping and refill the underwater world >with water. In the Aztec world, solving problems involving shapes will free >all the birds trapped in an Aztec temple. > >The ultimate prize: a certificate declaring that the youngster has saved the >world. > >"I Love Math!" has some nice touches to keep things interesting, such as the >crowd doing the wave in the Greek stadium and the silly problems in King >Khufu's tomb, where kids may be given math problems about pyramids, baboons >and scorpions. >If they get stuck, there is a "hint" button to help them along. > >The game has three different levels of difficulty so it can be tailored to a >child's skill level. The questions can seem redundant after a while, but the >game keeps things moving along by limiting the number of problems a child >has to solve before moving on to the next section. > >Game show host Marty Wordmaker, a guy with a bad hairpiece and the tendency >to mangle words, serves as the guide in "I Love Spelling!" Instead of a time >machine, there's a big balloon that travels through space. Instead of four >places in ancient times, you get to travel to four planets. Your goal is to >rack up points and earn valuable prizes (actually, another certificate). > >Marty guides players though two types of spelling drills, a hangman-style >game, and an anagram game. The highest level of the hangman and anagram >games can be pretty challenging, even for adults. > >Both of these titles -- "I Love Spelling!" in particular -- do not really >teach you anything. They are essentially math and spelling drills that try >to be entertaining. > >"I Love Science!" takes a different approach. There is no premise, so the >game plays like a classroom exercise. Students can explore 100 topics in >life, matter, energy and forces. Once a topic is selected, the child is >presented with a single page to read. Then they can try a simulated >experiment. > >For example, they can see how rapidly a ball flies or falls on Earth, the >Moon, Jupiter and in space. Finally, they have to answer five questions on >the topic. As with all the "I Love" CD-ROMs, the student can ask for a clue >if they are stumped. > >The gravity demonstration illustrates how "I Love Science!" is a mixed bag. >The developers wisely make the ball silent in space and on the Moon (where >there is no air), yet it doesn't fall nearly as rapidly as it should in the >Jupiter simulation, there the gravity is 2-1/2 times stronger than Earth's >(assuming you could find a solid surface to stand on). > >Instead of a certificate, the reward for getting through the questions is >the ability to print out an instruction sheet for doing a hands-on >experiment, such as making plaster casts of animal prints. > >Each instruction page of "I Love Science!" also includes a pop-up trivia >box, which can be fun. But once you have read the page and seen the trivia >item, there are no additional surprises. > >In sum, these are "edutainment" products where the emphasis is on education, >not on entertainment. They will probably work best in classrooms or other >environments where the child has a choice between traditional school work >and playing with one of these CD-ROMs. > >They are also pricey. While most educational software costs $30 to $40, each >"I Love" product, originally marketed to homes and schools through DK >Interactive's network of distributors," sells for $60. > >The packaging has the words "I Hate" crossed out and replaced with "I Love," >suggesting that these CD-ROMs can reverse a child's aversion to math, >science and spelling. They are good, but they're not that good. > >"I Love Math!" "I Love Math!" and "I Love Spelling!" ($60) from DK >Interactive Learning, is for ages 7 to 11. The PC versions requires a 486DX >chip, Windows 3.1, 8 megabytes of RAM and a 2x CD-ROM drive. The Macintosh >version requires a 68C040 25 megahertz chip, System 7.0, 8 megabytes of RAM, >and a 2x CD-ROM drive. > > >
