"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." ~Proverbs 24:3-4
RECOMMENDED EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
* = The Top Twenty Titles
GENERAL USE
Kid Desk
ARCADE/EDUTAINMENT
Math Blaster Series*
Word Munchers
Math Munchers
Super Solvers: Gizmos & Gadgets
Jump Start Series (Baby, Second & Third Grades are the best)*
Oregon Trail II* (We have the sequels, but this one's still my favorite.)
GeoSafari*
DK Eyewitness History of the World
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego
Teach Your Kids World History
LOGIC/PROBLEM SOLVING
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis*
Thinkin' Things
The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain
Operation Neptune
Star Wars Droidworks
MATHEMATICS
Math Blaster
Algeblaster 3
Geometry Blaster
Number Maze*
Decimal & Fraction Maze
Math Rabbit Deluxe
Pro One
Sensei Tutorial Series
Math Teacher
See Also: Computer Games for Mathematical Empowerment (An excellent list with reviews from TERC, makers of the original Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. TERC is a not-for-profit education research and development organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.)
Children's Skills Test* (Monitor your child's progress in a variety of subject areas based on standardized test methods; provides detailed reports & printouts.)
Score Builder for the SAT
REFERENCE
Robinson Curriculum
World Book Encyclopedia Deluxe
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe
Grolier's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe
Corel's World's Greatest Classic Books
UNIT STUDIES
Leonardo Da Vinci (art, renaissance history, science, biography)
Myst/Riven/Exile* (Well-crafted morality tales written by two committed Christians, the sons of a Bible church minister; do not contain the occultism or demonism that many fantasy games are based on.)
NOT RECOMMENDED
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock (Bill Nye fans may like it, but it's hard to figure out what to do)
Connections ("new age" themes)
Disney's Animated Storybooks/Activity Centers (objectionable themes, "new age" & magic)
Encarta Encyclopedia ("new age" oriented)
HomeQuest (poor quality, archaic graphics, not worth the money)
Incredible Toon Machine (not much educational value)
Julliard Music Adventure (creepy images, magic castle, gnome w/ glowing red eyes)
Kid Keys (annoying characters; ineffective method of teaching typing)
King Arthur Through the Ages (mixes magic with real history; does not utilize much multimedia)
Living Books Series (cartoon videos w/sight reading; characters w/ bad attitudes)
Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (more arcade action than education)
Mario Teaches Typing/Mario is Missing/etc. (these are nothing more than arcade games)
Math For the Real World (go on tour w/ a band, help them get rich & famous, & create a music video)
Mega Math (poor quality; little educational value; rude, obnoxious characters)
Oregon Trail I (old program, poor graphics; get Oregon Trail II instead)
Operation Weather Disaster (it started out great, but it's impossible to win the final game - or if anyone has done it, please tell me how!)
Reading Blaster (not much educational value, mainly an arcade game) (Reading Blaster 2000 is okay)
Sierra titles (don't always install properly or work well, & poor technical support)
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