Amazon.com Product Description

Middle School Workshop: 6th-8th Grade delivers four learning programs to your child's desktop. Designed for middle school students, this four-CD-ROM collection helps build essential math, science, Spanish, and typing skills. Featuring educational programs from the Princeton Review, Compton's Learning, Success Builder, and Mavis Beacon, kids gain algebra skills, learn about Earth science, build their Spanish vocabulary and grammar skills, and master the keyboard. Users can complete lessons in order or skip ahead, all while working at their own pace.

The Princeton Review disc covers an entire year of algebra in 60 interactive lessons, plus it comes with fun math games! Highlights include equations and variables, functions and graphs, and word problems. Kids get to work with interactive coaches and gain tips. The Earth science course from Compton's Learning teaches practical skills and offers real-world experiments. Kids study everything from geology to water, earthquakes, weather, and the environment. They'll learn basic science skills, how to create science reports, and even how to conduct experiments.

Success Builder's Spanish tutorial offers help for beginners with pronunciation and vocabulary development, while advanced students should find themselves challenged by the conversational portion. Added skill builders include work for improving listening, grammar, and translation abilities. And what could be more handy than keyboarding skills for today's computer-savvy kids? Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 10 whips those fingers into shape! Coursework stresses keyboard proficiency, speed, and accuracy, while eight skill-building games add fun. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It is great!
I am a mom of 1 child and i got this for her and it was great! I would approve this for middle school parents! ... Read more

Features

• Interactive learning tools & multimedia presentations keep kids interested and teach them important subjects
• Understand shapes & lines with Geometry
• Earth Science & Life Science teach you about our world
• Get a grip on the English language with Grammar & Vocabulary
• Improve your keyboarding skills with Typing

Reviews (1)

OK
Good gameplay. I was expecting a more You Don't Know Jack-esque style (I Love YDKJ) but c'est la vie. Should be good for when I have my next party. Overall very good and challenging. Thanks Amazon, for a quick and efficient delivery. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

NFL Blitz 2000 brings you all of the things you love about football and none of the things that slow it down. This ground-breaking sequel features new secret heads and scores of new game-play features. With more easy-to-run plays, all-new animations, and end zone dances and tackles, you're headed for the ultimate in football action! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Blitz is harcore fun
Blitz is the best football game out there. for one thing theres no ref (how fun is that). you can beat up the other players with insane tackles!!!!!!. the most simple but great plays (if you dont know much about football). theres great touchdown dances (with sound afects). you can here the players yelling taunts at eachother (thats the really fun part) and theres secret teams to unlock. get better stats for your team by winning pary games. this all a football fan could want.

Fun Game
Fun fun fun. I love Blitz Football. Get this game, it rules. :)

Funnest Football Game for the PC yet!
Just to let you know, I run this game on my new Dimension Dell Desktop PC which has a Pentium III 1 GHz processor. Although NFL Blitz 2000 has no rules like a real NFL game, that's what makes the game incredibly fun and entertaining. The graphics are best when run in 1074x768 resolution and using Direct3D, or it could just be that I have a 64MB video card. The fields are greatly detailed, as well as the "playbooks" and the players. They even do dances when they score touchdowns and tackle with the forces of 300 lb. men on steroids (umm, wait a minute...). I recommend using an external controller, such as the Gravis Xterminator Digital Gamepad, which is what I use. This game is worth every penny of the price Amazon charges, it will keep you entertained as long as you have it!

VIOLENT!
Very Violent game. I know, it's football, but they say bad words and do violent things.

Awesome Graphics
The Graphics in this game are the best. IT's way better than '99. I wouldn't rate this anything but 5 stars ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

If you know any kids who are intrigued by wild African animals, interactive scholarship, and the flashing announcement of incoming "e-mail," you owe it to them to snare a copy of this award-winning software from WNET's Nature TV series. From the very first moment, when an impressively stamped passport allows users entry to the game, Nature Virtual Serengeti successfully captures kids' imaginations by asking them to play an integral part in an exotic research trip. That creative framework, along with the fascinating videos of animal activities in the Serengeti--including a wildebeest giving birth as it runs and a crocodile carrying its baby inside its gargantuan jaw--couldn't provide more exciting or enduring educational moments.

The "guide" for the trip is the absent Dr. Elgin Carp, an amusing, hyperkinetic zoologist, who is being whisked off to conduct far-flung field studies and thus cannot complete the work he has begun in Tanzania. Contacting you with frequent mock "e-mails," Carp explains that he's leaving you with his half-started field journal and a full map of the Serengeti region, plus he's giving you use of his hardy jeep and his small private plane. Your job is to find 150 missing "animals" (i.e., videos) by scrolling for these creatures amidst 58 gorgeous 360-degree panoramas of the Serengeti plains. Once an animal is "found" (by running your mouse cursor carefully over all areas of the panorama), you must properly classify it in the journal, based on the area of investigation the film footage illustrates. Shots of a zebra grazing, for instance, will likely belong in the journal section that discusses different animal fur patterns and their significance to the animals' survival.

This CD-ROM is advertised for children 9 and older, but we found that its most sincere devotees fell into the 7- to 8-year-old range. They were still young enough to be seriously excited about receiving frequent "e-mails" from goofy Dr. Carp and having a chance to go onto the Web a bit to read the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online articles and to follow a few selected animal Web links. As well, the younger set will likely display a little more astonishment at the footage captured in this program. --Jean Lenihan ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nature Virtual Serengeti, Perfect!
I would say that even by looking at the boz cover and reading the back of it would really make you think,"Wow! This is really cool!" I said that when I saw this software game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Skate, score, and bounce your way to a place in gaming history. The Rocket Power gang is out to have some fun on the beach, and they're taking you along for the ride. Rocket Power: Extreme Arcade Games is a four-game package for young action fans, a good starter for children interested in arcade-style computer gaming.

Rocket Pogo places Sam on an obstacle course, for example, where he bounces around collecting parts for a robot he is building, while avoiding anything that might make him wipe out. Sandcastle Slam is a sort of combat Pong, where players bounce balls against each other's battlements in an attempt to destroy their opponents' sand castles. Hockey Shot is an exercise in basic movement theory, with Otto trying to rebound a hockey puck into an increasingly obstructed net.

In each of these three games, players collect gold bonus coins that unlock a fourth activity. In Roller Rocketball, Twister collects balls that have been littered on the boardwalk, firing them into the trash bins where they belong and racking up points.

Rocket Power offers single-player and head-to-head modes, and each of its activities has 10 levels of difficulty. Succeed at all 10 levels, and you qualify for a silver medal. To get the gold, users must play all 10 levels of each game perfectly--which means collecting every single one of the gold bonus coins displayed on the game screens. The four games contained in this package are slow-paced by arcade standards and more than a little repetitive. They are also far from original in concept or execution. Even so, only one game is seriously flawed--Rocket Pogo is slow-running, with an interface that is very nearly player-hostile.

The other three activities more than make up for this weakness, though, with cheery graphics, solid action, appealing sound effects, and, of course, a chance to hang with the Rocket Power kids on their own sporting turf. --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Not player-hostile! It's fun!
Rocket Pogo is really fun, but it takes a few tries to get the controls figured out. And it runs great on my machine. It's true that the games are not completely original, but few Rocket Power fans have played the games they ARE based on. Roller Rocketball is worth unlocking because it's one of the funnest games, too. The graphics look just like the show. The music is awesome - can I buy a CD soundtrack? This game is a great deal for hours of fun!

Great for All Ages
My son bought this product for our computer. He is 8. He loves it. My daughter who is 12 also plays it. I would definitely recommend this for any Rocket Power fan.

plain awesome
great games graphics cant describe it its so awesome just leaves u breathless its so awesome ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

How do you like to discover the world? Visually and audibly, or by knowing the longitude and latitude of the place under discussion?All breeds of desktop discoverers will enjoy the Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2000, which delivers information in just about every way that the PC makes possible.

While we haven't used the software to climb any nearby mountaintops, it's pretty clear that someone did in the course of researching this topnotch package. In fact, cartographers as well as a host of other specialists were involved, creating something that goes beyond mapmaking into a fleshed-out, real-world experience of what it's like to visit these spots on the globe. With the ability to zoom in and out, to understand the microcosms as well as the big picture, Encarta's atlas offers an astonishing desktop journey. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Brilliant Presentation
The Microsoft Encarta Atlas Team have done it again! This is a high quality world atlas and as a student found it very useful as a research tool.It provides a myriad of map customisation options,which are very good as it can display only the information one wants to see. The atlas is much more than a virtual globe.Not only does it provide multimedia content,but also great in-depth articles. Good Points:Ease Of Use, Available Information, Suberb Multimedia Content. Bad Points:Two-Disk Format Is Annoying. Overall Score=95%

Excellent world reference.
Microsoft Interactive World Atlas is the best value software atlas on the market today. It returns with the globe and much more multimedia (but some people may call it somewhat excessive, due to varying processor speeds.) It contains more flyover tours of more regions, more pictures, sounds, and video, and also a special feature that allows you to measure distance on a global scale, find out the exact latitude and longitude of the place where your mouse is, and also tell the time in that zone. Something else that differs this product from print atlases is the fact that electronic globes are able to store much more information about cities and countries because they don't have a stringent space limit. I would highly recommend purchasing this over another atlas program or a print copy.

Excellent Piece of Software
Microsoft's Virtual Globe is better than an actual globe, in my opinion, because it lets the user actually zoom into a particular area of the world, and gert facts on the country of city. It even lets one access the web for information it can't provide. I've used it on many occasions to help write a report, find out stats or just for leisure. It comes equipped with a virtual flight program, so the user can "fly" over a certain area. It is very helpful.

Encarta is a very good product
I have to admit to holding some initial reservations about a Microsoft mapping product based on past experience with earlier attempts, but I have been a fan of the Virtual Globe series since back in 1997. The earlier reviewer brought up several points that I agree with and several I do not. I am a professional cartographer with the State of Utah and I really thought Microsoft did a good job of collecting and integrating a huge amount of data into this product.

First, it isn't meant to be an atlas in the traditional sense with varying projections. The projection is simply Orthographic, as you appear to be looking down on the globe from space. no matter what zoom level you choose, this is always the case. I do agree that it would be nice for the product to explain to geography neophytes why distances taken from the edge of the globe vary so greatly from those taken from the center using such a projection.

Second, there is a lot of valuable, up-to-date information on the various nations and particularly the larger world cities that would otherwise require a full set of encyclopedias to obtain. There is a lot more in-depth, well executed features to the product than half-hearted rainfall maps and anthems.

There are a lot of features that are of gee-whiz value, but of questionable educational benefit (the videos, world flyovers, anthems etc.) but on the whole I think this remains a solid product and excellent value.

Microsoft Encarta 2000 Fails to live up to Expectations
Microsoft Encarta 2000 turns out to be nothing more than a child's toy. It lacks quality in several areas. First, no map indicates what projection is being used. This makes it hard to figure out the level and type of distortion in each map. Secondly, the climate and annual rainfall maps are poor. It is impossible to zoom in on one country for these types of maps. The closest view you can get is a much to far out to obtain any real data. The program would be a fun method to teach young children about political geography, but after that the software is almost useless. Overall i would have to say that no proffesional cartographer would be able to get useful information from Encarta, but the novice geographer might have two or three hours of fun listening to the national anthems of different countries. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Move beyond one-dimensional science book lessons with the experiments, videos, and 3-D tours of Real Science. This comprehensive program on 4 CD-ROMs lets curious students explore life, earth, astronomy, and physical sciences. From the basic laws of science to applied skills in analysis and experimentation, Real Science builds abilities naturally through simple, easy-to-follow tutorial lessons designed for students 10 to 18 years old. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

At first acquaintance, the basic "gaming environment" wherein LEGOCreator's players build their virtual bikes, choppers, cranes, and so on,and direct their dinky, cutesy, usually prebuilt minifigures, seems a little bitodd and unsettling--even bleak. Bleak enough to confirm the prejudices ofparents and others who would consider computerized LEGO a travesty of thehands-on, real-world ethos of the original construction game.

However, after a while, the cleverness of this CD-ROM comes to the fore. In thevirtual LEGO Creator world you don't just build things and then take them apart;you can make them fly at the touch of a button, give them apposite or ludicroussounds, change their color with a single mouse click--even blow them up(flamboyantly) using the special DESTRUCTA bricks.

You're then able to pilot your figures and vehicles through the very world youhave created, guided by an integral LEGO Creator Wizard--who is a bit like apermanently untiring, megabrainy parent. All in all, then, a rather fine andintelligent toy, albeit not one for the very young, or very active, or veryeasily dismayed. --Sean Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Not XP compliant
This software will NOT work on XP operating system in any compatibility mode. There is no patch anywhere I could find.

"Complex", "NOT User-Friendly", and "A Real Drag"
This software takes forever to load and once loaded it is painful to use. My son and I, both thought the program is overly complex and not intuitive. Time passed quickly while trying to build simple structures, which made the user loose interest and become bored. It also appeared to limit the users imagination & creativity that you typically have when using the real blocks. It definitely did not meet our expectations.

Complex, Slow, and Realistic
This is good for people who like to build Legos, but don't have the pieces, but has some significant downsides. The creation inevitably takes long and is fairly complex. It's difficult to get a good view of your creations with the tools provided. It's slow and choppy for outdated computers (mine's 200 megahertz). On the plus side, this is realistic (compared to actually making a lego creation) and has some neat fun things (like dynamite). Ultimately, I only recommend this for people who like to build and have a computer with at least 500 megahertz.

Fun game for kids, not really THAT complicated
We just got this CD-ROM, and my 5 year old son LOVES it! We've had it for 4 days, and already he has mastered it. He only plays for about 45 min - 1 hr a day. I've not tinkered with it much, but my 5 yr. old seems to really know his way around it. I did read some of the other reviews, and while the game is obviously on a computer screen and not "real life", it is easy enough for my 5 yr. old to navigate after only a short time. Maybe us adults are too logical, and this is one of those games that children do better at than we do! Anyway, I would recommend this game - and did tonight to a mom for her son!

not worth it
i got this game a while ago and i rarley play it anymore. this game doesent deserve half a star. there are no boats or planes, only helicopters. the only good part was playing. it's slow and the graphics and sound are bad for a PC game. Ther are very few good parts to this game, it is only worth about 7 dollars. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Queen Amidala's ship has been badly damaged, and R2-D2 is busy on theoutside trying to fix the shield operator. Your job is to repeat the pattern oflights and sounds as you see and hear them as it helps generate the power forthe shields.

This is one of the many games you can play in Jar Jar's Journey. Each one is clearly narrated and easy to follow. There are plenty of others,including Jar Jar's coloring center, where you can turn your cursor quickly intoa paintbrush.

But, if you don't fancy playing any Star Wars-themed games, you can sitback and listen to a story. In his inimitable way, Jar Jar tells you how he wassaved by a brave Jedi after the battle-droids tried to take over his planet.Click on underlined words and you hear amusing songs or reveal hidden characterswho fly through the air.

As you would expect from George Lucas, this is a high-quality software title.The strong characters, special effects, and richly illustrated designs make thisa highly enjoyable game for young Star Wars fans from 4 years up. It'sentertaining for adults as well. At the start, Jar Jar sticks out his longtongue and eats an exclamation mark off the computer screen. "It tastes likechicken," he declares with a grin. The lovable creature from the planet Naboo islikely to become the undisputed star of children's CD-ROMs. --Justin Hunt ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Move beyond one-dimensional science book lessons with the experiments, videos, and 3-D tours of Real Science. This comprehensive program on 4 CD-ROMs lets curious students explore life, earth, astronomy, and physical sciences. From the basic laws of science to applied skills in analysis and experimentation, Real Science builds abilities naturally through simple, easy-to-follow tutorial lessons designed for students 10 to 18 years old. ... Read more

Features

• This superior mix of learning methods and math applications to build top-notch test-taking skills
• Each math unit contains visual explanations and dynamic presentations of every subject
• Develop critical math thinking skills, calculate geometric and spatial relationships, and powerful problem-solving techniques
• Handy built-in scratchpad helps you work out difficult homework problems
• Interactive glossary and conversion tools shows the logic & theory behind math concepts, and shows they relate to each other

Product Description

Get the tools you need to learn up to 31 languages. Makes practicing language skills both fun and exciting. Plus, you will learn more quickly by comparing your pronunciation to native speakers! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

If it looks too good to be true.....
I wanted some software to provide exposure to a variety of foreign languages. This does provide that, but it's all very minimalist. Also, the program did not work as it should have. Transliteration was only available for "certain" languages; it was absent for some of the one's for which it is completely necessary. The audio examples were spoken too quickly for me to decipher them in some cases, and as transliteration was not available, I could not try to phonetically decipher the words. If you want exposure to something that uses basically the same alphabet as Englist (i.e. French, Spanish, Italian, German,etc.)it will do OK, but more thorough programs are readily available for these languages. If you want to learn more exotic stuff like Arabic, Russian, Swahili, Japanese, Cantonese (which is what I wanted and is harder to find), those languages are offered in this software, but it doesn't do much good without the transliteration feature working on all of them. Additionally, when I tried to get tech support, I was informed that the company does not produce this version anymore, so tech support for it is no longer available. Bottom line, for me, it was a Passport to Not a Whole Lot. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Select from more than 250 topics. Self-paced lessons contain step-by-step detail, intensive graphics, and comprehensive narration. Visualize complex concepts easily with 270 animated examples and more than 100 concept simulations. The reference library has 500 hyperlinked glossary definitions, 100 signs and symbols, 200 formulas, and 120 math history articles. Reinforce your knowledge with thousands of practice problems. Program includes hints, detailed solutions, and a built-in calculator. Finally, show off your new skills in the comprehensive exams; problem difficulty increases as you answer questions correctly. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great CD for both pre-readers and older kids!
My now 6yo son has had this CD for a year and navigates it every 2 days without fail. He has memorized huge amounts of information on birds and gained an awareness of this kind of scientific exploration.

The funny thing is, he has no specific interest in birds. The layout of the information on the CD is set up in such an intriguing way that he kept going back to it until the content caught his attention! It is simply a good quality layout - no bells or whistles or rewards - just beautiful graphics, an easy but interesting user interface, and the treasure of in depth knoledge that few homeschooled kids can resist.

I was especially pleased that the CD can be used completely by pre readers. There is nothing more frusterating than getting a CD for your 4yo and then discovering that they need you to read the directions....when what they really want is the ability to explore at their own speed! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Westward, ho! This is the charge of Oregon Trail II, the successor to the perennially popular pioneer survival game of the same name.Roughing it takes on a whole new meaning as players trek cross-country to lay claim to the undeveloped Old West, learning geography and history all the while. After selecting an initial profile for the travel leader and his or her group (occupation, names and ages of companions, type of wagon, destination, etc.), cyberpioneers must make crucial decisions from beginningto end to ensure a successful settlement: how much food, medicine, clothing,and artillery to buy at each trading post; when to hunt for wild game or barter with other pioneers; when to cross an icy river or wait out a bad storm.... One false move can mean the death of a fellow traveler or vital livestock, a loss of supplies, or debilitating illness-even the untimely endof an incomplete journey.

This dramatic adventure is not without its pitfalls: The accompanying graphics are unsophisticated (the talking townspeople and fellow sojourners suffer from "lip flap"), the sound effects aren't terribly inventive, and inexperienced players are ill equipped to make strategic decisions so important to the game. The trip across the Rockies isn't quick--players may start to feel they could have made the actual journey in less time than it takes to complete it virtually--and the three increasingly challenging levels of play designed to keep participation interesting don't do the trickfor long. But the skills to be learned along the way make these points easier to overlook. At the helm of this Western adventure, players sharpen decision-making and planning skills, learn to be responsible for others, andpick up loads of facts about the history and geography of the western UnitedStates. Whether an enhancement to a weekly American history lesson or a historically based alternative to The Sims, this trip westwill bring out the pioneer in everyone. (Ages 10 and older) --Leah Ball ... Read more

Features

• Creative thinking skills can be taught--unlock your creative potential
• A powerful, user-friendly software program
• Learn with numerous, interactive, simulation games
• Teaches the tools and techniques of ASIT
• Detailed, HTML learning guide; in-depth guidebook

Reviews (1)

"Invention Highway " is really enjoyable.
This software is really enjoyable. My two daughters- nine and twelve - were totally absorbed and have solved all problems in a few days during new year's holiday. The nine-year-old needed help to solve about half of the problems, but the twelve-year-old could solve most of the problems without help. Some problems are quite straightforward, but a few problems appear desperately insolvable, and even adults can enjoy. I would like to purchase its adult version also, but have to wait for my next visit to US, for I am not a US resident. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens is a continuous speech-recognition product specifically for teens. An easier user interface, easy-to-read documentation, and comprehensive online help make the product simple and fun to use. Special vocabularies and voice models allow for the highest level of accuracy for young speakers.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens lets students get more done faster by allowing them to concentrate on their thoughts, not their typing. Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens can be used with almost any Windows application to create research papers, lab reports, essays, and other homework assignments; write letters and e-mail to friends and family; or chat on the Internet! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great product for women and teens
This is a wonderful product! We have used it in schools to support the writing of students who have difficulty translating ideas to paper. It does take some training, and you have to manage files carefully. Works best with a fluent reader with clear diction. Works better for women than other products- has a better voice match than the other products.

none
I know somebody who got it and he said that it is a great product. Though i haven't tried it.

Good but Not Great
This product is pretty reliable and works good, but getting it to work properly all of the time and to respond to everything is a bit tough. It takes a lot of time and patience. ... Read more