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Presenting The 1997-98 Technology & Learning Software Awards
Edited and reported by Susan McLester
For the 15th year in a row, we are proud to bring you the winners of Technology & Learning's annual
software awards contest.
With the effectiveness of technology in schools increasingly under attack these days, and some fairly noisy
criticisms about how computers are isolating our kids from "real life" experiences--even encouraging
mind-numbing, "robotic" behavior--it is more than ever a pleasure to present to you this collection of
top-quality School and Home Learning products. If any themes emerge from this year's group of winners,
they have nothing to do with the terms "isolate," "alienate" or "numb," and everything to do with
"empower," "enable" and "involve." Among the titles showcased in this issue are MayaQuest, a "live"
adventure that continually challenges students to think critically and make key decisions; Hands-on
Concepts, which invites the physically challenged to participate actively in their own learning; and Cultural
Debates, encouraging youngsters to be aware, to question, to weigh, to act. Our two top winners, the
Internet-based CCCNet, and Writing for Readers, though very different, are both about investigation,
communication and sharing ideas. These titles, of course, are only a sampling of the many excellent
programs here, which this year, more than ever, come with thoughtfully composed teacher's guides. Also
of note is the huge increase in cybrids (CDs with Internet links) and the fact that this year we have three
online winners as opposed to last year's one.
This 15th contest involved a record number of evaluators--over 100! In addition to our usual
diverse selection of experienced teacher-judges for school products, we welcomed the expert eyes of
parent/child family testers from the Children's Software Revue who gave us valuable feedback on the home
learning titles.
School products were judged at U.C. Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, local school labs and
various other sites around the Bay Area, while home products were looked at, appropriately, in homes.
Each title was scrutinized by several judges, who rated the quality of presentation and design,
appropriateness of content, and ease of use. Additional criteria for school titles included classroom
usability, and supporting documentation. Home products were considered for the length of play life, and degree to which they successfully compete with television
and other home entertainment options.
Beginning with our top two, here, now, are our winning school products.
THE TOP TWO AWARD WINNERS
An Odyssey of Discovery: Writing for Readers[School Winner]
(Pierian Spring)
CCCNet[School Winner]
(Computer Curriculum Corporation)
ADDITIONAL AWARD WINNERS
Math
Algebra Smart[Home Winner]
(The Princeton Review)
Franklin Learns Math[School Winner]
(Sanctuary Woods)
Math Rock[Home Winner]
(Creative Wonders)
Math Rock[School Winner]
(Creative Wonders)
Mighty Math Series[School Winner]
(Edmark)
Sunbuddy Math Playhouse[School Winner]
(Sunburst)
Wide World Math Series[School Winner]
(ScottForesman/Addison Wesley)
Language Arts
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn[School Winner]
(Southern Star Interactive)
Arthur's Reading Race[Home Winner]
(Broderbund)
Disney's Animated Storybooks: 101 Dalmatians and The Hunchback of Notre Dame[Home Winner]
(Disney Interactive)
Learning Ladder Reading[School Winner]
(Panasonic Interactive Media)
Orly's Draw-A-Story[Home Winner]
(Broderbund)
Ready to Read With Pooh[Home Winner]
(Disney Interactive)
Stellaluna[School Winner]
(Broderbund)
The Ultimate Writing and Creativity Center[School Winner]
(The Learning Company)
Social Studies/History
Cultural Debates[School Winner]
(Tom Snyder Productions)
D.A. Pursuit of Justice[Home Winner]
(Legacy Software)
His Name Was Lincoln [School Winner]
(Sunburst)
MayaQuest[School Winner]
(The Learning Company)
Neighborhood Map Machine[School Winner]
(Tom Snyder Productions)
The Last Days of Apartheid[School Winner]
(SVE & Churchill Media)
World Walker: Destination Australia[Home Winner]
(Soleil Software)
Science
More Bugs in Boxes[Home Winner]
(Simon & Schuster Interactive)
MP Express: On the Brink[School Winner]
(Bytes of Learning)
Ocean Life: The Caribbean and The Western Pacific[School Winner]
(Sumeria)
SimPark[Home Winner]
(MAXIS)
Special Needs
Exploring Patterns, Hands-on Concepts: Animal Habitats, IntelliTalk for Windows, and MathPad
[School Winner]
(IntelliTools Inc.)
Simon Sounds It Out[School Winner]
(Don Johnston Inc.)
Words Around Me[School Winner]
(Edmark)
Creativity
Music Ace[Home Winner]
(Harmonic Vision)
Printshop Presswriter[School Winner]
(Broderbund)
Stanley's Sticker Stories[School Winner]
(Edmark)
Reference
Britannica CD 97[School Winner]
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online[School Winner]
(Grolier Interactive)
Inside the SAT[Home Winner]
(The Princeton Review)
The IBM World Book 1997 Multimedia Encyclopedia[School Winner]
(IBM/World Book)
World Book 1997 Multimedia Encyclopedia[Home Winner]
(IBM)
Tools
Grade Quick[School Winner]
(Jackson Software)
Logger Pro[School Winner]
(Vernier Software)
Resource Pro[School Winner]
(Prentice Hall)
Sirs Researcher[School Winner]
(SIRS, Inc.)
Typing Tutor 7[School Winner]
(Davidson)
Visual Planner[School Winner]
(Steck-Vaughn)
Web Workshop, School Version[School Winner]
(Sunburst)
Susan McLester is senior editor for T&L.
We'd like to offer special thanks to our judging coordinators, Linda and Al Nielsen; to Phil Gonsalves,
educational technology director for the Lawrence Hall of Science; to Nancy Elnore, computer coordinator
for Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley, California; and to Warren Buckleitner, editor of the Children's
Software Revue.
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