| #1: Hyperstudio for Windows (Demo) | #2: MS Picture It! 99 | #3: Simply Accounting v.5.0 |
| #4: Family Tree Maker v.6.0 | #5: Print House v.1.01 | Package (#6): MS Office 2000 |
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4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? Anyone (teacher,
student, business manager) who wants to create an interactive presentation or
package.
5. What software category best describes the software? It is mainly a
production software, that the creator will create a stack that another user will
view and use. It could also be considered an authoring program to some extent
for the same reason.
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? Any subject would be
enhanced by the software, it would give students ownership, similar to creating
reports or bulletin boards except that it gives them to opportunity to make it
interactive and to anticipate the users interest. For example they could create
a story with choices for the ending, create a science report that allows the
teacher to view different parts of the procedure as they wish (click on
preparation, then look at end results). It allows for creative story-telling.
Some people may want more background on a character and can choose that card, or
they can continue with the story.
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? For the grade four
level I think they would be excited about using it, but there would be a good
deal of time devoted to teaching the program first. It would be a challenge to
use at this level (with mostly kids who are new to computers), since there are
some quirks, like how do I delete something or move a clipart
image.
8. How would you recommend the software package be used? I would see this used as
a final project after students have done research on a topic and want to present
it in a self-sustaining presentation that others can use at their own leisure.
Also for giving students a lesson on a topic that they can work at their own
pace, either for extra challenge, or slow learners.
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Software Review # 2
Reviewer: DIANNE HAUSCHILDT
2. What hardware is required for its use? PC with P90 or higher, Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 or later, 16 MB of RAM, 90 MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive, Super VGA monitor with 1 MB of RAM, mouse or compatible pointing device; OPTIONAL: audio board with headphones or speakers; use with digital cameras & scanners
3. Who publishes the software and what year was it developed? Microsoft Corporation in 1998
4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? Anyone wanting to create personal and professional communications, such as invitations, business cards, flyers, slide shows and other fun stuff. In the school, both students and staff would be able to use it at any age.
5. What software category best describes the software? Productivity Tool Software - graphic editor
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? All subjects could benefit from the presentationaspects of the software for oral and written reports; committees could create posters and invitations to events; art classes can manipulate pictures they take to create murals and other creative projects, use textured backgrounds, make collages; make time management fun with creative calendars for one, three or twelve month calendars. Any subject that deals with picture enhancement, desktop publishing and graphics would benefit from this program. You can remove scratches, change tints, brightness, contrast, colours, crop the picture to a desired shape or size, rotate or flip the picture, add text, then edit and enhance (bend, twist, rotate, treat it like any other object), add other graphics, add special effects (distort, shadow), copy objects from one picture to another, add special edges to the picture (for example in social Studies: give it a burned and/or aged look if you are doing a project that refers to historical information or about documents that were found in a fire). Students can make creative newsletters for their research project with the pictures they create. It will accept pictures from a file, digital camera, scanner (it will even scan it for you). Poetry and stories in language arts/english can be enhanced with the graphic elements students can create.
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? Students can create some pretty creative projects, but if they don't have a colour printer it could lose of its effect if it has to be printed. Time would need to be built in for students to explore the software for the first time they use it and most of them may get distracted by all the features. For some of the extra features the second CD-ROM needs to be available either separately or on the network.
8. How would you recommend the software package be used? As mentioned in #6, the
best use would be when manipulating graphics for any artistic project, or in a
photography class where you are studying different looks for your photographs.
It can also be used as a desktop publishing editor..
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Software Review # 3
Reviewer: DIANNE HAUSCHILDT
3. Who publishes the software and what year was it developed? ACCPAC International, A Division of Computer Associates Canada Ltd. in March 1997 (also associated with 4Home Productions)
4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? Small businesses, useful for teaching accounting in schools.
5. What software category best describes the software? Productivity software - it was made to keep a companies books and it does it very well.
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? Accounting (Financial Management in Alberta)
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? In a network the software can create problems creating new companies for use in the classroom, it takes a bit of tweaking. For loading on a single machine and saving to the hard drive it is okay.
8. How would you recommend the software package be used? To teach accounting in
the high school, that is it's best use. I've noticed that the community uses
Simply accounting and it is a good idea to teach the students the same software
that they will use in work, especially since a small percentage go on to
Post-secondary schools, rather choosing to stay in the community, work and raise
families.
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Software Review # 4
Reviewer: DIANNE HAUSCHILDT
4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? Genealogists of any type, anyone interested in preserving their family history.
5. What software category best describes the software? Also a productivity software, a database of information
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? The software can be used in a social studies class, or a class that focuses on creating a family history. In social it could be used to document a family connection for settlers of an area. It could also be used to enhance a language arts class, it has a the ability to create books using the information gathered, researching family stories and anecdotes to include in the book, create calendars of family birthdays, family web pages, or multimedia scrapbooks.
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? It is mainly a home use product and is very time consuming. There is a lot of research needed prior to entering it into the database. Although it could be used for probably any age, it is easy to enter information, it would depend on the interest of the person, rather than the age.
8. How would you recommend the software package be used? If this were to be used
in school I would use it as a year-long (or semester) project. I would use it to
introduce how information is gathered and recorded, using the guides on
genealogy that are included and on-line. I would have the students enter their
information, then create a to-do list (also available in the program) of
information to find and individuals to contact. I would have them create a
questionnaire/interview for those individuals, then get the information and
enter it. Students would write letters to government departments, genealogy
societies, churches (any of the recommended contacts) for more information.
Students would bring personal pictures to include in the database, and if the
equipment is available, recordings of peoples voices. When sufficient
information has been found and entered, students would create reports and trees
from the information and to include in their books. Students would create and
customize calendars and web pages with their information, and the final product
would be the book, that incorporates all their information. At the high school
level, I would encourage this as a special project, or possibly as a club since
the curriculum in other courses are fairly tight. At the lower grades it would
probably be easier to use in the class as a language arts project, with letter
writing, editing, interviewing and reading skills all used in the
creation.
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Software Review # 5
Reviewer: DIANNE HAUSCHILDT
4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? The audience is for any one (or business) who wishes to create their own desktop publishing documents, either personal or professional. You can create cards, invitations, certificates, labels, envelopes, calendars, banners, business cards, letterheads, brochures, signs, menus, flyers, custom stationery, almost anything you want.
5. What software category best describes the software? It is a productivity tool that assists you in creating desktop publishing documents.
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? Most subjects could be enhanced with the software, depending on your goal and use. Art classes could focus on design, colours, use of graphics and fonts to enhance a page. Business classes could use it for correspondence documents. Any course that wishes to enhance a poster, title page or document could use the program. Information processing (computer) classes could use it to enhance student skills for the workplace, promote document creation in the community (e.g.. create menus for the local restaurant). School clubs and committees could use the program, grads to create their own invitations and programs, Student council to create flyers for events and elections.
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? It starts out easy to and with practice and patience you can create some very good documents. I found that if you were using this with younger children, there would be a lot of frustrations with the procedures for changing the information. there are better products for young children, but I am sure that later versions may have made the program easier. this particular version is difficult to add other clipart to, it relies on the ones included in the cD-Rom. since it is very specialized, if money is a concern I would look at a program with more flexibility in sharing it's productions and documents, like Publisher.
8. How would you recommend the software package be used? In #6 I suggested some
examples, but I would probably use it as a specialized program for older
students. Also teachers could make use of it for decorating their rooms (banners
& bulletin boards), also for interesting lessons (an enhanced overhead or
handout).
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| CPU/Processor | PC with Pentium 75 MHz or higher processor; (Pentium 166 MHz
or higher required for Microsoft PhotoDraw)
Works best with P2 - 266 |
| Memory | Windows® 95/Windows® 98 use 16MB RAM-O/S add 4MB
RAM-each app running (8 MB-Outlook Access or FrontPage 16 MB-PhotoDraw)
Windows® NT Workstation 4.0 or later 32 MB RAM-O/S add 4MB RAM-each
app running (8 MB-Outlook Access or FrontPage; 16
MB-PhotoDraw)
Recommended not less than 32 MB as minimum, but would want to go with 64 MB RAM |
| Disk | 252MB Disc 1-Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access,
FrontPage 174MB Disc 2-Publisher, Small Business Tools 100MB Disc
3-PhotoDraw; for optimal performance, additional 100MB of free hard-disk
space for graphics and temporary image caches
recommended.
Recommended 4 GB |
| Drive | CD-ROM Drive
Recommend 32x (long loading time - faster CD would make it better) |
| Display | VGA or higher-resolution monitor; Super VGA
recommended
Recommend using a 17' Monitor which gives more information on the screen without losing resolution and a 4 MB Video card |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows® 95 or later operating system, or Microsoft Windows NT® operating system 4.0 Service Pack 3 or later |
| Peripheral/Misc | Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse®, or compatible pointing device, modem, multi-media capabilities |
3. Who publishes the software and what year was it developed? Microsoft Corporation, 1999
4. Who would be the intended audience for its use? Businesses, but useful for anyone: students, teachers, administrators.
5. What software category best describes the software? Every program in the premium edition is made for productivity.
6. What subject matter might be enhanced by using this software? All subjects can utilize the software, depending on the job you want to do and once more programs are used the others are easier and can be integrated together, the look is similar to each program, as well as familiar toolbars.
7. What reservations would you have about using this software package? It is large package and I would not use it on an older computer (less than P166) it takes up a lot of hard drive space and if your computer is only at the minimum requirements, it runs very slowly. I would also question if you need all of the programs, unless it is purchased through an educational plan, (like Microsoft Select) it may be an expensive investment, you may want to look at other version (Professional, Small Business, standard or individual programs). Premium is the second highest with only the developer tools missing (Visual basic).
8. How would you recommend the software package be used?
Word - This word processing program can be used in any subject to write reports, and other documents. Students will still need to use proofreading skills, and should not forget their spelling and grammar skills. Students can include graphics and objects from the other programs, and for higher levels that need to do multiple mailing (letters, invitations, newsletters) they can use the merge features.
Excel - This spreadsheet program can be used in any subject that uses data analysis (math, science, social studies) to organize information and to represent it graphically. Classes like accounting, career management courses would benefit from the program to create budgets, journals and other "what-if" scenarios that require a look at financial information.
Access - databases are good for courses where students need to keep a large amount of information, like doing research on several countries or creating a collection of family information. This program is probably a little too advanced for lower grades, and I would probably use a simpler one like Works until at least junior high. For advanced use, I would also use the relational database features to teach programming.
PowerPoint - Use the program for creating presentations for lessons, tests, lectures, and any other presentation that you would like to add visual stimulation to. Students would enjoy have an alternative way to report information rather than the traditional paper. I would be careful when students use this medium for reports because it lends itself better to point-form rather than sentence and paragraph format and there will be a tendency to cut back on detail and the presentation doesn't flow as well. This should not replace word processed documents, but should be given as another alternative at appropriate times.
Outlook - With the Internet a part of today's education, email is important to teach properly, both ethically and economically. Students should learn how to use a program that they could have at home, and if they use office at home, or in work, they may be using Outlook. Most are designed similarly and this package can be used to communicate with teachers, other students, and with other people. Students could send assignments to the teacher, and be notified of deadlines, assignment marks, happenings in the school. It also provides a useful tool for the administration to contact teachers to inform them of important notices, staff meetings and other information. It also provides a bit of privacy when communicating, like discussing a mark but you don't want other students to overhear.
Publisher - students can create a variety of documents easily with it and it allows for versatility in presenting information. Those who don't like using the computer (particularly girls) Can do a lot of neat things with the program like title pages for reports, cards, letterheads, programs for grad, as well as invitations. students can create brochures for class assignments and the software provided the layout with helps and guides. They could use pre-defined layouts or create their own. students really like using graphics and the program allows them to use the ones in the package as well as ones they download from the Internet. They can also create a newsletter based on research they did and The program makes connecting the columns easy, as well as numbering and formatting the pages for them. With the variety of options available there is no limit to what the students could create. Teachers could use the program to create newsletters for the class and parents, including student work and upcoming events in the class and school. The school can put a school "Newspaper" each month that is sent home to parents.
PhotoDraw - this program allows students (and Teachers) to easily manipulate graphics and pictures. When doing a report they can customize the picture they wish to use and include text for information. They can use photographs and crop the image to isolate a part of the picture they wish to use, or include it in another picture. For example, say students are doing a family tree and want to include pictures of their family, they could scan the picture in using this Program (it will work with the scanner), or use a digital camera and then select the picture, if include it in a shape (circle, crown, crest, apple, teardrop, etc.) It would be useful in art classes, changing colors, textures, shapes and assist students in photography classes (communication studies) to demonstrate the power of pictures. A creative idea is to take a picture of each kid in the class (with permission of course) and create a calendar for the year and put their picture on their birthday -- It will also help the teacher remember names.
FrontPage - Teachers and students could create their own web pages quickly and easily. Teachers could post class information and student assignments (with permission) and let parents (now and potential) know what happens in the classroom. (I.E. Promote public education) Students could create assignments on the page (like what I am doing) and when it is sent via the internet it is readable by others, even if they don't have the same program (word vs. WordPerfect, Mac vs. IBM.) It allows the teachers to create tests on the web, and reduce the use of paper, answers to forms are sent to an email account (or displayed on a secure page). Student committees could use it to inform other students of what is happening around the school (grad, student council, sports) and share their work with their parents.
Small Business Tools - I did not have access to these tools, but I found information on the Microsoft site regarding these tools. There are four different ones and since there use is specific to businesses I would recommend that they are used mainly at the high school level in the business courses. since most of them use the other programs previously mentioned in some of their functions it could be taught together as a "Work environment" training project. Courses like management & marketing, Enterprise and innovation, and accounting could use these programs.
Suites Shoot-Out site (WordPerfect vs.
Office):
http://home.cnet.com/category/topic/0,10000,0-3670-7-286968,00.html
Office 2000 Review:
http://home.cnet.com/category/topic/0,10000,0-3670-7-278204,00.html
Microsoft Office Home Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/default2.htm
Shop Microsoft: Office 2000 premium
overview:
http://shop.microsoft.com/store/products/software_overview.asp?intGrp=1&intCat=4&intSubCat=172&intSiteId=573
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