2003 Readers’ Choice Awards
K-12 Instructional Software
Looking for suggestions for top-quality instructional programs to use in your classrooms? Then this feature is for you.
In July, we asked our readers--your colleagues--to weigh in with their top choices in school-curriculum software spanning a wide range of subject areas and grade levels (K-12). The results--which are intended to help educators make smart choices about their own school software--appear below.
When evaluating these results, keep in mind that the needs of each classroom are unique, and what might be the best solution for one school or educator might not work well for another. Nevertheless, some clear winners emerged in nearly every category.
Special recognition should be given to United Learning Inc.’s UnitedStreaming video-on-demand service, which offers digital video clips to illustrate or explain concepts in virtually every area of instruction--from core subjects such as math, social studies, and language arts to electives such as music, health, and foreign languages.
Although cited by readers in nearly every category of the voting, UnitedStreaming (along with its competitors) is such a unique classroom resource that we have designated a separate category, "Cross-Curricular Video Service," in which to recognize it.
| Best Math Software | ||
| K-3 |
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| 4-8 |
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| 9-12 |
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For younger students (grades K-3), Knowledge Adventure’s Math Blaster series took top honors in a crowded field; all told, nearly 60 products received at least one vote in this category. Said one reader of Math Blaster: "It keeps kids interested. It’s like playing a video game."
Other readers preferred products with a more integrated approach, combining assessment and skills tracking with activities that reinforce those skills. Of Pearson Education’s SuccessMaker software, our readers’ No. 2 choice, one respondent wrote that it offers an "individualized" approach to instruction that "reinforces teacher-led concepts" and "allows for monitoring of specific skill acquisition." For students in grades 4-8, SuccessMaker topped the field, and PLATO Learning’s Algebra series was chosen as the best math software for high school students. "We have used [PLATO’s] software at Baker College for a summer algebra project with high school students, and they have brought their grades up considerably," reported one reader. Aside from the software mentioned above, other products receiving votes included the following: grades K-3, Millie’s Math House (Riverdeep Inc.) and The Graph Club (Tom Snyder Productions); grades 4-8, Math Arena (Sunburst Technology), Geometer’s Sketchpad (Key Curriculum Press), Zoombinis Logical Journey (Riverdeep Inc.), Academy of Math (Autoskill), and Accelerated Math (Renaissance Learning); grades 9-12, Boxer Math (Boxer Learning), Accelerated Math, NovaNET (Pearson Education), and LearnStar. |
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| Best Language Arts Software | ||
| K-3 |
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| 4-8 |
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| 9-12 |
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The Imagination Station, an interactive reading program that individualizes instruction for each child, also received several votes in the K-3 category; one reader called the program "well-made" and "loved by kids." She added: "[It] makes learning fun; kids try it once and they’re hooked."
For grades 9-12, Freedom Scientific’s WYNN narrowly edged out PLATO Learning’s Reading Strategies and Inspiration. WYNN is a literacy tool designed for students with reading challenges and writing difficulties. By using a bi-modal approach--simultaneous highlighting of the text as it is spoken--WYNN transforms printed text into understandable information.
Honorable mentions for Best Language Arts Software included the following: grades K-3, A+ nywhere Learning System, Kurzweil 3000, Destination Reading (Riverdeep Inc.), Earobics, and FOCUS (PLATO Learning); grades 4-8, WYNN, Weaver Reading Intervention (Weaver Instructional Systems), Academy of Reading (Autoskill), and Accelerated Reader (Renaissance Learning); grades 9-12, Academy of Reading, Weaver Reading Intervention, Reading SOS (Lexia Learning Systems), Criterion (ETS), Essential Learning System, SkillsBank (Riverdeep Inc.), and ReadWriteThink.org.
| Best Science Software | ||
| K-3 |
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| 4-8 |
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| 9-12 |
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The A+ nywhere Learning System was our readers’ top pick in grades 4-8 and finished second in the voting to Riverdeep’s Sammy’s Science House in grades K-3 and PLATO Learning’s Cyber Ed series in grades 9-12. Science Court, from Tom Snyder Productions, was our readers’ No. 2 pick in grades 4-8; one reader said it offers a "fun way to explore science concepts while learning about court cases; [it’s] excellent for cooperative learning."
Honorable mentions for Best Science Software included the following: grades K-3, Learn About Science Series (Sunburst) and JumpStart Science (Knowledge Adventure); grades 4-8, IntelPlay QX3 Microscope, The JASON Project, Interact General Science (XSIQ), Lego Logo Robotics, and the NASA web site; grades 9-12, Discourse (ETS), EOA Scientific Systems, PASCO Scientific probeware, and the NASA web site. In choosing EOA Scientific Systems, one reader wrote, "Students can actually get the experiments wrong, [which is] very unusual for most software." |
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| Best Social Studies Software | ||
| K-3 |
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| 4-8 |
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| 9-12 |
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The A+ nywhere Learning System, an instructional courseware and management system from American Education Corp., took top honors in grades K-3 and 4-8 but was edged out by PLATO Learning’s WorldView series in grades 9-12.
Honorable mentions for Best Social Studies Software included the following: grades K-3, MarcoPolo (a web site originally created by the MCI WorldCom Foundation and now run by the MarcoPolo Foundation), USA Explorer (Dorling Kindersley), and Trudy’s Time and Place House (Riverdeep Inc.); grades 4-8, MarcoPolo, Oregon Trail (Riverdeep), WorldView series, Talking Walls Series (Riverdeep; one reader called this software a "fantastic approach" to teaching about other cultures), and Classroom Connect’s Quest Channel; grades 9-12, MarcoPolo, C-SPAN Classroom, and Microsoft Encarta. |
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| Best Keyboarding Software | ||
| K-3 |
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| 4-8 |
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| 9-12 |
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Sunburst’s Type to Learn beat out Riverdeep’s Mavis Beacon in grades K-3 and 4-8, with these results flip-flopping by a wide margin in grades 9-12. One reader said she appreciated that Type to Learn could be "individualized for each grade level and student," although she said it had "a few glitches at first." Of Mavis Beacon, one reader called the software "fast, friendly, and easy to learn," while another called it "exceptional--great for all ability levels."
Honorable mentions included JumpStart Typing (Knowledge Adventure) and Disney’s Adventures in Typing for younger students, and Roller Typing (EdVenture Software) and Typing Instructor (Individual Software) for older students. |
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| Best Cross-Curricular Video Service | ||
| 9-12 |
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This newly emerging class of instructional technology encompasses video-on-demand services, in which companies provide subscriptions to an extensive archive of digital video clips for streaming to teachers’ desktops on demand to supplement their instruction. United Learning’s UnitedStreaming service was the runaway winner in this category, beating out AIMS Multimedia’s Digital Curriculum and a few lesser-known services, such as e-Mod.com.
One reader summed up the value of UnitedStreaming in her social-studies classes this way: "This is a fantastic academic tool for providing enrichment on virtually any instructional topic! [It’s] a major instructional, standards-based breakthrough for the teacher to effectively integrate technology into the classroom." |
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| Best Music, Art, and Foreign Language Software |
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For foreign language instruction, Knowledge Adventure’s JumpStart Language series was the top pick of our readers for younger students, and Fairfield Language Technologies’ Rosetta Stone was the software of choice for older students.
For music instruction, Harmonic Vision’s Music Ace took top honors for younger students, and Sibelius Software’s self-titled software was the top choice for older students. For art instruction, Riverdeep’s Kid Pix Deluxe was the No. 1 pick for younger students, and Adobe’s Photoshop Elements took top honors for older students. |