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Chemistry software from www.sunflowerlearning.com
The most promising bundle ever, ‘Multimedia Library for Science’ is
great software for chemistry. And it is not just titles like ‘Diffusion’ and
Atoms & Ions (from Sunflower Learning £50 each) that smack of relevance, for
here is a set of activity-based learning tools with substance.
Why the plaudits? Well up to now we’ve seen experiment simulations and more, but
in ‘Dissolving’ we can offer pupils a model where they can play with
temperature, concentration and evaporation. It is no 5-minute wonder; it is an
opportunity to go deeper into ideas like ‘it’s hotter so more dissolves’. If the
work is challenging, it feels like it is for the good.
‘Bonding’ is another favourite where you can take atoms of sodium and chlorine,
complete with electron shells and join them by dragging an electron from one to
the other. Another, ‘Periodic Table’ lets you graph properties of the elements
as a 3-D histogram making for very interesting patterns in density, conductivity
and melting point. The MLS software runs easily in your Internet browser and can
be previewed online so you can check if it works for you. It’s new and ready to
run with online worksheets.
More reviews - some are old and not sold
A small collection of reviews - not the latest but reviews all the same. For
a selection of current titles see Science Software for schools
Controlling Reactions (age 11-16)
Covers the effects of temperature, concentration and surface area on chemical
reactions. PC/Mac CDROM produced by Anglia Multimedia. Available from Granada
Learning at prices from £-- Web www.granada-learning.com
EarthWise (age 16+) *
These days, businesses need to look at the materials they use and the waste
they generate. Even after goods leave the factory, they need to consider health
and safety issues - such as how their goods are eventually disposed. In this
business simulation for colleges, you take on the role as manager of a business
that produces plastics. You have to respond to European Directives, press
disaster stories and memos from the finance department. Your aim is to improve
the firm's public image and market share, while keeping the environment and the
profits in good shape. You might discover that you are releasing a gas that
damages the ozone layer and that it is a carcinogen. You can get advice and then
choose the options open to you: Should you cut the release straight away or work
towards this over the years? You see the effect on your company's progress as a
pictogram on screen. There is a lot to take in, a lot to discuss making this a
full day's work. Many of the issues are abstract and require experience to do
the weighing up. It is colourful, easy to navigate and from the stereotypes
here, only for males. The big issue is the outrageous number of green ones this
costs. (Disc for DOS PC. From Sanderson price £--5)
Making the grade (age 16-18)*
A business simulation offering the experience of running a chemical plant. It
seeks to practise decision making, team work and give a taste of working in
industry. It is aimed at economics and business studies and GNVQ Business in
particular. (CDROM for PC price £-- from BP Education Service Mail: bpes@bp.com.
Hazardous chemicals (staff) ****
An Internet web browser is what you need to explore this chemical hazards
database. It has all the information you normally find on a file in the
laboratory preparation room. There is an index of chemicals, advice on dealing
with spillage and all those rules and regulations. As there's no escaping the
chemistry fun-police this is useful. You can use it as it comes - though they've
not made it as plug and play as they should have. The way round this is fairly
easy: I'd recommend getting a computer expert to copy the disc contents to your
hard drive or network server so that you can very quickly access the
information. Make this access obvious to all by putting a 'shortcut' on the
desktop, or better still, using the index page as a desktop item. (CDROM for
Acorn/Mac/PC Price ~£-- from SSERC or CLEAPPS).
Molecular Modeller (age 15-17)
Molecule Investigator (age 14-18)
Nemesis (age 16+) ***
Molecular structures can be built up using the software equivalent to ball
and stick models. Nemesis comes with a library of molecular fragments you can
assemble into a large molecule. With this, you can discuss structures,
stereo-isomerism, steric hindrance as you rotate them and take measurements.
Desktop Molecular Modeller does this and lets you measure bond lengths and bond
angles. You should fare better with the Windows version than the older DOS
edition. (Disc for PC - AVP price £--0) Published by CUP. Nemesis goes further -
for example it lets you increase the energy level of the molecule, and lets you
see the molecule adopting a lower energy conformation. Though it normally costs
into four-figures, an inexpensive, non-printing, non-saving sampler version will
do the basics (Disc for Mac/PC from Oxford Molecular price £--) A further title
is the Molecule Investigator (age 14 to 18) which offers again the facility to
create models, rotate them and do energy minimisation (for Mac - last supplied
by TAG).
Molecular model programs (age 15-18) ***
Arachne's Molecular Modeller lets you build ball and stick models that you
can turn into space filled and 3D structures. The finished models can be rotated
printed and viewed with stereo glasses. That the bond angles and lengths can be
measured is a plus point that lends this tool, written by a school sixth former,
to class activities. More powerful programs might be needed for advanced level
work, but these come at a price. (Acorn disc, from TAG price £--). Web:
www.arachnesoft.demon.co.uk/
Another title is Delsoft's Molecular Visualisation and Rotation that was
previously part of the Buckybox kit. This too, comes with stereo glasses (Disc
for Acorn/PC from AVP price £--). And for those in the professional league there
is Chemdraw from Adept. You type in a structure and it works out its boiling
point, Gibbs energy, heat of formation and more. Web: www.adeptscience.com
Molecules 3D (age 15-18) ****
With a library of over 100 common molecular structures, this package lets you
draw 3D models on screen. You can do these quite quickly as the bond angles and
lengths are built in. You can also flip between space-filling and ball and stick
varieties and copy / paste the results into a worksheet. I was hard pressed to
find much that I couldn't do. This is an inexpensive title that with luck you
may find a free demo version on the Web at www.download.com. There is a slight
chance that there are other programs with the same name so check it's the same
as the one from this address on the Web: www.molecules.com (Disc for Mac/PC
price £-- from SCET or £-- from Whatman) Supplied by Pasco dealers. In case of difficulty the publisher is Molecular Arts Corporation,
Hanover Corporate Center, Suite 1000, 1532 East Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA
92805-6627 USA
Rasmol (age 15-18) ***
A much-praised title, which is even more interesting because free. You drop a
molecule file into a window and you can spin it around and view it in many ways.
It works really well and surprisingly fast on older computers too. What I didn't
find easy was making structures of my own - there are instructions about
coordinates that will scare most onto Molecules-3D. Rasmol is available from the
Internet where you will find pages explaining how to use it as well as links to
others that offer ready-made structures. How anything this good became free is a
mystery. Web: www.umass.edu/microbio/rasmol
Chemdraw (age 16+)
A family of programs that let you draw molecular models on screen. These can
be rendered as '3D' images using Chem3D. The programs come in limited versions
or as more highly featured 'pro versions'. None come cheap. These may indeed be
useful but expect to see examples of busy, confusing software. (Disc for PC from
mc squared. Prices from £--5 to £--5).
Periodic Table (age 13-18) ****
Nice and straightforward is this one and it does not need a CD-ROM or
expensive computer to run it. A periodic table highlights the element groups,
metals, non-metals, halogens, and noble gases on screen. This prints out to make
a useful table for a book, or it can be copied and pasted into a word-processor
page. An interactive temperature gauge shows the patterns of boiling points
across the table and this makes a useful teaching point. A graphing feature
shows the trends in melting, boiling, atomic radius, ionic radius and a few more
- suiting both younger and advanced learners. While it is not comprehensive, I
could use this. Its use fits a lesson well and makes a nice introduction to the
topic. The manual comes with ideas you might work up into an activity. (Disc for
PC Windows from Future Skill Software price £-- or 20-user licence at £--) Demo
copies from the Web: www.fssc.demon.co.uk
The Periodic Table (age 12-14) **
With its full title of Exploring Radioactivity: Part One The Periodic Table
this inexpensive CD offers a click on periodic table with basic data and a
sentence or so about each element. It's colourful and takes about 10-15 minutes
to use. There's a quiz on the way in, and another on the way out. It might be
used as a side-show on an open day or reception area. (CD-ROM for PC price £--
from BNFL Education, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6AS Tel: 01925 832826
Web: www.bnfl.com
Science series: Elements (age 13-16) **
This 'elements' title covers atoms, atom building, radioactive decay,
isotopes, decay series and half-life. In addition, there is of course detail on
element properties, their uses, history and some of their chemistry. A periodic
table page shows the build-up of atoms in an interesting way. As you click on
each element in the periodic table, electrons, protons and so on are added to an
atom and make a teaching point. You can add extra protons and see how isotopes
are 'made'. Another nice feature shows the way that radioactive atoms decay to
form others. This section, which you might demonstrate to a class, shows
elements 'flipping over' as a decay graph is plotted. A much harder exercise
involves working out various decay series.
Further information - pictures, video and text are easy to find but the coverage
is patchy and understanding it is another matter - the reading level is high.
Having the names of the elements read aloud, is not enough help in this
instance.
There are teaching materials on the disc but they cannot be customised - you
need to create some because most of the ones here do not relate to using the
program anyway. In summary, there are just a few nice tricks here, as well as
something to use in a revision sessions. (CD-ROM for Acorn/ Mac/PC from Granada
Learning or AVP price £--. Available bundled with Science series: Materials from
REM) Web: www.granada-learning.com
Interactive Periodic Table (age 15-18) *
This, one of the first CD-ROM titles about the elements mixes poetry and
songs with photos and facts. It looks dated today, but it was always more the
coffee table CDROM on the elements than anything designed for class. You can
pick an element and find out more about it - or do a search to find all the
elements with certain features. You will find details of atomic radius; molar
volume, natural abundance, applications, isotopes and so on. There is a bit
about each element's chemistry too - but tragically, it is only a bit. Should
you want, there are details of each element's history, pictures of its
discoverer, photographs of the element's source or its uses. Animations show
flame colours and a 3D view of the crystal lattice which you can rotate using
buttons on the screen. In a graphing section you can take a couple of groups and
graph their changing boiling points or atomic radii. You can also plot a
scatter-graph of one property against another - which gives scope to explore for
patterns but the graphing tool is weak. A tutorial introduces the table and its
history but talks over the text on screen and so distracts rather than adds.
In common with older titles, the video clips are fuzzy - in fact, there is
little CD-ROM 'added value'. In short, despite having usable bits, it is a
shallow gloss made for some other purpose than teaching chemistry - coffee table
polish maybe. (CD-ROM for PC from AVP price £--)
Patterns in chemistry (age 12-15)
Covers the periodic table, patterns of behaviour, predicting behaviour,
metals and non-metals. Published by Anglia Multimedia. (CD-ROM for Mac / PC
Price from £-- through Granada Learning. Web www.granada-learning.com
Science series: Materials (age 14-16) *
This multimedia database has background facts to illustrate the properties of
over 150 materials. It provides pictures of elements, uses, occurrence, ores,
extraction plant and the text can be searched and used in computer based
projects. Materials can be tested for a dozen properties, it tells, and pictures
show what happens. There are some clips of film but the quality of these is
poor. A unique one puts the elasticity of the material to the test and
graphically shows how it behaves. You can for example, test their resistance or
see if things dissolve - though you might quibble with the assertion that
'copper does not dissolve, it is insoluble' at GCSE age. My expectation was for
something that let me look for patterns in the information, and helped me choose
a material for a certain job or rank them in order of appropriateness. Instead I
found a program in delivery mode and with only a few things to do - what I would
call a library title. Teaching materials on the disc provide some exercises but
these will wake up no one. (CD-ROM for Acorn/ Mac/PC from Granada Learning or
AVP price £-- Available bundled with Materials from REM) Web:
www.granada-learning.com
The Science of Materials TV-ROM (age 13-16) *
How forensic scientists help to pin down a car ringing operation is one of
two stories on this disc aimed at science at. Here is an engaging tale where the
villains are nabbed by the meticulous analysis of the fibres found in a
recovered car. We learn how natural and artificial fibres burn differently, how
fibres are made and also how a microscope helps to tell one type of hair from
another.
A second equally good story tells about mopping up an oil spill at sea. It shows
how the oil devastates the beach and then explores how the mess could be
removed. If adding dispersants might do even more damage, trying to burn is
harder than you would imagine. Scooping up the treacly material or containing
the spill with a floating barrage are each illustrated by a good mix of real
life footage, experiment and animation. If the bottom line is mostly that oil
spills spell disaster all round, the problem as well as fractional distillation
are explained well.
If not as broad as the 'materials' title suggests, this is nevertheless a very
good way to introduce work on oil, plastics and fibres. The surprise maybe is
that the video comes not on tape but on a regular CDROM, and its quality is good
considering that 40 minutes worth is packed in here. A downside is that setting
up the display technology to show this to a class is likely to be much more
expensive than using a TV and a video machine.
Notes accompany on the disc offer facts about synthetic fibres, hydrocarbons,
and plastics together with true-false quizzes. But here you can lose yourself in
a menu and start to wonder why this was ever committed to CDROM. Never mind that
this runs just fast enough on a stand-alone machine (which bodes badly for
running it in a computer suite) this so much reminds of the mediocre multimedia
pushed out last century. Old fashioned and under-whelming, save money and get
the video. (CD-ROM for PC or Mac price £--.99 from 4 Learning) Web
www.4learning.co.uk
Picturebase: Materials (age 9-14) **
A 'database' of materials with text, photos and multimedia. You can browse
through to find information, make slideshow 'lessons', or plunder this resource
bank to illustrate worksheets, PowerPoint slides or project work. The curriculum
coverage is appropriate for school and so this is pretty much on task. The
latest version is built around web browser pages i.e. you can keep it on a
school intranet; pupils can use it for their project work, rather than burn up
time on the Internet. (CD-ROM for Acorn/PC from AVP price £--)
Radioactivity series (age 15-18) ***
Three titles: Penetration, Alpha scattering and Distance to buy separately or
together. They offer models to experiment with and get round the problem with
giving students hands-on with sources. Never mind giving them hands-on with
computers, first impressions are very good - a full review will follow. (CD-ROM
for PC price £-- each which includes a network licence or £--4 for all three)
From Newbyte Educational Software. Web: www.newbyte.com/uk
Chemical information system (age 16-adult) *
Exactly what it hints at - Delsoft's CIS is a chemical database offering
information. Herein are physical data, safety notes, 3D models as well as
infrared, NMR, mass spectrographic data all available to view and compare side
by side. An enthusiastic user could make something of it. (Disc for PC from AVP
price £--).
Chemical changes (age 11-15)
This title looks broadly at types of chemical change using multimedia,
puzzles and questions. Published by Anglia Multimedia. (CD-ROM for Mac / PC
Price from £-- through Granada Learning. Web www.granada-learning.com
Classifying materials (age 11-15)
Looks at atoms, molecules in elements and compounds. Pupils investigate
structures at a molecular level and see how they change with temperature.
Published by Anglia Multimedia. (CD-ROM for Mac / PC Price from £-- through
Granada Learning. Web www.granada-learning.com
The Chemistry tutor (age 16-undergraduate) ***
If learning from a screen is the way we are going then this large bank of
tutorials is one way to go. Within its 22 modules covering NMR spectroscopy,
radioactivity and chemical calculations are a variety of animations and
step-by-step explanations. A gaseous equilibrium section shows the relationships
between pressure, volume, entropy and so on. A chemical properties database
offers some graphing features. For students who prefer to learn and revise like
this, it could just be their ticket. It's not exciting, but you will find some
neat ways of explaining using animation within. Go for the single user edition
and upgrade later if you like it. (CDROM for PC from CCC, University of
Liverpool price £-- single user. £--0 site licence). Web: www.liv.ac.uk/ctichem/c3intro.html
The story of the can (age 12-15) **
This title, all about the materials, designs and manufacture of can and
packaging, does a job that neither a book nor a film does well alone. It tells
about preserving food, recycling, saving material by having cans as thin as a
bank note - and illustrates that with diagrams and photographs. Video and
animation show how steel and aluminium are made, and how coating, rolling and
printing finishes them. As it tells the history of the can and the variety of
joining and forming involved, you soon realise what a versatile case study these
cleverly machined cans are. Project pages ask pupils to do surveys of metal
packaging, make a storyboard of a production process, or design packaging. It is
also richly illustrated, and science teachers may find this useful in a metals
topic.
If you want to find out about say, 'tinning' you click on materials, then on
steel, then finishing and then tinning. However, you may feel lost drilling
through this tree of pages. There are redeeming elements in this CarnaudMetalBox
funded disc. I expected a big corporate sell, but instead it is informative and
restrained. (CD-ROM for PC from The Canned Food Information Centre Free)
BP Making the grade (age 16-19)
Decision making and project management simulation in a chemical plant - aimed
at Business studies and Economics (CDROM price £-- from BP Educational Service,
PO Box 934, Dorset BH17 7BR Tel 01202 244000 Mail bpes@bp.com)
Materials matter (age 13-15) ***
A tutorial explaining about the states of matter, particles, melting points.
Like 'The Chemistry Tutor' pupils can work through its text and animation as a
way of revising what has been done in class. There's a sensible amount of
information here - just preview to find the bits you wish to use. It takes just
over an hour to work through. (CDROM for PC price £-- + £--post from Institute
of Materials Communications, Shelton House, Stoke Road, Shelton, ST4 2DR. Email:
orders@materials.org.uk Tel: 01782 202116 Institute of Materials, 1 Carlton
House Terrace, SW1Y 5DB Tel: 0207 451 7326 Fax 0207 839 4534 Web: www.instmat.co.uk
LabMouse 1 2 & 3 (age 16-18) ***
LabMouse deals with the scariest sounding topics in advanced chemistry -
chemical equilibria, dynamic equilibria chemical kinetics and all this at a
price worth the risk. Each disc features text and graphics with some video and
animation. LabMouse 1 for example has a tutorial about conjugate pairs,
equilibrium constants and activation energy. Question and answer sections
complete each section. Five virtual practicals (labs) work by nice drag and drop
techniques and include an acid-base titration, Kc for the hydrolysis of ethyl
ethanoate, effect of temperature of reaction rate, iodine clock reaction and the
iodination of propanone. You can see how fast sulfur is precipitated when acid
is added to thiosulfate; or you can find the order of the reaction between
iodine and propanone. You can do this without safety spectacles and in the
library too. LabMouse feels like a sincere attempt to offer students a second
shot at some problem topics through self-study. If it helped just one student to
better, it will have earned its greatly subsidised price. 'LabMouse 2', is a
tutorial about thermodynamics and redox equilibria. LabMouse 3 looks at covalent
bonds, mechanisms and spectroscopy. Each is punctuated with diagrams and
experiments where you play with the apparatus and do calculations step by step.
Even if this merely repeat ordinary lab work on screen, at ten quid there's no
stopping anyone using them for revising troublesome topics. (CD-ROM for PC from
BNFL £--95) Order from BNFL Education Web: www.bnfl.co.uk
Mad about science (age 7-11) *
A series of DK home titles where you can do experiments on screen. In the
Materials title you can mix things, dissolve them in water and separate them
using filter paper. Here and there you'll find a something to use - it is too
playful for class but OK as a library title. (CDROM for Mac/PC on mail order)
The three little pigs +
Y Tri Mochyn Bach (age 5-7) **
A computer storybook where children hear the story a sentence at a time and
they turn the pages. If it seems out of place in a science book, it is a
starting point for infant work on materials. It is a modest production,
uncluttered by frills but likeable for it. Interestingly, this is a dual
language Welsh/English disc. (CD-ROM for Acorn/PC from Tempest Publishing price
£--)
Water (age 14-16)
Multimedia coverage of water, its history and issues around it. Good looking
title with good stories and case studies. (CD-ROM for PC price £--). Published
by Multimax.
Explorer series: Chemical equilibrium (age 16-adult) ***
Numerous chemical species can be reacted together in this model of chemical
equilibrium. As say, nitrous oxide is reacted with oxygen, the progress of the
forward and reverse reactions is shown on a graph and as a colour change in a
reaction vessel. Concentrations, temperature, enthalpy or activation energy can
be changed to see how the reactants create products. Acid-base, conductimetric
and other types of titration can also be performed. This comprehensive program
is suited to A level work. Teaching materials are supplied in quantity - on the
disc are word processor tutorial files and these take learners through the
various 'labs' supplied. The documentation is overwhelming, but most of it is
irrelevant at this level - it explains how to change the way the model works and
create interactive tutorials and simulations. This is time consuming and it
seems more suitable for those with time or for undergraduate work. Hidden inside
the documentation are some useful class activities - all deserving a run through
before a lesson. This is an excellent tool, though it delivers more than is
really needed and takes much time to prepare for - as a result you may not feel
this is value for money. There are many others in this series and the titles
appear in the appropriate sections here. the Explorer series is in short supply.
(Disc for Mac/PC - from TAG price £--).
Corel Chemlab (age 16-18) **
Chemistry should anyone remember, used to be big in the eighties. We liked
it, we taught it, then something curriculum-y happened and - bang there wasn't
much left. Rumour has it that the safety goggles people came along and cleaned
it up. But here to undo that is Corel's Chemlab that takes the love of chemistry
sets onto the computer, and gives you a chemistry lab to play in and reminisce.
Imagine now acids, glassware, a pH meter, a heater and a Geiger counter. You
pick up a beaker, pour in some acid and test it with an indicator. You fill the
burette, drip acid onto alkali and see a pH curve. You change the acid for a
weaker one, and try again. There are loads of experiments to try, so as you
follow the instructions - you can measure radioactive decay, the power of the
heater or investigate the classic 'iodine clock reaction'. A 'gas lab' tries to
show the connection between pressure and temperature - it kind-of succeeds.
There are hundreds of molecules to view and rotate, film clips of forbidden fun
with explosive trinitroiodide, writing with highly reactive phosphorus, and a
hydrogen and chlorine cannon which of course goes bang. And then there are
beakers to break, nitroglyerine to drop, and goggles should you need them. Gone
are the smells and burning, the magic changes before your eyes and the fear that
it could all blow up in your face. Call me irresponsible, but I'm close to
suggesting this fun, Canadian title offers a lot of learning despite its obvious
place in the home. It has plenty of distractions but a keen student could
benefit. They'll never call chemistry 'stinks' again but at least it is back.
(CD-ROM for PC - mail order price £--) Published by Corel.
Crocodile Chemistry (age 12-18) **
Crocodile Chemistry is like a well-stocked lab where you can experiment to
your heart's content. The highly interactive chemistry lab has a hundred
chemicals to heat or mix so there is fun to be had. You can do pH titrations,
show temperatures on graphs and again there are lots of classic, ready-made
school experiments to try. Maybe best of all you can use it to make apparatus
diagrams for worksheets, but don't try to enlarge them too much as they go
'blocky'.
The worksheets and experiments supplied well show the scope of this 'tool' -
acids, reactivity series, reaction rates, separation - evidently you can do lots
with it. In among these ideas are some things that merit using the computer -
fiddly experiments and clumsy lots of glassware experiments you would not give
to younger groups. It saves time, resources and now and then you'll find a use
where it really does beat the real thing. Treated as a revision aid, it's pretty
excellent. (CD-ROM for PC from Crocodile Clips. Price £--5 for minimum license
of 5-users) Demo on the Web: www.crocodile-clips.com
Explorer series: Chemical Kinetics, Gas Laws, Electrochemistry, Structure of
the Atom (age 16-adult) ***
Note: a new Explorer series - called Gateways is available. The Explorer
Series comes from Logal, the source of the most extensive range of science
models. Though it is transparent in use, the models use the same 'Explorer'
program to present the model so the contents feel much the same. While suitable
for advanced level work, the series covers detail normally found at
undergraduate and even postgraduate level. The manual is extensive, but need
only be dipped into to find an appropriate tutorial. The big issue might be
whether you get your money's worth at this price - the short answer is you do if
you use it but it is still safer to buy just one. (Disc for Mac/PC - from TAG
price £-- each)
Logal's Science Gateways series (age 16-17)
Tutorials and interactive models covering Gas laws; The atom; Chemical
equilibrium; Reaction rates and kinetics; Electrochemistry. Aimed at first year
high school and worth a peek for school. (Disc for Mac/PC price £-- - TAG may
help to source)
My World - materials (age 7-10) ***
My World is like a sticker book where you arrange pictures on a page using a
mouse. In this title you sorts things into solids, liquids gases and soluble or
insoluble. Also included is the water cycle and types of soil. (Disc for
Acorn/PC from SEMERC price £-- for the program. The pack adds £--)
Science Court: water cycle (age 8-11) ***
Science Court is more than a piece of software to teach about condensation,
evaporation and the invisible water in the air. It describes itself as
interactive group software, meaning that the PC will drive the lesson's
activity. Although this is not what you asked for, it is worth approaching this
exceptional piece of software with an open mind because the result is
potentially a very enjoyable lesson. The 'court' is exactly that - you watch
episodes of a courtroom drama where two cartoon US lawyers argue out a case
about a leaking pipe: the key question is whether the pipe leaked or whether
condensation dripped off it. At each stage of the trial witnesses are
interviewed, the class are posed questions and they go back to their places to
do an experiment or discuss things. What you do is nudge this activity along
besides providing copies of the worksheets, plastic cups, water and basic items
for a few investigations. What you will witness, at least on-screen, is
intelligent argument: the court proves to be a great setting for discussing
science. Its characters are likeable and very funny. All that remains is to
allow two to three class periods and to be prepared to reorganise your lesson.
If the class are ready for something a bit wacky, this could work well. There
are many other titles in the series including gravity, soil, work, sound and
statistics. (CD-ROM for PC Available in the UK from REM or Brighter Vision
Education price £--) Produced by Tom Snyder Productions www.teachtsp.com
FutureLAB Ideal Gas *** (age 11-18)
Photo-realistic simulation of gas behaviour to use as an electronic
blackboard. Offers a set of apparatus such as gas cylinders, gas chambers,
pressure gauges, balance, masses and a hot plate. These you can arrange as
required - or work through onscreen worksheets. CD-ROM for PC from Nicholl
Education price £--) By Simulations Plus
Gas equilibrium (age 16-18) [***]
This is a clear example of software showing things you can't show. In this
neat graphic reaction simulation, sliders let you change concentrations, volume,
temperature, pressure and catalysts. You play and note the effects on the
reaction rate and concentration of each ingredient - shown live on graphs. Gas
equilibrium lets you show, in a quick demonstration if you wish, what Le
Chatelier was on about. The photocopiable worksheets supplied offer plenty of
work for use in class or the library.
(CD-ROM for PC price £-- which includes a network licence from Newbyte
Educational Software). Web: www.newbyte.com
Acid-base titration (age 16-18) ****
A graphic simulation where you can do titrations and see a graph form
simultaneously. The benefit from this is that having done the real experiment,
you can then explore a wide range of acids and bases more efficiently that
usual. What is more, you can use the software to demonstrate several teaching
points and very effectively too. The graphics are pretty good and almost real.
Photocopiable materials are included. (CD-ROM for PC price £-- which includes a
network licence from Newbyte Educational Software). Web: www.newbyte.com/uk
Earth and weather
All about weather & seasons (age 5-7) ***
Easy and a good fit for the classroom. There are movies to watch, pictures to
explore, a talking story and a nice weather recording table. (CD-ROM for Acorn/
Mac/PC price £-- from Granada Learning or SEMERC) Web: www.granada-learning.com
Earth Quest (age 15+) **
This geography and science title looks at types of rock, how they developed
and the structure of the earth. It has simulations of plate movements,
earthquakes, volcanoes - things that have shaped our planet. With so much to
show and animate it is surprising that it has taken so long, millions of years
in fact, for someone to think of doing a CD-ROM about it. Earth Quest is a
dazzling 3D, 'walk-through' wonder. It lets you explore a cavernous museum
within the earth, to the sound of dripping water and the earth's tummy rumbles.
You soon appreciate how easy it is to get a feel for what there is to know. For
example, the exhibits sort out the types of rocks as oxides and silicates, as
well as igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. You can see samples, read about
what is in them and check out their properties. Just recall that the topic has a
high entrance fee - it needs lots of knowledge to fit it together. If knowledge
is what you seek, and you have a 100-megabyte brain, this will probably fill it.
There are exciting things to find: a violent earth 'gallery' puts you in an
earthquake zone and lets you set one off. You can change the quake's magnitude
and distance, watch a seismograph record it and see a model town crumble. A
commentary explains what's happening, what causes it and describes the scale for
measuring it. You can see the spread of 'seismic waves', and hear how monitoring
stations make sense of them. Similarly, you can build a volcano, change its
variables and seek a gratifying result. A mining area shows where the world's
gems, metals and fossil fuels are located. Film clips show people at work on
open pits and underground mines. It looks quite fun and reading the text, I'd
say that mining seems jolly nice - in other words it skates over health or other
issues.
A section called shaping the earth tells how valleys, canyons and coastline
arise. It explains too how the earth first formed and how its rocks tell a
story. Another exhibit splendidly animates the way the earth's plates - its
landmasses, have shifted over time. What is new and special is that as you
browse, time ticks away ten thousand years at a stroke, and every so on an alarm
rings to say that silver, or agate is about to form any moment now. So, you nip
over to the rock face to watch gemstones and minerals growing before your eyes.
It is over in ten seconds, endlessly re-playable and even if what is happening
isn't well explained this is unique. Also, an up-front and substantial quiz
needs 60 answers to be culled from the museum's exhibits. For a curious student,
this is a nice way of being driven to find out. For teachers with a syllabus to
follow some DIY teaching materials are called for but nothing like this is
included. Though when you stop clicking buttons and try to read the captions you
realise that the text is not so easy peasy, nor is it helping your
understanding. That is not to write this off - because like a real museum a good
guide or teacher can bring the place to life. If you are prepared to bash out a
worksheet or use parts as a demonstration, there are enough gems inside. (CD-ROM
for Mac/PC - mail order price £--). Web: www.dk.com
Exploring Earth Science (age 14-16)
Quite inaccessible and for fans only. (CD-ROM for PC from Attica price £--)
Land and Air (age 16+) *
Topics: dwindling resources, food or famine, air quality, natural disasters,
climate change and conservation. The text is hard going. (CD-ROM for PC from
Granada Learning price £--) Internet: granada-learning.com
Microsoft Magic Bus Explores Inside the Earth (age 6-10)
The Magic Bus series, based on the excellent Scholastic Books and TV cartoon
series, lets children explore environments and pick up facts along the way. They
use their magic school bus to go on a field trip and do experiments. They need a
great deal of time to pick up all those facts so the CD-ROMs are perfectly
placed in the home. (CD-ROM for PC from mail order price £--) Web: www.microsoft.com
Multimedia Minerals (age 14-18) *
This geology title is a database of a few hundred minerals. If you understand
the terminology - colour, lustre, hardness and some technical stuff you can use
the database to identify a mineral. Included here are photographs and multimedia
touches such as video and spoken text. Does little to raise interest in the
subject. (CD-ROM for PC from AVP price £--)
Picturebase: Earth and Atmosphere (age 11-14) **
Geography title - essentially a database of pages to use for project work.
Each page has a photo, text (read aloud) and space to add your own text.
Teachers could use it to create a slide show adding facts and questions as
required, or make an information trail for pupils to follow. This ability to
customise the material is a likeable feature that if worked at, could turn using
this into something more active. The latest version is built around web browser
pages i.e. you can make it a feature of a school intranet. This way pupils can
use it for their project work, or teachers for their worksheets rather than burn
up time on the Internet. (CD-ROM for Acorn/PC from AVP price £--)
Picturebase: Rocks, minerals and fossils (age 14-18) **
A database with text, photos and multimedia. You can browse through to find
information, or use it as a resource for library work. Teachers could use it to
make an information trail for pupils to follow. The latest version is built
around web browser pages i.e. you can make it a feature of a school intranet.
(Acorn/PC CD-ROM - from AVP price £-)
Small Blue Planet (age 15-18) *
A geographer's satellite image bank where space shuttle, NOAA satellite,
aircraft and other expensive technology have obtained pictures. You can access
the images from relief maps of world and the USA. You click on 'hot spots' to
see images of Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Moscow, and a couple of hundred more
from around the globe. You can also explore a political map. With this, you can
click on a country to see a page of text with landscape and historical
information. Or you can watch the obscure 'chronosphere' - which shows you the
pattern of day and night on a moving map. As countries go into night, it also
cleverly shows their use of artificial light.
Irritatingly, the program text is name-dropping tech-talk. But more importantly,
although you can view the images, zoom in and out there isn't a clue anywhere as
to how to learn from it. For example, you really ought to be able to manipulate
the images. I'd suggest looking instead at the image libraries available from
geographical suppliers or the Internet. With these you can pick the ones you are
interested in and find software that lets you explore, overlay and experiment
with. It is a shame this disc could not offer more than a taster. A resource
pack is available separately. (CD-ROM for Mac/PC from BTL price £-- + £-- for
pack)
Weatherworld (age 12-18)
Video clips from a TV series for geography. (CD-ROM for PC from Granada
Learning) Internet: granada-learning.com
The World's Weather (age 11-14) *
Geography title covering weather and climate. It explains what is happening
in the atmosphere, the seasons and climate though the video is not good enough
to help. Adds only a little to what you find in print. (CD-ROM for Acorn/Mac/PC
from AVP price £--)
Understanding Weather (age 16-19)
Geography title covering atmosphere, temperature, weather systems and weather
change. (CD-ROM for PC from Granada Learning price £--)
Violent Earth (age 9-14) ***
Looks at weather, physical geography and earth sciences. It tells how natural
forces - like volcanoes and floods, influence other people's lives. The text is
well written, read aloud and illustrated. It is above average in many respects.
The result is engaging enough to let pupils loose on it and leave them. While
the energy section is relevant to science, most of the rest is for geography.
(CD-ROM for Mac / PC from Wayland Multimedia or AVP, price £--)
Window on the world (age 15-18) ***
Free CD-ROM with a web browser pages and satellite produced images. Produced by
the British National Space Centre and the Remote Sensing Society and given away
free with the Sunday Times newspaper. Copies may be scarce but here's the
contact I have (CD-ROM for Mac, PC, Acorn from British National Space Centre,
157 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS. Web: www.bnsc.org
Windows on the weather 2 (age 15-18) ***
Good and award winning geography title with
photographs, satellite images and slow-motion sequences of weather changes. The
coverage is good too - arctic and tropical air streams, fronts, clouds, rain and
pressure make this pretty comprehensive. Animated sequences explain different
weather conditions while an Internet link accesses weather stations on the Web.
There is data to analyse too but this will need teacher guidance. A disc meant
for school. (CD-ROM for Mac/PC from AU price £-- or £-- for a site licence)
Updated
March 2000
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