Software Review

The software I chose to review is JumpStart for 5^th grade created by Vivendi Universal. I found both positive and negative aspects in this software. This software offers fun activities in language, math, science, U.S. / Native American history, art history, and geography. At first, I was a little worried about the main character being a girl, but she is very tomboyish so she appeals to both girl and boy audiences. What I do like about this software is that it offers several levels to fit the need of each student. It gives teachers the opportunity to print reports so that they can keep up with their students’ progress. When the student exits the software, it allows them to pick up where they left off the next time. This software has a lot of fun games that will keep 5^th graders from being bored; it will keep them engaged. One particular game I liked was one that had to do with fractions called “Juice Bar.” This math game helps strengthen students’ knowledge of numerators and denominators as they mix together weird sounding treats.

The first thing I did not like about this software is that the student or teacher cannot choose the subject or activity to focus on. The students have to go in the order of the software. It will not let the student do anything else until they have completed the next step in the game. This seems inconvenient if a teacher needed a program to work on a specific skill with her student. Secondly, if the students do not have quick reflexes or good gaming skills they will find this game to be frustrating as sometimes they will have to dodge or out run objects. The third thing I did not like about this software, is that the directions for some of the games are unclear. For example, one game involves adding two digit numbers. However, instead of the students typing the final answer in the blank, they have to start with the answering what goes in the ones place and then it carries the number so they answer the tens place. Another game that I did not enjoy was the crossword puzzle game that contained very hard art history questions. No fifth grader would know those answers without having to look up the answer on Google. I guess that could be a good thing to learn how to do. It gives students the opportunity to have to search on the web to find the answers.