Educational Software has come of age and is fast becoming an essential part of every household as parents and children discover the power of learning through technology. Educational software is no longer just nice-to-have entertainment but a very necessary tool in giving students the advantage they need to improve their marks at school for a fraction of the cost of extra lessons and without having to leave the house! This software helps children practise and improve key learning skills; an added advantage in the classroom.
Edutain Distribution, a major player in providing educational products, has made it its mission to source high quality software, with a broad depth of content that is compatible with South African educational requirements. Part of this mission is to provide software that parents find educationally valuable, and children enjoy using.
Edutain has given education high priority in its catalogue range. With the assistance of local educators, it has sourced various educational ranges locally, in Great Britain and around the world to provide a comprehensive product that is suited for use in South African schools, and as a supplement to the education requirements of any student. This educational software covers ages three through to nineteen, and includes curriculum-based packages as well as additional reference libraries and encyclopaedias. Software licensing is available for most of the ranges.
"ImFundo (education) is Africa`s buzzword for the new century," says Voula Philippides, MD of Edutain Distribution. "It is a fact that the majority of government schools will be equipped with computers by 2006. Government hopes to create an informed and computer literate society, thereby enhancing job creation and progressing black empowerment."
The experts agree. The software on which the Times Learning Series is based is already used in more than 12 000 schools in the UK and many more around the world. The Ace Monkey adventures are more than entertaining. They help four- to eight-year-olds learn as well as promoting both social and educational development. Ace aims to make children more self-confident, responsible and able to play a useful part in their community. With Ace Monkey`s help, children learn to gain from their experiences, set simple goals and find out what they are good at. The parent-only area helps to keep parents informed of their child`s progress.
The Times Learning Series also covers the main areas for which teachers recommend additional home tuition, and includes subjects such as biology, physics and maths for 11- to 14-year-olds. This software is in a Web browser format, and for those with access to the Internet, there is a useful links section. Students can compile their own personal revision plans using the Revision Wizard - this helps identify weak areas, and gives experience in time management as well. Each CD-ROM has a parent`s area that illustrates the goals of the subjects and provides guidance on the best way to help children learn effectively. They work on both Windows PCs and Macs.
Says Philippides: "The most important feature of all our software offerings is that the student is tested on what they have learned, and parents can keep track of their child`s progress. This software is more geared to teaching, exercises and results - students are really challenged as opposed to just being entertained. For the home-schooler in particular, this is definitely the Computer Classroom @ Home."
Another UK supplier is Dorling Kindersley. It offers a vast range, starting with school readiness programs, and taking students right through school with clear structured revision programmes that cover the core syllabus. Comprising interactive tests, past papers, instant feedback and comprehensive coverage of the curriculum, these CD-ROMs help students focus their revision, providing real exam practise and reinforcing classroom study.
Locally developed software includes the Big Boet range and SuperKid. These products were developed by Edupro in cooperation with Dr Tom H Brown, internationally recognised educationist and instructional designer. Edupro supplies the South African market with Afrikaans and English bilingual software - Big Boet and Superkid are educating both the Afrikaans community and English-speaking students studying Afrikaans as a second language. This software comprises interactive lessons with colourful characters that introduce topics and act as study partners when children need assistance. From Grade 0 right through to Grade 7, the programme concentrates on the five foundational skills every child needs to develop and grow in life - Maths, Spelling, Thinking, Memory and Reading.
It contains five levels of difficulty per category controlled by time limits, which can also be adjusted manually. A printable progress report is available for each student, identifying strong and weak learning areas.
Another exciting addition to the Edutain range is The Collins Talking Dictionary from Intense Language Office. This software is helpful for anyone who needs to use English or a foreign language - professional and business users who need it at work as well as schoolchildren and students for their studies. Now there is the highest quality dictionary always to hand for checking the spelling, meanings and pronunciation of any word needed.
The English Talking Dictionary includes an electronic version of the explanatory Collins English dictionary and digital sound bases for all headwords. The dictionary has over 68 000 references. The software includes crosswords - the traditional and ever-popular pastime - that are built up automatically, using the database of the dictionary. For English language learners, the developers have included a set of computer-based learning exercises - the Shooting Gallery and AudioPad.
These talking dictionaries are available in English, French-English, German-English and Spanish-English. The electronic version of the dictionary has the same content as its paper counterpart, but is much easier to use.
Edutain Distribution offers a wide range of extremely affordable and innovative educational software products of the highest international calibre and quality in terms of graphics and multimedia presentation to the reseller channel.
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