Sammy's Science House, 1994

School Science and Mathematics, Jan 1999 by McDonald, Jacqueline

Sammy's Science House, 1994 Producer: Edmark 800-362-2890, www.edmark.com Media: Mac/Win Hybrid CD

Program Overview

Sammy's Science House has five "rooms," or areas, for exploration. It is designed for preschool through second grade and incorporates several levels of activities in each area. Multiple levels of complexity allow for tasks to be adapted for a range of students. Each area includes a directed learning activity and an exploratory type activity. The Workshop allows children to construct toys and machines by following a blue print (clicking and dragging parts into place) or in a more exploratory manner, they may create their own designs. Acorn Pond allows the children to investigate seasonal changes. With the Weather Machine, children can select and display movies of weather patterns involving wind, temperature, and rain. The Sorting Station uses animals, plants, and minerals. The student is presented with two to four cans, labeled with the relevant attribute, in which they are to sort a collection of items. By clicking and dragging, the students place objects into the appropriate can. Make a Movie allows students to sequence a series of sketches and then, if they are in the correct order, plays the movie for the viewer. Designed for very young children, Sammy's Science House introduces early science concepts in a variety of tasks.

Favorite Features

The teacher's guide accompanying the CD contains a wide selection of activities to do off the computer that complement and enhance the on-screen activities. This program allows children a lot of choice in their selection of activities and explorations. The feedback given is nonjudgmental and allows the students to retry or make another selection. Because it is designed for young children, it relies on an iconic interface and has an excellent auditory narration. In Acorn Pond, students can also select the notebook entry for each animal and plant. These entries are for older students and have text descriptions and illustrations.

Technical Features

This is a Mac/Win Hybrid CD, and while running it on a Macintosh G3 there were no technical problems. The graphics and sound are excellent, although sometimes the images were a bit small and details were hard to discern. This program can also be used with a touch window or an adaptive single switch.

Next Version

The program has a general feel of practicing rather than exploring. Acorn Pond is explored by pointing and clicking on an image and the computer then verbally identifying the image and showing additional detail (e.g., the inside of the squirrel hole or the duck swimming). The Weather Machine is explored by clicking on a temperature button, a moisture button, and a wind button. Then the "weather bear" gives a report of your "weather" conditions. In future versions, I think the exploration modes need to be enhanced.

Conclusion

Sammy's Science House has activities which can be done in a stand-alone setting, but they will be of the most value if they are integrated with the off-computer activities suggested in the teacher's guide or activities from other sources. It is an interesting program that will make a good supplement to a rich classroom environment.

Editor's Note: Jacqueline McDonald's postal address is Adelphi University, School of Education, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530, and e-mail address is mcdonald@adlibv.adelphi.edu.