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Software Review

	Describe the educational purpose of this software- what is it trying to teach?   Rainforest Designer is trying to teach students about the various characteristics of rainforests from a scientific and social studies perspective. The software meets specific standards for the National Council of Social Studies, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.
	Is the methodology employed appropriate for teaching the content? Is the means of delivering the information appropriate?   There are 84 ideas for using Rainforest Designer across the curriculum contained on page 60 of the Teachers Guide. The methodology is appropriate if it is used in conjunction with one of these ideas for lesson plan development.
	Is this software appropriate for the labeled ages, based on content, skills/knowledge level required and typical interests?   Yes. The Teachers Guide provides the following grade-level information which was found to be appropriate:   Science: Grades K-4: Characteristics of organisms & environments; social perspectives on changes in environment, and  resources. Science: Grades 5-8:    Populations, ecosystems, diversity, adaptations of organisms, social perspectives. Mathematics: PK-4:  Visualization, spatial reasoning, geometric modeling, symmetry. Mathematics: 5-8: Transformation of geometric figures, problem solving activities.
	Is it appropriate for remedial education, accelerated studies or for gifted children?  Explain   The Teachers Guide does not discuss remedial education, and I did not get a sense for how the software may be used for this purpose, except perhaps as a review of specific characteristics of the rainforest. Gifted children would benefit from the many extension possibilities.
	What type of learner would benefit most / least from this product?   Students who are strong visual learners would enjoy the many graphics and perspectives offered by the software. Students who are artistic, and have an awareness of nature would benefit most. Students whose art/nature intelligence is not fully developed may not benefit from this product.
	What features would you like to see changed?   The software could be improved with a multimedia and hyperlink overhaul. Full-screen access of each view with a 360° click and drag exploration would be an improvement. Adding realistic sound and day/night features would be interesting as well. Finally, there are several Web sites mentioned in the Teacher Guide that should be clickable within the program.
	Does it achieve its educational goals?   This depends on how the program is used. If teachers explore the 84 project ideas and fully develop a project for classroom use, the software does have the potential to achieve many educational goals. Students must also make appropriate use of the software, as there is the possibility of simply “playing around” with graphics without any specific purpose.
	Would you recommend this piece of software?   I would recommend this software to teachers who specifically study rainforests.   [TOP]