Italian
Software Reviewed
|
 |
|
Software
Title: Junior Talking Dictionary |
| Publisher
: |
Focus
Essential |
| Age
Group : |
7 - 12 yrs |
| Curriculum
Area : |
French,
German, Italian |
A multimedia dictionary to help children improve their vocabulary
and verb tenses. Vocabulary of over 1000 words. The program allows users
to hear the word and to record their own voices.
| Overview of
Teaching with this Title |
It provides support for teaching Italian but
not suitable for special needs children. The program lends itself to use
by individuals, pairs and small groups of no more than four children.
It's main strength is in allowing independent research of items of vocabulary
and in its audion facility. In our classroom, children worked in groups
of three, taking turns to research words and record their own voices.
The content is accurate, reliable and up-to-date.
It's not biased either by culture, gender or race. The vocabulary is appropriate
for the target age group but we found the verbs too difficult. It does
not have multiple levels of difficulty and the user does not have control
over the rate of delivery. Each item of vocabulary is accompanied by a
cartoon picture which thus reinforces learning by picture-word-sound association.
The authoring facility allow the user to add his/her own words and recordings.
The on-screen help is useful and appropriate. It has a simple
child-friendly interface which requires no document reading. It is not
possible to bookmark or print. In the aural feedback the children hear
the word and record themselves.
It requires manual installation but launches very quickly after
installion. Responses are fast and satisfying. There is no network version
available.
Documentation comes in separate elements with clear instructions.
We found the information sufficent. There were no added resources.
|