Instructional Software Reviews

School of Education

State University of New York (SUNY) Potsdam

The following are software reviews performed by students in SUNY Potsdam's Teacher Preparation program.  Each student reviewed the software using the Appraisal Checklist found in the text Instructional Media (1993) by Heinich, Molenda, and Russell (load the software review form template here)  What follows is list of titles, followed by the overall grade (A to F).  Clicking on each review will bring up more information on that specific software title.  Some software has been reviewed by more than one person.  In this case each review is listed.  It is hoped that this can serve as a resource for educators interested in purchasing software for their schools/classrooms.  This is not meant to be used as a definitive source of information regarding this software, and it is encouraged that potential software purchases be reviewed first by the person, people, or organization that will be using the software.

Software Titles:

  1. All About Science (C)
  2. Amazon Trail (B+)
  3. Amazon Trail {2} (B)
  4. American Poetry (A+)
  5. American Poetry {2} (A)
  6. American Poetry {3} (A)
  7. The Animals (A-)
  8. The Animals {2} (A)
  9. Animals and How They Grow (B+)
  10. Arthur's Teacher Trouble (B+)
  11. Arthur's Teacher Trouble {2} (C+)
  12. Arthur's Teacher Trouble {3} (B-)
  13. Arthur's Teacher Trouble {4} (A)
  14. Arthur's Teacher Trouble {5} (A)
  15. Canon Creative (A+)
  16. CD-Fun House (C)
  17. Command and Conquer (A-)
  18. Multimedia Audubon's Birds (B)
  19. Easy Language (A+)
  20. Encarta '97 (A)
  21. Encarta '98 (B+)
  22. Encarta '98 {2} (A)
  23. Encarta (B+)
  24. Farm Animals for Kids (B+)
  25. Fine Artist (A)
  26. Flying Through Math (C)
  27. The Great World Adventure (A)
  28. Greatest Children's Stories (C)
  29. Grolier's Encyclopedia (C)
  30. Grolier's Encyclopedia {2} (B)
  31. The Human Body (C)
  32. Imperialism (B-)
  33. Insights (C)
  34. Insights {2} (D)
  35. It's All Relative (B)
  36. JumpStart Kindergarten Reading (A)
  37. JumpStart Kindergarten Reading {2}(A)
  38. JumpStart Kindergarten Reading {3} (B+)
  39. JumpStart Kindergarten Reading {4} (A-)
  40. Just Grandma and Me (A)
  41. Just Grandma and Me {2} (B+)
  42. Just Grandma and Me {3} (A)
  43. Just Grandma and Me {4} (B)
  44. Kids Studio (A)
  45. KidsWorks 2 (C)
  46. Life Story (C)
  47. Macbeth (C+)
  48. Macbeth {2} (A)
  49. Macbeth {3} (B)
  50. Mammals (C+)
  51. Mammals {2} (A)
  52. Mario Teaches Typing (A-)
  53. Mario Teaches Typing {2} (A)
  54. Mastering Math (C)
  55. Mastering Math {2} (A)
  56. Mastering Math {3} (B)
  57. Mastering Math {4} (C)
  58. Math Ace Cd (B+)
  59. Math Blaster Mystery (B)
  60. MathCad 8 Professional
  61. Message of Hope
  62. Muppets on Stage (B)
  63. Muppets on Stage {2} (B)
  64. My Own Stories (B)
  65. My Own Stories {2} (A)
  66. New Kid on the Block (B)
  67. Nile: Passage to Egypt (B-)
  68. Operation Desert Storm (B+)
  69. Operation Desert Storm {2} (C)
  70. Operation Desert Storm {3} (A)
  71. The Oregon Trail 2 (C)
  72. The Oregon Trail 2 {2} (B)
  73. The Oregon Trail 2 {3} (A)
  74. The Oregon Trail 2 {4} (A)
  75. The Oregon Trail 2 {5} (A)
  76. The Oregon Trail 2 {6} (C+)
  77. Our Earth (B)
  78. Prime Suspect (A-)
  79. Prime Suspect {2} (A)
  80. The Rainforest (B+)
  81. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 (A-)
  82. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 {2} (A)
  83. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 {3} (A)
  84. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 {4} (A)
  85. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 {5} (A-/B+)
  86. Reader Rabbit's Math 1 {6} (A)
  87. Schoolhouse Rock (A)
  88. Seven Days in August (B+)
  89. Seven Days in August {2} (A)
  90. Seven Days in August {3} (C)
  91. Seven Days in August {4} (A)
  92. Sing Along Kids (A+)
  93. Small Blue Planet (B+)
  94. Small Blue Planet {2} (B+)
  95. Small Blue Planet {3} (A)
  96. Small Blue Planet {4} (B)
  97. SnapDragon (B)
  98. SnapDragon {2} (C)
  99. SnapDragon {3} (B)
  100. SnapDragon {4} (B+)
  101. Spanish 1 (B+)
  102. South West College Keyboarding (A)
  103. Storybook Weaver Deluxe (B-)
  104. SuperMunchers (B+)
  105. SuperMunchers {2} (B+)
  106. SuperMunchers {3} (D-)
  107. Timon & Pumbaa (B)
  108. Tonka Construction (A)
  109. The Tortoise and The Hare (B+)
  110. The Tortoise and The Hare {2} (A+)
  111. Troggle Trouble Math (A-)
  112. Troggle Trouble Math {2}
  113. Troggle Trouble Math {3}
  114. Troggle Trouble Math {4} (B+)
  115. Virtus Vr (B-)
  116. Virtus Vr {2}
  117. Woodstock (C+)
  118. Woodstock {2} (B)
  119. Woodstock {3} (D)
  120. Woodstock {4} (B)
  121. World Atlas (B)
  122. Word City Cd( A-)
  123. World of Animals (B-)
  124. The Yukon Trail (B+)