Multimedia Science School 16-18 - Biology

Higher Level (Years 12 - 14)

Science

Description

This is one of the most remarkable CD-ROMs I have ever had the privilege of using. There is so much content on this CD-ROM, that it is difficult to do justice to it all in an evaluation such as this.

Imagine you have caught the best Biology Teacher in the world, and put him or her in a bottle like Aladdin's Genie. Then add to that similar teachers of Physics and Chemistry. Now imagine all of them could be made, at your command, to give you detailed examples of almost any aspect of the Science Curriculum, through demonstrations and experiments. If you can conceive of such a thing, then that goes some of the way to explaining what this product is like. Put simply it is awesome.

Many Science computer products are released each year and it takes something a little bit special in order to stand out from the crowd. New Media have done this by creating a resource that all Science departments in the country would benefit from using.

It is accessible to all users and yet highly complex in terms of the information it presents to the user. It is simple to use, yet makes advanced use of technology in the way animations are used to explain concepts to the user. It is informative without being overbearing.

The product is perfectly aimed at its target audience of A-level students.At the start of the program the user must decide which of the three main Science areas they wish to look at: Biology, Chemistry or Physics. This choice is made using a simple selection process.

The screen consists of two or three panels open at the same time (not unlike email software with the preview panel open). Down the left hand side runs a long, narrow 'resource tree' which is essentially a content map, so that the user can navigate around the contents. To the right hand side are two larger panels. The top panel contains the active 'demonstration' screen, in which the graphics and animations appear, whilst the bottom panel contains textual information which guides the user through a series of steps in order to interact with the panel above.

The graphical presentations are highly detailed interactive animations which have been designed to illustrate the many concepts and processes involved in the Sciences at this level.

Background notes are provided which are in a common word processor format and therefore these could be edited to suit the needs of the teacher.

'Lesson Builder' is a remarkably simple, yet powerful tool which lets the teacher structure a lesson to their own requirements.

Supporting Documentation

The CD-ROM comes complete with an extremely thorough 28-page booklet that is crammed full of screen shots, advice and technical support. In addition, I received an email prior to using the package that walked me through the process of installing the product.

The onscreen instructions are extremely clear and at no time did I feel out of my depth in the use of this product. A great deal of time and care has obviously gone into the production of the documentation for this product.

Technical Support

The Teacher Guide booklet contains a lot of technical information and the later email I received supported this with more advice and details of people to contact if I encountered difficulties. I was impressed with the lengths that the publishers have gone to, to ensure that the user feels comfortable when installing and using the product.

Purpose of the Program

This product has many purposes: It makes learning 'fun' and information is presented in such a way as to ensure that the user is engaged – surely a goal of any educational software manufacturer. The interface is interactive and as the user is constantly required to make decisions in order to see what happens next, the user is able to truly interact with the software, thereby making the exercises very rewarding. Furthermore, keeping the user on his/her toes means that they remain alert. The product enhances Science teaching, because unlike many science experiments, those on this CD-ROM can be repeated ad nauseum. Dangerous experiments can be carried out that might not be possible in a normal classroom. Pupils can visualise concepts through analysis of processes in order to better understand them.

Curriculum Relevance

This product is extremely relevant to the A-level Curriculum for all three of the Sciences covered. The list is too long to go into specifically in this evaluation, but complex aspects of all three Sciences are covered in detail.

Extent

All the content of the Biology, Chemistry and Physics syllabi are covered on this CD-ROM. All three Sciences are covered in sufficient detail to provide support for A-level classroom teaching.

Appropriateness

This product is ideally suited to its target audience of A-level students. The content is well written and is accessible to students of all abilities. At no point will the user feel patronised or, conversely, out of his/her depth. Animations are cleverly designed to provide variation for the user. One lesson may involve the manipulation of the molecules of a particular chemical substance, whilst another might involve the simulated tesing of a substance by Chromatography. There are many variations and this helps to make the content continually interesting and challenging. Questions occur throughout the activities, so the user is constantly tested and must think about what they are looking at. This ensures the user is not just a passive viewer and instead is an active participant in an interactive experience.

Quality

I was struck by the attention to detail shown in this product. Great consideration has been given to the needs of the teacher, but this has not led to any compromise in terms of the high standard of theoretical content on this disc. Often simplicity of use can be reflected in limitations built into the software. In this case no such restrictions are apparent. Instead, the CD-ROM oozes quality. The Resource Tree makes use of well constructed titles that any Science teacher could follow. A well-designed specification map gives concise information that explains the contents of the individual topics; hyperlinks then connect the user to word processed background notes. These notes are extremely good and because they can be customised to the needs of the teacher, they can be updated as required. The animations appear simple but they are highly detailed and allow the user to explore topics at length. At no point are the animations gimmicky.

This product is one of the most successful I have ever seen at differentiating for students of different abilities. The teacher can choose a font style and size for the information screens, to suit the needs of visually impaired students.

The lessons themselves are structured in such a way that differentiation occurs naturally. This is because students can revisit sections that they are unsure about, re-running animations if they need to.

The word processed background notes highlight areas where the lesson differentiates between students and it also makes suggestions as to how these can be adapted still further.

Finally, the 'Lesson Builder' allows the teacher to construct their own lesson to suit the needs of their students. For example, if the lesson provided on the subject of Chromatography moves at too fast a pace for your students, or misses certain information out (though I doubt that this would be the case), you can add to this to form your own Chromatography lesson.

The Multimedia Science School box states that its aim is 'enhancing teaching and inspiring learning' and it certainly lives up to such a claim. This product provides a resource that is perfectly tailored to the needs of A-level students. That said, it still retains flexibility for the teacher to customise the content to his/her individual needs and to provide differentiated learning experiences for all students.

The CD-ROM covers all aspects of A-level Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Whilst it cannot be said to be the 'only resource you would ever need', it certainly could lay claim to being the 'main resource you would ever need'.

The animated content is informative and innovative, but never patronising or overly complex. The user can work through experiment simulations, biological processes shown in cross section, and molecule manipulation to name but three types of activity. The interface allows the teacher to access the components that make up each lesson. Lesson notes are available and these can be customised to suit the ability of students in the class. Likewise, students can work through each activity at their own speed answering trigger questions as they go.

This is one of the most exciting and innovative CD-ROMs for A-level students that I have ever seen and it's a pity that similar products don't exist for each subject in the A-level Curriculum!

Read Higher Level Classroom evaluation...

Product Overview

This product is published by RM (Tel: 08709 086868)