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Thinkin' Things (Collection 3)
by Marie Garcia
Thinkin' Things (Collection 3) is designed for kids aging from 7 through
13. It was developed by Edmark
Corporation and you can reach them at P.O. Box 97021, Redmond, Washington
or call them at (206) 556-8940. You can also visit the Edmark homepage
at http://www.edmark.com where you can leave a message for their technical
support staff.
System requirements to run the program includes : Windows 3.1/Windows
95 or later, 8MB RAM, at least a double-speed CD-ROM, 486 33 MHz or better,
Super VGA, Hard disk with at least 2 MB free, a mouse and a windows-compatible
sound-output device.
The program can also run using Macintosh. It requires a Color
Macintosh (256 colors required), 4 MB RAM, double-speed CD-ROM drive and
system 7.0.1 or higher.
I am using a 486DX with 8 MB RAM with Windows 95. To start setup,
I put the CD in the drive and automatically, it gave me on-screen instructions
for installation. Just follow the instructions and you'll be all right.
The software has pretty neat features divided into five learning
activities.
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First, the Stocktopus; it plays like a broker in a stock exchange. A child
will be able to learn how to trade items he has to achieve a "portfolio"
goal. Trades become more challenging as the number of the trading items
are increased.
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Second, Half time, for young computer programmers this is an introduction
to writing "programs". In this menu, you have at least 30 performers to
choose from (marching bands, football players, or cheerleaders). You link
command tiles to write "programs" for these performers to execute moving
patterns you "programmed" them to do. This is cool!
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Third, Fripple Place, this is similar to a "matching" game. You read the
information inside each room and drag the right Fripple to its home. After
the test, click "Check it" to see how you do.
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Fourth, the Carving Blox. This is a very challenging activity. In this
menu, you experiment with a virtual metal and a set of six balls. The balls
react to each other as well as to the metal and move like points in a simulated
scenario where a child can explore the concept of gravity, friction, motion
and inertia.
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Fifth, the Photo Twister has a set of graphical tools that you can use
to apply special effects to photos. You can really be very imaginative
while working with the Twister.
I liked the software and recommend it to parents for their kids who are
interested in experimenting data and analyzing problems. Thinkin' Things
(Collection 3) is a multimedia learning software that can aid the child
in developing such ability. I am very sure kids will enjoy this software
because it's really fun when I tried it and I am 16 years old!