Fun With Theorems, Compounds
Iloved science classes in high school. Then I hit chemistry.
I loved math. Then came geometry.
Everyone’s got limits, and mine came with these two subjects. But for modern kids help is available in the form of CD-ROMs. At their best, these multimedia discs can present an engaging, step-by-step approach that brings concepts to life using graphics, text, sound and animation.
The best of them also allow you to go at your own speed, reviewing a concept over and over until it finally sinks in.
Two new CD-ROMs approach their subjects in different ways, but both are certainly among the coolest (an adjective popular when I was taking geometry and now back again) in digital education.
Geometry Blaster is from the Davidson company, a pioneer in educational software. Almost all Davidson products work on the guiding principle that education comes easier if disguised as a game.
This CD-ROM begins with the introduction of two animated characters, teenager Andi and her sidekick, Zoid, who is made out of geometrical shapes. They travel to a planet where the evil Geometrons have stolen the third dimension, leaving everything flat. Your job is to win back the 3-D by helping Andi answer questions.
Sound juvenile? It is, but there is nothing childlike about the questions and problems in Geometry Blaster, even on its “novice” level. You can’t bluff your way through without knowing the difference between an acute and obtuse triangle.
Luckily, Geometry Blaster comes with a series of 52 lessons, each of which teaches a basic concept and then lets you practice putting it to use by solving sample problems.
I was a little put off, at first, by the fact that all the work is done on the computer screen. The act of working out problems with pencil and paper always seemed kind of elegant. But I learned rapidly by fooling around with Geometry Blaster, and after a few lessons I felt confident enough to start helping Andi and Zoid save the planet.
The CD-ROM for Macintosh and Windows costs $45 in stores (or you can order it at [800] 545-7677).
ActivChemistry, from a far smaller company called Salamander Interactive, has no wacky characters, plots or games. Its beauty is in its simplicity. Even in its earliest version, which will be available shortly, this CD-ROM proves educational software can leave out all the cute stuff and still be highly engaging.
It allows you to pick from any of the elements in the periodic table and combine them, heat them or just examine them on screen. You can put water in an on-screen beaker, put a cork on top, supply a Bunsen burner with gas and then heat the liquid while monitoring its various properties.
Of course, the first thing you’ll want to do is blow something up, and ActivChemistry lets you do so on screen (no messy cleanup!).
The CD-ROM comes with a few step-by-step lessons, but in its current form it’s mostly for people familiar with the basic concepts of the science. It costs $20 and is available for Mac or Windows; order from (800) 322-1377. The next version, due at the end of the summer, will include a full set of 40 lessons in either high school or college-level chemistry.
* Cyburbia’s e-mail address is david.colker@latimes.com.
