Features:
- This reference tool features over 15,000 entries on every subject an elementary, middle, and high school would need to research
- Use Merriam-Webster?s Student Dictionary and Thesaurus to look up over 200,000 definitions, synonyms, and antonyms
- Take a tour of the world with over 1,300 different clickable maps -- as well as articles about different countries, their economies and more
- Watch history unfold as timelines show the people, events and discoveries of the past
- Research organizer captures photos, notes, bookmarks and more, for better research projects
Description:
There was a time when owning an encyclopedia required not only a fat wallet, but also fat bookshelves to prop up the thick leather-bound volumes. Since the electronic revolution, however, encyclopedias have not only been moved onto software programs, the range has also expanded to take account of different levels, and Encyclopedia Britannica 2003: Student Edition is an excellent new CD-ROM which reflects this trend. The package is designed specifically for the 7 to 18 age group, and is geared around the sorts of things that children and young adults might learn in their educational programs--from physics through to historical timelines. It encompasses two complete encyclopedias, one that is "elementary" and aimed at the junior age group, and a "student" level which targets the upper end of the age range. Other features include a world atlas which allows you to focus in on an area of particular interest, a thesaurus, and many Web links. This combination is the standard apparel of the modern electronic encyclopedia. However, what is most important with the package is that it takes account of current learning methods. The graphics and photo images are absorbing, and there are good video and audio clips. In this age of multimedia learning and a low boredom threshold, these features are surely essential if encyclopedias are to retain their significance. Interestingly, they also reflect a subtle shift in the role of the encyclopedia, from being a pure fountain of "objective" knowledge to being an interactive learning tool. Whether or not the purists would be happy with this shift is a moot point, but certainly, this package is likely to prove highly popular with those who want to give their children every learning opportunity they can. --Toby Green
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