Featuring:

ages 10 and up

Win 95 / 3.1 / NT

IBM

World Book 1998 Multimedia Encyclopedia - Deluxe Edition

Perfect for elementary school students, World Book 1998 Multimedia Encyclopedia-Deluxe Edition is a quality reference tool you and your family can't afford to be without!

The two-CD set includes all of the articles from the best-selling 22-volume print World Book Encyclopedia plus multimedia features including 360-degree views, videos, animations, colorful photos, illustrations and cutting-edge audio. Note that the multimedia content is not overwhelming and seems to be the perfect bridge between text and media. I especially enjoyed the nice selection of thumbnail photos and illustrations which seemed to make the encyclopedia articles seem more appealing to elementary-age kids.

World Book 1998 Multimedia Encyclopedia - Deluxe Edition's multiple search features are extremely efficient and ensure ease of use for younger students. The main menu offers many different options including the ability to browse the entire encyclopedia, multimedia elements, or viewing its "What's New" section which highlights important events for the current month.

Although the encyclopedia articles are shorter and less detailed than some of the other multimedia encyclopedias available, this is advantageous for elementary students who may be swamped with detailed content. Articles are written in a straight-forward, yet interesting manner and, unlike the other multimedia encyclopedias, its content is geared to grade-appropriate topics students typically covered in school curriculums.

An excellent unabridged dictionary includes 225,000 word definitions--just double click (or enter) any word and the dictionary will automatically provide a concise definition for it.

We found the Homework Tool Kit particularly useful. Handy "Homework Wizards" help students organize their research and prepare reports, as do electronic "sticky notes", article outlines, timelines, schedules, note cards, bibliographies and a built-in highlighter.

While the "Report Wizard" assists students in selecting a thesis, preparing an outline, researching the report and developing a bibliography; the "Chart Wizard" allows for 3D pie or bar charts and line graphs. Finally, "Timeline Wizard" helps kids efficiently search through historical and event databases.

Kids love the Distance Calculator, which is a cool 3D tool that allows them to find distances throughout the world by rotating a 3-dimensional globe and charting the latitude and longitude. They can also zoom in on the world atlas by merely clicking the mouse!

Another nice feature is the Just Looking function, which lets you hit random encyclopedia articles (text and media thumbnails)--drag your cursor over the entry and you'll get a one-line description of the article along the bottom of your screen.

You can supplement the information on the CD-ROM set by using its comprehensive online features--including the "Update Now" button which automatically updates the entire encyclopedia. Best of all, owners of this software can download updates of current events, news events, thousands of web sites and article archives for free for 12 months!

An almost seamless interface and a well-organized set of research tools makes World Book 1998 Multimedia Encyclopedia - Deluxe Edition a smart choice for an outstanding educational resource for your family or the classroom.