Backyard Bugs

$39.95, Windows XP, Windows 98, Mac OSX

Teaches: science, insects

CTR Rating: 82%

CTR Review

This virtual bug lab provides a close-up look at over a dozen common and exotic insects, typically found in the United States. The videos are particularly captivating--our testers would not stop looking at them. The program starts with a view of a scene of seven typical habitats, such as a pond, backyard, forest and garage. There are 19 insects, including the American Cockroach, Luna Moth, Giant Water Bug and the Mosquito. You start by clicking on the habitat, and then try to catch a bug, a rather clumsy exercise that requires using the correct tool, such as tweezers for a caterpillar, a jar for the cockroach, or a net for a butterfly. Next, you visit a detail screen where you can click on different icons to watch a video, take a measurement, try your luck at a timed multiple choice quiz on the facts pertinent to that particular bug. There are no record keeping features, and student progress is not saved from session to session. Also the content, while captivating, is limited. Students can see just about all the videos in a few sessions. The disk includes a details-searchable glossary of terms like "blepharicerid larva". A teacher resource disk contains 20 quizzes in PDF format, 18 lesson plans, and a 36-page glossary. There's also a nice movie showing how the lessons can be used in a classroom setting. All in all, this is an excellent classroom resource for any K-12 life sciences setting.The cost is $39.95 for the consumer version, $79.95 for the teacher edition which includes a teacher CD with curriculum materials, $279.95 for school lab packs for 10 users, and $679.95 for School site licenses (unlimited users). Note that while the Mac OSX version worked without a hitch, the movies require that QuickTime to work on Windows computers.