Polygon Explores Mathematics
© 2004 De Marque, Inc.
A case study in good educational software design, this collection of 20 math and logic games provides a playful introduction to a range of early math concepts. Like the 1987 classic "The Playroom" (Brøderbund), the program starts with child's room, with 20 items. Each leads to a four level activity. There is a train game, where a child must load the cars of a moving train with the answers to math equations, and several tangram puzzles, where children create patterns by dragging shapes onto templates. Two clock games require the matching of the hands of a clock to the correct time (digital and analog), and games of concentration are used to provide math practice. At any time, children can change levels or they can get help from a talking robot named Polygon. So why not five stars? The graphics are designed for smaller, older 800 x 600 screens, resulting in a black border on most modern computers. Also, there's limited "smarts" -- namely record keeping or branching. However, like a large shelf of well selected materials, the interface is refreshingly uncluttered, making it easy for even a preschooler to move in or out of an activity. This is disk that every K-3 teacher should know about. Both English and French settings are available. Designed for De Marque by Synapse Multimedia.
$51, Win 98, Win XP, Mac OSX
Teaches: mathematics, numbers, operations, geometry, measures, French