CD-ROM

Art

Gr 4 Up–This interactive program divides its menu on Spain into five areas: “Landscape & Folklore,” “Great Masters,” “Styles,” “Cities,” and “Jewels of Art.” Focusing mainly on culture, historical aspects of the arts are covered. “Great Masters,” for example, includes artists such as El Greco, Murillo, Goya and Picasso, offering five or six sample paintings that can be looked at close up by clicking on any portion of the work. A digital video clip is offered for Picasso’s “Guernica.” “Jewels of Art” includes text and a choice of interior and exterior photographs of architecture such as the Tarragona Cathedral and Granada’s Alhambra castle. “Styles” shows specific detailing in architecture such as Romanesque, Islamic, or Modernism. “Cities” focuses on the architecture of Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and other cities. Students will be most interested in the “Folklore” section that offers  a narrated slide show as well as a non-narrated digital video clip of a bullfight. Other short clips include the running of the bulls in Pamplona and Flamenco dancing. “Landscape” allows students to click on portions of a map of Spain to see photographs of physical features of those areas. Vocabulary appears at the top of screen, rather than over an image as users move their mouse across it. Prompts to move forward, backward, or back to the menu are tiny icons to the far left of the screen, along with options such as video clip, audio, or text. Users must watch closely for them. Spanish language or art students will make the most use of this fairly accessible program.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Gr 3-8–This intriguing Christian-themed, arcade-style game, based on Focus on the Family’s radio series, Adventures in Odyssey, addresses nine elements of character such as honesty, kindness, and patience. Each test involves one of the main characters—Connie, her friend Eugene, and their older friend/mentor, Mr. Whit—and teaches players what it means to possess one of these character traits. The trio must locate the Sword of the Spirit, which “brings out the true nature in whoever possesses it,” before it is discovered by the selfish art dealer, Gustav. Instructions for each part of the game are readily available from each screen. The animation is well done, and the audio is excellent.–Joyce Rice, formerly Crestwood Middle School, Royal Palm Beach, FL