Glide into Geography 2

Whales and geography are the subjects which are covered thoroughly in this CD-ROM aimed at eight- to 11-year-olds. There's also a little bit of English thrown in for good measure.

The program is subtitled A Whale of a Tale because it uses the great mammals as a means of imparting knowledge about the world. For example, when you're learning about the names and sizes of the oceans, you're also told about the migratory routes of certain species of whale.

A number of topics are covered on the disc but the subject of maps is given the most attention. The world map is examined, along with concepts such as the tropics and longitude. Town maps, grid references and compass directions are all explained thoroughly, complete with little tests to make sure the information has sunk in. Further sections explore basic geographical terms, the environment and the history of man's relationship with whales, looking at issues such as why many species are now endangered.

Backing this up are extra primary education pointers on vocabulary use. A fun and games link is also provided and this leads to various activities such as navigating mazes, memory tests and mini-quizzes.

Glide into Geography is very simple to use, which is an advantage for a primary education tool. On the flip side, the presentation is basic and not much use is made of multimedia. Still, there's a decent amount of content here and for the price, it's an impressive introduction for younger learners to both geography and whales.

Contact: Ransom Publishing 01491 613711
www.ransom.co.uk