Technology & Learning - September 2007 - (Page 12)

» Reviews By Stephanie Gold Practice Planet New online software gives pre–high school students access to test preparation. The software’s skill segments offer feedback and rewards. iboney’s Practice Planet software targets K–12 students, offering practice on the full range of math and language arts skills necessary to excel on high-stakes exams. S Company: Siboney Learning Group (under the Orchard umbrella). System Requirements: Windows 2000, XP or Vista; Macintosh OS X. , Price/Grade: Licenses start at $995 per subject/grade. K–12. Pros: Online convenience; familiar test format; targeted skill practice; fun, interactive games. Cons: Not all questions display high pedagogical quality; some dull passages and content errors. This department features the editors' choices of best new products. Customized by grade and state curriculum standards, this online offering also helps younger students get comfortable with the testing format. The product includes a pre-test, targeted skill segments, game rewards, and a post-test. Addressed skills are comprehensive for each grade level. For example, for eighth-grade language arts there are more than 30 skills to practice—from capitalization and punctuation to literary devices—with 10 questions per topic. Weak spots include the pre- and post-tests, each consisting of 43 questions—sans feedback or hints—which students might find overwhelming or tedious. Targeted skill segments do offer feedback and explanations, though, with hints when users answer wrong and praise when they’re correct, plus the added reward of a shot at online pinball or air hockey. The teacher’s home page is a use- ful time-saver in terms of preparation, scoring, and data analysis. It provides instant access to individual test scores and whole class test summaries, and has management features allowing educators to make class assignments, set game parameters, and choose the frequency and minimum score necessary for rewards—though the 10 questions per skill might not be enough practice for students who require more than a gentle reminder. Bottom line: the repetition is particularly useful for some skills, the explanations provide effective reinforcement, and the game rewards offer good motivation. Downsides include some repetition of questions on the pre-test, practice, and posttest; some unnecessarily dull reading passages; and some seemingly arbitrary required knowledge (about things like tractor-pulls and the design of old-fashioned telephones). In addition, this first iteration is still buggy, with a few grammatical errors and flawed sentence constructions scattered throughout the tests. Stephanie Gold is an education consultant and teacher in San Francisco, California. 12 | www.techlearning.com http://www.techlearning.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - September 2007

Technology & Learning - September 2007 Contents Editor’s Desk News & Trends Product Guide Reviews Getting It Wrong Cover Story: SchoolBiz School CIO Higher Ed Integration How To What’s New Bottom Line

Technology & Learning - September 2007

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