Technology & Learning - October 2007 - (Page 12) » Reviews By Jamelle Jacques Leapster Story Explorers Interactive story narratives make this a fun handheld. he Leapster Story Explorer is a great little gadget that can be very valuable to the primary classroom. It is a handheld personal learning tool that offers instruction and skill practice in vocabulary, phonemic awareness, language structures, and comprehension at English language proficiency Levels 1–2. It is specifically designed for Spanish-speaking English learners. T Company: LeapFrog SchoolHouse (www.LeapFrogSchoolHouse.com). Price/Grade: $1,050 for five English language-learning centers (up to 21 students). K–3. Pros: Compact, complete language system that allows students to work individually and at their own pace. May be used at school or at home. Leapster cartridges last several weeks. Cons: Limited to English language learners who speak Spanish. Reading reinforcement could be stronger. The student listens to three separate stories with accompanying activities that test comprehension, vocabulary (Dolch words), phonemic awareness, and syntax. The screen-based and headset technology allow students to enjoy and quietly immerse themselves in the interactive story narratives and activities. One program weakness is the lack of a captioning feature for kids to follow along as stories are being read to them. Seeing the vocabulary being used in the correct context would reinforce skills and give the students an advantage as they review the words. Teachers will appreciate the practice pages, though, which can be used for extended instruction. Students also have the option to leave the program and then return exactly where they left off. Additional features include the ability to customize activities for individual students and to view student-progress tracking reports, which even track home use. Accompanying support materials include Spanish audio, which provides scaffolding to the English language content, and a practice workbook that reinforces past learning activities. A teacher’s guide contains tools to help with assessment. Jamelle Jacques is a 7th-grade math and science teacher at Washington Manor Middle School in San Lorenzo, California. This department features the editors' choices of best new products. 12 | www.techlearning.com http://www.LeapFrogSchoolHouse.com http://www.techlearning.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - October 2007 Technology & Learning - October 2007 Editor’s Desk News & Trends Product Guide Reviews How Fast Is Fast Enough? Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age Getting It Wrong Higher Ed Point of View How To Bottom Line What’s New Emerging Tech Technology & Learning - October 2007 Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Technology & Learning - October 2007 (Page Cover1) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Technology & Learning - October 2007 (Page Cover2) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Technology & Learning - October 2007 (Page 1) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Editor’s Desk (Page 2) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Editor’s Desk (Page 3) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - News & Trends (Page 4) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - News & Trends (Page 5) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 6) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 7) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 8) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 9) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 10) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Product Guide (Page 11) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Reviews (Page 12) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Reviews (Page 13) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Reviews (Page 14) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Reviews (Page 15) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 16) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page HP1) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page HP2) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 17) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 18) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 19) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 20) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Page 21) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 22) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 23) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 24) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 25) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 26) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 27) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 28) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age (Page 29) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 30) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 31) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 32) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 33) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 34) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Getting It Wrong (Page 35) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Higher Ed (Page 36) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Higher Ed (Page 37) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Point of View (Page 38) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Point of View (Page 39) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How To (Page 40) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How To (Page 41) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How To (Page 42) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - How To (Page 43) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Bottom Line (Page 44) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Bottom Line (Page 45) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - What’s New (Page 46) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - What’s New (Page 47) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Emerging Tech (Page 48) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Emerging Tech (Page Cover3) Technology & Learning - October 2007 - Emerging Tech (Page Cover4)
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