Guest Debra Surbrook Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Is anyone familiar with "Mecssoftware?" It is a Montessori sorftware program which is supposedly excellent for children who need a multisensory approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Boy, you're in luck! I bought this years ago, didn't like it, and wrote a long review, which I still have and will paste below. It's not a good program. It's not well made. And the concept of doing Montessori on a computer screen is just-- well, think about it. It's an oxymoron in itself, isn't it? Admittedly, there are lessons that could be presented on screen, especially to teach the concepts to the adult; but this program is not well made. I never even showed it to my son. Big disappointment. Read my review and save your money. Sorry I don't have better news. P.S. I wrote this review in about 2001. It's possible (but unlikely) that they have totally rewritten it since then. ------------ The main menu is illegible. Blue on blue is a very unfortunate choice. Font far too small. Should have been done in sections. Reading Module 1, The Reading Program Master Menu is completely illegible. *I* can hardly read it! Your intended audience can’t read at all. Why not do something symbolic or just step 1, step 2, step 3? Animated Alphabet. R says R like airplane? Why not Rocket? W says W like Sharp Teeth? Why not Whale? Then when you come to the nonanimated alphabet, it says “sharp teeth say W†but it shows the word “watch†Together QU says K? Not Kw? B and D sort The written instructions say “Drag the Letter onto the Mute.†1) What’s a mute? 2) Audience can’t read. Spoken instructions say “Put the b in the box.†What box? There are six empty boxes on the screen. The dots on the cards must mean something, but I can’t make out what. I love the cat graphic. But the audience can’t read “good work.†It’s very punitive how when you get one little thing wrong, and it could be that your 4-year old fingers released the mouse an instant too soon, you have to repeat the entire exercise. Jurasic Earth Volume is louder than other modules. Interface is not consistent with other modules. Where it says click “continue†in the middle of the screen, the word “continue†looks like the button. So you are inclined to click it, and then nothing happens. There’s nothing to prepare you to for the “continue†button being at the top of the screen. It’s been at the bottom right in green until this point. There’s no description of what period 1, 2, and 3, are. When you choose period 1, there’s no explanation (or pronunciation) of Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous. Once all the animals are placed, you’re told to study labels. This is clearly going to be electronic flash cards. (Again -- for an audience of 4 year olds?) No attempt to teach any understanding. The least you could do at this point is repeat the pronunciation when the child clicks on a label. OK, the research section is good (assuming the student can read big words and is interested in research). The puzzle should lock the piece in place when you get it close enough. As it is, you’re not sure you got it. And, most importantly, when you get a piece in place, the graphic should “group†(lock the pieces together). As it is, there’s no way to move three pieces as a group without starting all over again. That makes it needlessly difficult to complete. (A real puzzle would provide this sort of feedback.) Also, you should not be able to lose a piece under another. Since the completed pieces don’t lock. If you lost a piece under a complex completed group, you’d virtually have to begin again to get the lost piece out from other. Graphic programs frequently have a feature called “move to back†or “move to front†to eliminate this. Frankly, I question the value of this exercise at all. I completed the entire activity without once looking at the name of the creature I was putting together. When a Montessori student puts together a “real†wooden puzzle, you get intrinsic value from handling the wooden pieces. I question whether any of the value of the exercise translates to the computer game. Complaints: Can’t read the reading master menu. Red on blue, small text. Can’t read the words on the South America map exercise in period one. Also period one doesn’t say it out loud. In the reading clapping exercise, the teacher is talking to an adult, using all sorts of adult vocabulary. “Auditory discrimination†I hate how it makes you repeat something until you get it right. Or you have to repeat an exercise a certain number of times. No option to skip. Takes away learner control. A lot of the exercises require reading skills for an activity that is for a very young child. And the words are in a tiny font. (Continue, Answer) Teacher instructions: Student can’t understand it if the teacher doesn’t read the teacher instructions to the student. Drag the picture onto the mute? You could have simplified it a great deal by saying the instructions for each screen at the student level. Can’t read blue on blue “Three letter words with “ “ in the middle In North America, I love the animation that shows North America on the globe, but the animation goes much to fast for a child to follow. You say, Say United States, but give the student no time to say them. Hawaii and Alaska print are too small and underneath the bigger font of the United States When you look at the map of the states, I can’t believe you can’t click the states to hear their names. The children can’t read yet. Anatomy of the horse – Red font on blue screen is terrible. I can’t believe you can’t click on the parts and hear the names. Solar system has a completely different look and feel (and sound—can’t turn the volume down) Very confusing to little kids. Continue is in a different place, and I can’t get back to the menu w/o completing the whole lesson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 being an oxymoron. I haven't seen the software, but I have observed Montessori classrooms for the 9 years my ds was enrolled in Montessori. No way could the philosophy or the manipulatives be reduced onto a computer screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindytom121 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I too bought this a few years ago and my kids just did not like it. We also bought all the extras that were just printed on cardstock and very difficult to figure out how to use and put together. It was alot of work. My daughters were bored with it and I noticed that many times the voice was unclear and when they typed in the correct answer it was not accepted. My thought was that this might be good for busy work for one child while you are working with another, but definately not to be used exclusively. It was a purchase that I regretted because of the expense and the fact that it was just not practical. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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