Recommendation Report on the Purchase of Kindergarten
Software
Years ago, children learned using pencils and paper. In this era dominated by technology,
education tools have evolved into the world of computers. While the old-fashioned way
of learning still exists and is indispensible, researchers, educators, teachers and parents
alike have to explore new ways to stimulate learning [1]. For early learners in particular,
learning has to be fun so that children do not spend all their time in front of the television
[2], video game stations, and other action-packed play activities. Thanks to the designers
and developers of children’s computer software. The introduction of these products
stimulates and motivates young children to get excited about learning; hence they have a
good start of a life-long education process. Today, a number of kindergarten software
products are available in the storesboth online and physical. Parents can be quite
confused as to which product they should choose for their children.
Requirements for Purchasing Kindergarten Software
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Operating system
Price
Ease of use
Entertainment
Progress checking
Points of Comparison
While all three software products are educational for kindergarteners, each one has its
different strengths and weaknesses.
System requirement. All three software run on PC with Windows 95. Both Dr. Seuss
Kindergarten and Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten require a 486 CPU running at 66 MHz.
JumpStart Kindergarten requires a 486 CPU running at 25 MHz, which is a lower
requirement. Both Dr. Seuss Kindergarten and Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten require
16M RAM while JumpStart Kindergarten requires 8M RAM, again a lower requirement.
All three of them need SVGA with 256 colors or more, a 2X CDROM drive, and a
Windows-compatible sound card.
Table 1. System requirement for different kindergarten software products
CPU
JumpStart
Kindergarten
486/25
Hard drive space
(Mbyte)
5
RAM
(Mbyte)
8
CD ROM
Sound card
2X
Graphics
card
SVGA 256
Dr Seuss
Kindergarten
486/66
20
16
2X
SVGA 256
Windows
compatible
Reader Rabbit’s
Kindergarten
486/66
10
16
2X
SVGA 256
Windows
compatible
Windows
compatible
Price. Both JumpStart and Dr Seuss Kindergarten have a list price of $19.99. Reader
Rabbit’s Kindergarten has a list price of $28.99. So other than Reader Rabbit’s
Kindergarten, either of the other two products is a good choice.
Ease of use. Both Reader Rabbit’s and Dr Seuss Kindergarten have a storyline
throughout the program and provide a smooth connection [3, 4]. Children find them
friendly and easy to make decision as to what activity to choose. JumpStart Kindergarten
provides many choices of activities but has no storyline, so children have to make more
decision. Reader Rabbit’s and Dr Seuss Kindergarten are relatively easier to use than
JumpStart kindergarten.
Educational Value. Other than basic kindergarten level trainingalphabets, numbers,
pattern matching, rhymes, time, measurement, music, and the like, Dr Suess Kindergarten
does not provide other extra training such as activities involving critical thinking skills.
Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten includes get your bearing which trains direction and mapreading skills; stop and think which trains social consequence. JumpStart Kindergarten
includes Hide and Seek which trains listening and deductive thinking skills.
Degree of entertainment. Reader Rabbit’s program focuses around a story theme –
collecting items for a camp. It is filled with fun animal characters. Its music can also be
played alone with an audio player. Dr Seuss also has a storyline behind it – going around
the zoo. It is packed with the famous Dr. Seuss characters. JumpStart provides plenty of
activities, but there is no single story theme.
Repetition. To play Dr Seuss or Reader Rabbit’s kindergarten software, a child needs to
have some patience. At times, they need to wait until some songs are sung, or some
words are spoken before they can start clicking the mouse button to start some activities.
That is a tradeoff for the entertaining storyline. JumpStart does not have that problem.
Therefore, for the impatient, JumpStart is a good one.
Checking progress. Both JumpStart and Dr Seuss provide progress reports for parents
and children to check where they are and how they are doing in terms of mastering skills
associated with the activities. Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten does not provide that kind of
report. However, it rewards a player’s achievement by providing some entertaining
shows such as a little musical. Overall, all three software acknowlege achievement.
Summary
Each of the kindergarten software has its own strong and week points. The following is a
summary of the comparison:
1. JumpStart Kindergarten has the lowest system requirement. In other words, more
people can run the software with their home computers.
2. JumpStart and Dr Seuss both have affordable price.
3. Reader Rabbit’s and Dr Seuss Kindergarten are relatively easier to use than
JumpStart.
4. Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten and JumpStart both have very high educational value.
Dr Seuss is comparatively simpler.
5. Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten and Dr Seuss both have a high degree of entertainment
by weaving a story throughout the software.
6. JumpStart is less repetitive, hence better for the impatient.
7. Both JumpStart and Dr Seuss provide a progress report to track player’s mastery of
skill. Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten rewards player’s achievement with entertainment.
Recommendation
Based on the comparisons, I recommend Reader Rabbit’s Kindergarten as one of the best
educational tools for kindergarteners.
Sources Cited
1. Azar, Beth. “Research-based games enhance children’s learning.” APA Online.
http://www.apa.org/ (12 April 2002).
2. Palmer, Elizabeth. "Too Much TV? Setting limits on television viewing." Children
Today. http://childrentoday.com/resources/articles/settvlimits.htm (12 April 2002).
3. R & R Wholesale. “Reader Rabbit Kindergarten.”
http://www.rrcd.com/products/readerrabbitkindergarten.html (14 April 2002).
4. Velgos, Tina. “the review zone.” http://www.thereviewzone.com/drseusskinder.html
(15 April 2002).