Phonics Success Deluxe 2006 (DW DVD) (PC & Mac)

List Price: $49.99 Discount Price: $0.01

Features:

• The leading edge suite of software tools for improving reading achievement at all learning levels
• The epitome of self-paced phonetic instruction for young students on CD-ROM
• Award-winning, educator-endorsed content, unrivaled breadth and scope of curriculum, and absorbing activities captivate user interest and maintain motivation
• PC Requirements: Windows 2000 or higher, Pentium processor running at 133MHz, 64MB RAM, QuickTime 5.02, 2x CD-ROM drive
• Mac Requirements: OS 9.2 or higher, 64MB of available RAM, QuickTime 5.02 or higher, 2x CD-ROM

Customer Reviews:

Not the Greatest [Posted on 2005-11-04]
I got this for my 5 year old daughter and she got board with it incredibly fast. There was nothing to let her know if her answers were correct or not. There was no reward system at all. I would try something much less expensive.

A Hands-On Evaluation [Posted on 2005-11-09]
While I am not discouraging people from purchasing this product, I would suggest that a teacher/parent buying this software work his/her way through it personally before making a final decision on its use.

I am not going to list out the specific problems I found, because some people would consider me too picky. However, any teacher or parent should be able to find the problems for themselves. In summary, I will say that there are a number of spelling errors, there is at least one capitalization error, there are many punctuation problems, and sometimes there are errors when the moderator (on your pc speaker) gives you incorrect instructions (so do the instructions at the top of the "page") for what you are supposed to do on a particular task.

I guess it comes down to how exacting a teacher/parent wants to be with the child. Personally, I want everything he reads to be perfect, as he will be learning to write from everything he reads. But not everyone is of the same persuasion as I.

For me and my grandson, the ambiguity is overwhelming; for you it may not be a problem. I would like to suggest that the parents/teachers investigate the value of the product by working through it on their own before letting kids use it. If nothing else, they can help the child work through the rough places and, hopefully, not become frustrated like we have.

Only the package is nice!! [Posted on 2005-11-10]
I was EXTREMELY dissapointed in this software program. I purchased this program for my 6 year old and 8 year old who are struggling with reading. The games available in each of levels are in no way fun and they drag on FOREVER!!! They quickly grew annoyed with the woman's voice in the program as she only said two or three things over and over ("Way to Go", "You Did It", etc.). Neither of the kids enjoyed any part of the program. The directions were very ambiguous. We have found numerous parts of the program that just plain did not work right. This was a total ripoff!! Stay away.

I'm disappointed [Posted on 2005-12-28]
I've been searching for a phonics software for my almost 5 years old. First the installation is quite unfriendly. It requires installation of each of the 11 CDs! That kind of set the tone for the software. From the package, it claims it supports 600*800 or higher resolution. When we start up the software, it 'friendly' changes the resolution and then errored out complaining it requires running in small font. When we attempt to go to their support website, the link is not good! Finally after changing the computer configuration, we manage to get it to run. I tried the first 2 CDs. Maybe it's good at drilling but there is no way that that it attempts to teach the kids of the letter sound of the alphabets. In one session, it let us pick the alphabets and there are pictures associated with them. Someone in the right mind would sound out the pictures and the letters but not this software. I think I just wasted my money on this software.

Learning with Errors [Posted on 2006-01-10]
I highly recommend you look for another learning program software for your child. This one has mistakes from the start. You are given a letter and asked to choose pictures that have the same beginning sound. The pictures do not match to the beginning sound and the program tells you "great job" and "fantastic". Don't have your child learn the wrong answer, dont buy this one! Plus try contacting the company to see if there are patches for the error, it's hair raising. Flash cards are a better choice than this. I give this program (-)
stars if it was an option. Try "Clifford The Big Red Dog Phonics",or "Cliffords The Big Red Dog Reading" your child will learn with these (Ages 4-6). "Arthur's Reading Race" for ages 3-7. "Language Trek" Grades 5 & 6.

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