Week 2 Britannica

I opted to check out the Learning Zone and found it to be a very user friendly interface for the little ones.  The guide shortcut offered in the lesson did not seem to be working.   

I found the Explore section to be a great tool and will use it with grades K-2.  The second grade is currently studing the continents.  The map was nice as were the short videos, although some would have been better if there had been a narration accompanying them (Alaska had some amazing footage as did the volcanic activity on the Hawaii video; both could have been enhanced with some facts).  Also, it would have been nice to see something on the Northeast and Southeast regions for comparisons to the different regions.  I'll be sure to share with our Art Teacher about the Southwest Arizona video of the Suaro National Monument and info on the Saguaro Cactus as she does a unit on Desert Life.  Our first graders study Africa and China, the topics of elephants, gorillas, lions, and the safari peek at Kenya's wildlife will be a great resource and the market life and furniture videos will add a glimpse of the African culture.  The piece on the panda will be great to do with China (I wish there was more with the culture).  I did not seem to find an opt out button if by chance you clicked on the wrong flag; it seemed you were obligated to finish the entire clip (I did find a continual run option though).  I felt the clip on Antarctica way too short (31 seconds).

The Play section had some fun math activities and the Read section was filled with oodles of words, their definitions, and where the derived from.  Unless I am missing something, I personally think the format might get boring having to click the arrow to get the next word.  The alphabetical order was nice, but I wonder if having the entire list (these lists could be done alphabetically i.e, all the "A", "B", and "C" words on a page to choose from; then they might not have to scroll through those words they might already know. . . just a thought).  I did love the audio addition to this.

Lastly, the Draw section. . . I had fun with this.  One could chose to work freestyle or use the How to Option and place a picture there to copy.  I liked the variety of colors, ability to widen your line, and thank goodness for the eraser.  With some practice getting used to the draw tool, I managed to draw a great alien.  Unfortunately, I was unable to print (the button seems to be disabled).

I did check out the teacher lessons which were another great addition.  I found the Learning Zone to be something I will use and had fun with this!!!  I also hope to check out the elementary section sometime this week as well.

I'm back. . . I liked the Brittanica Elementary section very much.  The home page was very engaging, and I think students will love the chance to vote on a question and see how their answer compared with others.  The Did You Know? and Daily Buzzword were nice features.  I became excited for the opportunity to access the World Atlas because I thought it might be useful with a country unit our first grade does but was quickly disappointed to discover the use of maps was disabled, thus, was unable to use it at all.  The kids will love the Animal Kingdom.  I like the layout of choosing by groups or habitat.  This will be very appealing to several teachers in our school and give the ability to enhance the curriculum.  The Subject section had a wide variety of choices.  I'm thinking that the reading level and some of the subject matter (World Religion and Health), may be over the average elementary student's interest and ability so might have to be teacher driven, although, the other subjects like Animals, Sports, Fine Arts will be extremely popular!  I loved the interactive depth offered with the user-friendly point and click feature with great graphics and videos.  Our first grade teachers will love the Plant section when they teach plants in the spring and will find the charts and graphics very handy!  The Brittanica Elementary section offered a magnitude of knowledge in a fun and engaging format!