NEW MATH SOFTWARE SERIES ENGROSSES STUDENTS IN LEARNING

East Dorset, VT. November 15, 2001 - The British may have a funny way of shortening the word "mathematics" to "maths," but when it comes to making the subject accessible and engaging for young students, the language used by British educators is universal. In fact, as the four titles in the Maths Explorer educational software series prove, British methods are becoming a hit amongst American teachers and students. Each program teaches solid mathematical concepts, sprinkled with enough 3D graphics and sound effects to keep the students firmly entrenched in the learning objectives. It's hard to resist exploring math in virtual worlds with a pirate girl, jester, or alien as your guide.

Maths Explorer

Interactive activities and investigations grab students' attention as soon as they log into the Maths Explorer program. As with all of the CD-ROMs in the series, there are 12 interactive locations where students learn about topics such as addition, division, percents, number facts, statistical analysis, probability, measuring, and symmetry. The first program in the Maths Explorer series introduces students to a futuristic world where hands-on math activities can be found at every turn in the space-age Explorer Station. The stations let students do calculations, play with computers, collect data, do measurements, and work with shapes. Students can program a robot to navigate a maze with an on-screen computer key pad, or create "percentage potions" in a chemistry lab. If they add the correct amount of each ingredient, and then shake the test tube, a firework show ensues!

Math Explorer: Number

Climb aboard a pirate ship in Maths Explorer: Number with an energetic pig-tailed pirate girl as your guide. Kids will love exploring the math activities as they sail to an array of adventurous sites in the jungle, cave, and village. At the rope bridge, a cat with a patch over its eye instructs you to continue a number sequence in order to complete the bridge. When numbered planks are dragged to the correct place, the pirate girl hops gleefully across the bridge. Colorful parrots animate another activity, where students click on the parrots perched on a number line, making them caw and fly away when the parrot in the right position is selected. Other animated activities give students a fun way to practice skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and percents.

Maths Explorer: Shape and Space

In Maths Explorer: Shape and Space, students follow the bouncing purple hat of a cheerful jester into the rooms of a castle, to the tune of medieval pipes and flutes. In the Pigeon loft, a grid of nine small doors reveals the eyes and beaks of pigeons behind them. When the pigeon keeper identifies the co-ordinates, the student must quickly click on the appropriate door before the pigeon appears. A slow response results in the pigeon popping out and gurgling teasingly at the student, while clicking on the door in time earns the student an egg. If all the eggs are collected before the time is up, the pigeon perched on the keeper's head does a celebratory leap and flaps its wings. There are many more levels like this, and students will find themselves engrossed in various activities along the way. The program is full of such delightful games, and each room offers helpful hints and fascinating facts about the many shapes covered.

Maths Explorer: Data Handling

"Greetings Earthling" is your welcome as you board a space ship with a green alien in Maths Explorer: Data Handling. Enter three different cultural epochs rendered with incredible graphics: Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Aztec civilization. Build a pictogram in an Egyptian tomb to graph the pharaoh's wealth of geese, cows, soldiers, and ships. Fill out the pictogram in time to close the secret door before the mummy escapes the tomb. Other activities teach students about collecting data, probability, times tables, line graphs, pie charts, and many more ways of handling data. As in all the programs in the series, interactive quizzes give kids a chance to test their new skills. They will truly feel like they've been to another world when they experience the Math Explorer series, and their skills will be elevated to amazing new heights!

The interface of each program in the series includes the same five menu options: Map, Catalog, Notebook, Logbook, Guidebook. By clicking on Map, students can easily navigate each program. The Catalog makes searching for and selecting activities a cinch. As they navigate, explore, and participate in the variety of activities, students may want to save some of their work or copy graphics and text along the way: they can do so simply by clicking on Notebook. Teachers love the Logbook, which allows them to track the activities completed by each student.

There are always three levels of difficulty to choose from for each activity. The Learn About and Tell Me More options add depth to every investigation by giving students just the right amount of background information and important mathematical facts to think about in relation to the games and experiments. Students can even take quizzes to test their new skills, or go to Puzzle Posts for more brain exercise before they leave a particular interactive location. And when they do leave, they'll do so with sharpened math skills and with the knowledge that they'll soon be logging back into the Explorer stations for more math adventures!

Minimum System Requirements

PC: Pentium, 16 Mb RAM, 256 colors, 640x480, MS-DOS 5, 8 Mb disk space, WIn3.11+, 4X CD, sound card. Mac: System 7.1, 68040, 8Mb RAM.

To Order

Single unit price for each title is $69.95, Mac and PC versions sold separately.
Get all 4 titles in the series for $239.95
To order toll free from the US or Canada call (800) 220-8386
Fax your order to (802) 375-6860
Email your order to orders@toolfactory.com
Printable order forms are available at www.toolfactory.com

About Tool Factory, Inc.

Tool Factory conducted an exhaustive search for unique educational software in various markets around the globe. Their flagship product line consists of 17 educational software tools, which were hand-picked for their innovative contribution to computer-based learning. To complement the tools and applications, Tool Factory is also distributing an extensive range of curriculum titles throughout North America. Their first catalog includes over 100 CD-ROM products, most of which are new releases in North America.

For press inquiries, please contact Kendra Ericson at kendra@toolfactory.com

Tool Factory, Inc. 3336 Sunderland Hill Road, Sunderland , VT 05250