Children's Computer Software Resource

Patty Hove, ATRC Assistant Coordinator

Thinkin Things Collection 1

So music is your game? With Oranga Banga, the silly orangutan, on drums or Toony Loon on xylophone, your child can develop auditory discrimination and memory through patterns, or tunes can be created on one's own. Need something visually stimulating? Visit the Fripple Shop where your child helps the customers find just the right purple striped fripple with glasses, or yellow polka dotted fripple, while at the same time learning the attributes of AND, OR and NOT. These are just a few examples of Thinkin Things Collection 1 from Edmark, which promotes learning through a child's strengths and learning styles (visual, auditory) and encourages skill development in the areas mentioned above.

Included with the Teacher's Guide are suggestions for easy at-home activities, classroom activities and an "adult section" on how to customize the software for students and how to adapt the program for students with special needs. Thinkin Things 1 can be used with mouse alternatives and via scanning with a single switch; levels of difficulty can be changed. By using KidDesk by Edmark, a personalized desktop allowing use of only those programs preset by the teacher or parent, you can customize the child's program according to degree of difficulty, and monitor their progress.

Thinkin Things 1 is available for the Macintosh and PC computers. Stay tuned for future articles on Thinkin Things 2 and 3!