If you've got students in your house studying mathematics at the middle school or high school level, you'll want to check out MathSoft's StudyWorks! Mathematics Deluxe package. Designed for grades 7 through 12, this package combines solid foundational knowledge of your typical math subjects from algebra through more complex calculus, as well as statistics, business math, and the Internet and related technology. Additionally, an activities and games section offers puzzles and calculation machines, an insightful section on "math in your career," and access to online study aids and quizzes.
While the bulk of the material is presented much like a digital textbook with lots of text and illustrations, other areas of the package really shine. A pop-up glossary gives a quick definition of a term in bold, and students are able to alter the equations to see other results.
The StudyWorks! Mathematics package offers more multimedia than a textbook ever could: Geometry in Motion offers an exciting look into the ways that figures can be manipulated, while teaching various concepts.
Two aspects of the package were unclear to us: how to animate (and where animation was available) and why certain portions of material were presented outside of the package through the Web browser. The instructions on how to create an animation were fuzzy at best (and still remain a mystery to us, even after some persistence). Additionally, while it makes sense that the Puzzle of the Week or the Online Games section require Internet access, it's unclear to us why the Show Me the Steps interactive algebra area needed to be presented through the Web browser. Without Internet access, this segment is apparently unavailable.
Regardless of these quirks, students and teachers alike will find use for this application--whether you use it to create study guides, complete projects, or solve homework problems.
--Emilie Dirks
Reader Reviews
Overall, this software is a good buy. The lessons are clear, concise, give ample examples with explanations, and present themselves in a logical order. Practice exercises are offered in conjunction with each lesson and provide detailed solutions to each problem. Additional online resources are an added bonus, and the visual display of the information in the lessons is satisfactory. The number one area for improvement for this package is the calculator program, which is essential for higher level math. The calculator automatically opens in a separate window, which proved to be an annoyance when switching between the calculator and a problem. Using the calculator provided with this program is so mouse-intensive that entering a basic expression becomes a hassle. Elements that are accessible via the keyboard require memorization of two- to three-key combinations that are not necessarily intuitive. Using the calculator to chart graphs is still rather confusing and cumbersome after weeks of use. If you plan to use this program for higher level math, you should definitely consider having a standard, stand-alone graphing calculator available and ignore the calculator provided with the program completely. A couple other areas that could use improvement are the lack of exams within the software (the user must access the internet for exams--a process that is not entirely user-friendly) and a lack of any sort of progress tracking.
