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Product Review: Page (1) of 2 - 02/13/06

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Oregon Scientific 3D Interactive SmartGlobe

Web link update capability gives interactive globe a boost over its competition

By Ella Turner

The Oregon Scientific 3D Interactive SmartGlobe ($129.95, oregonscientific.com) isn?t just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill geography tool. You can immediately tell by the product?s modern appearance that it?s much more than another boring sphere-on-a-stick. In fact, using this tool, your curious child can become an expert on the climate of Albania, memorize the capital of Madagascar, and have updated information on the culture of Japan?all in five minutes or less. Here?s our review.

56%. 42%. 63%. You?re probably sick of seeing those disappointing numbers scribbled in red pen at the top of your kid?s social studies tests. If your youngster thinks school is just about as interesting as watching paint dry, she?s among the majority in the United States. Millions of kids of all ages, races, and genders are drastically falling behind due to obvious boredom. They prefer mindless television shows about fictional cartoon characters to reading, and would much rather play violent shooting games than study for an hour. Many parents have given up. They?ve tried and tried to encourage their kids to do something for once, and after dozens of wasted attempts, decide that it?s worthless. Even tutors don?t seem to help at times. Is there even a remote possibility that your child won?t wind up as a dropout and will be a success someday?

The reason your kid isn?t doing well in school might be because she doesn?t enjoy studying, so she doesn?t?and winds up failing her tests. Without adult help, kids will generally not do activities that they do not find entertaining. Staring at a map for hours may not be entirely torture, but going to a friend?s house overnight or playing basketball on the driveway is a lot more interesting to a 10-year-old than reading about Mexico?s natural resources. Although many children catch on to the fact that grades and learning are extremely important for their futures, others do not.  

Is it impossible? Almost. However, Oregon Scientific has come up with a possible solution to America?s often education-free environment. For about $130, you can give your kid the gift of knowledge with an amazing toy that is so intriguing, your kid won?t even know he?s learning.

The SmartGlobe works in two modes. In both modes, your child will use a special, interactive touch-sensitive pen that only works on the globe. With this, she can touch anywhere on the globe or the pull-out U.S. map to learn about its features. A voiceover will tell her about the country or state she is touching either from the globe?s speakers, headphones, or a small speaker in the touch pen itself. In the first mode, your kid can use the touch pen to select any place on the globe and learn which languages it speaks, what the climate is like, and even its history. This is updated when the globe is plugged in to the Internet by a USB connection, so you can keep its information up to date for the years to come. The second mode allows your child to learn the locations and capitals of countries, states, and provinces with the touch of a button ? all while being concealed under a fun game format. It?s a race against the clock to find the most capitals, countries, states, or any of the above until the music stops. And the experience is so fast-moving and fun, your kid will be eager to try and beat his old score.

My favorite feature about this tool is the way it can be updated via the internet. The software (free for a year) allows you to update often as you want, making this globe a toy that cannot grow old and is always aware of the latest news. When you place the included CD into your disk drive and plug the touch pen into the USB cable, the software will immediately begin to download. Once it is finished, the program will begin to install updates onto your touch pen, which holds the software for the globe. The changes are most evident when you press on the World News option on the menu. Your kid will be surprised at how ?in-the-know? your new globe is!