The site effectively blends such basic skills as reading, writing, and arithmetic with new media tools. Moving beyond sites that use technology to look up a word in the dictionary or online flashcards, Mamamedia encourages kids to experiment with basic animation, build multimedia towns, create characters, and write stories. Sandy Fivecoat , vice president of sales for The Lightspan Partnership , agrees that the Internet should be more than just a publishing tool for teachers. Lightspan sells PlayStations and educational games to schools and also provides parent and teacher training. Kids can check out PlayStations to take home, and Fivecoat said students who use those boxes typically study 30 minutes to an hour longer.
Students practice math and reading in a game format.
To advance the animated characters from one level to the next, the kids must solve certain problems. Students can, for example, break down and analyze parts of a polluted stream or map different branches of government. The handheld device is ideal for teaching kids with short attention spans. In addition to the class website she uses to post assignments and practice tests, Smith has experimented with several interactive programs for her journalism students. But not all teachers are adventurous, she said.