Project Success

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday January 29, 2000

Anne Glover

It is a pretty safe bet that nearly every Aussie kid will be facing a school project on the Olympics this year, along with the dozens of other assignments handed out each term.

In many households, computers and printers have done away with the scissors and glue. But while creativity and presentation is important, often meaning the difference between a pass and a higher mark, it is usually research that earns the teacher's commendation.

This being the 21st century, it's perhaps time for your family to invest in a CD encyclopedia.

Content is king when deciding which CD encyclopedia to buy. If the whole family is likely to suffer through projects on ancient Greece, penguins or Australian explorers, they're the topics you'll want detailed in your encyclopedia.

There's a strong push for local and civic studies in schools, and new encyclopedias have followed this trend by including more local content.

The back of the CD box will give some clues, but you can't beat an in-store test drive. Enter a few topics and key words, and check which program has the most concise information. Award extra marks for good photographic content and on-screen layout.

Almost as important as content is simplicity of operation. If the kids find the encyclopedia tough to use, they'll be getting you to do all their work. Most programs are straightforward, but some are easier than others for younger children to use.

A child's reading age is the most frequently overlooked issue in selecting a family encyclopedia; it's the reason many programs flop. Some programs cater for users with high school-level literacy, while encyclopedias are frequently bought by parents of primary school children.

Take a look at the words in screen shots on the box or, better still, during the test drive ask the kids to read the words and sentences. Some encyclopedias excel at explaining the basics, while others presume you already know a lot about the topic.

Are your children at the stage where they need to know that a penguin is "a type of bird that has flippers instead of wings", or would "order Sphenisciformes, any of the flightless marine birds of the family Spheniscidae" suit them better?

Encyclopedias have quite different "personalities", too, so try to pick one that will match the interests of your family. If the kids love to explore, they'll appreciate a program with all the frills. If they want the answers without the fuss, go for one that's hard on facts, even if it has fewer trappings.

If you already have an encyclopedia, it's often best not to upgrade your existing one, but instead to buy a complementary encyclopedia to build up your research library. This might also remind the children to use a range of sources, not just one CD, for their research (and don't forget to remind them to use books, not just the Internet).

Many encyclopedias allow you to link to their own Web sites or provide links to topic-relevant sites to which you can surf at the click of a button. This was a real selling point a few years back, but lots of families can't be bothered with this feature these days.

The stunning demonstrations you will see in the stores will be running on the latest computers, so if your PC is any more than a year old you might not get the same fast searches and smooth video clips at home. Check the encyclopedia box for the recommended system requirements and make sure your PC has enough grunt.

If you own an iMac you'll find fewer encyclopedias to choose from, although new Macintosh editions are due later this year.

Best buys

Webster's Encyclopedia of Australia 2000

For home-grown content, Webster's has photos of local heroes and sporting stars. It's not a full encyclopedia but one with facts on all things Australian. Many topics relate well to primary school projects, but you won't get the history of the Olympics or the greenhouse effect analysed here; it supplements an existing reference library.

Price: $69

World Book Millennium 2000 Deluxe International English Edition

The reading age required to use World Book (pictured, left) is the lowest of all the full encyclopedias. Topics start with the basics, presuming very little prior knowledge. The graph maker is useful but there aren't too many other frills. Children around seven to 10 years will handle this one more easily than the others.

Price: $89

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia

Deluxe 2000 World English Edition

Packed with photos, videos and sound clips, Encarta equals research with style. The richness of photos and mix of media make the others look drab by comparison. Photos and other media serve to break up the text and make the information more palatable for reluctant researchers. It's the best encyclopedia for children aged from 10 to 14 years.

Price: $149

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Deluxe CD 2000 International Version

If it is precision detail you are after and the kids know exactly what they're looking for, you can't go past Britannica. Here are the facts without the frills. It won't suit every family; children with a reading age below 13 years will need lots of hand-holding from parents. Britannica also has some great tools: its "Analyst" lets you grab stats from one region and compare them with another.

Price: $199

Verdict

For depth of information on a range of topics and mix of media, Encarta Deluxe is the best all-round encyclopedia. It's also the most fun to use. Apart from researching school projects, the kids can play a game to learn as they explore.

Students in high school could do with Encarta to get them going, and Britannica to add additional precise detail. If you have young children who are not confident readers, try World Book.

Five great thing sto do with an a CD encyclopedia

Take a virtual world trip; visit all the places you would go to if you had the time and the cash.

Play a trivia game on the run.

Confirm any disputed answer.

Yell out the names of cities, landmarks and faces appearing on the screen before the rest of the family.

Find someone with your own birthday or a world event that happened on that day.

Forget research and just go with the flow for half an hour, then try to remember where you've been.