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Reviews Education

Older Students, Parents, Educators Younger Students

The Digital Frog 2: Frog-Friendly Software for Biology Students (CD) Digital Frog International, Inc. www.digitalfrog.com The Digital Frog 2: Frog-Friendly Software for Biology Students is a comprehensive, informative and even fun educational program created by Digital Frog International, Inc. The package, which consists of two CDs, provides education with compassion. The “Educational Version” CD contains three main sections: Dissection, Anatomy and Ecology. There is a “Quick Tour” that you can take which guides you through the CD and how to use it. You can quickly access the various areas on the CD as they are illustrated as “thumbnails” in the Map section. The Dissection part of the CD is interesting and very informative. By moving the cursor over the frog you can identify the various parts. You can then dissect the frog in a manner similar to if you were in the biology laboratory. The cursor even turns into a scalpel and you are instructed where to make incisions and cuts. After you finish each procedure, you view a movie on the computer screen of someone dissecting the part of the frog that you just “dissected.” By clicking the mouse you can pause the movie or enlarge it to the full computer screen. The movie is well done and includes informative audio explaining what is being done. You can then move on to the next procedure or opt for more detail on what you just looked at. By going to the Anatomy section of the CD you can learn about the various parts of the frog. This section is divided into the following systems: Immune, Respiratory, Urogenital, Musculoskeletal, Control, Circulatory, Digestive and Interacting. Within each system you can click on various items for a written description and illustration. For example, in the immune system you can learn about the thymus, skin, spleen, bone and blood. In the Ecology section you can explore the pond and learn about frog behaviour, environmental concerns, niches and biodiversity. In this area the CD audio plays frog vocalizations while the movie illustrates such things as frogs hunting flies. There is even information on how to adopt and restore ponds. The Digital Frog 2 comes with a second CD that contains considerable information in a Teacher Workbook and a Student Workbook. The Teacher Workbook contains a “Teacher’s Guide” that describes such things as the contents of the “award-winning frog dissection and anatomy CD-Rom,” how to use the CD and workbook as well as questions and answers for the following sections: dissection, circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, urogenital system, musculoskeletal system, control system, immune system, interacting systems and ecology. The Student Workbook contains questions (without the answers – these are contained in the Teacher Workbook) and activities for the above sections. The Digital Frog 2 is an excellent teaching aid. Not only does it provide a comprehensive view of the frog, but it does so in a harmless way. I looked up definitions of “biology” in two of our dictionaries and found the following: “the study of living organisms,” “a branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes” and “the plant and animal life of a region or environment.” It is counterproductive, hypocritical, desensitizing and cruel to “teach” students about life and living organisms by killing feeling animals and then having children cut them up. The Digital Frog 2 offers a compassionate, positive alternative while, at the same time, protecting a diminishing species. Learning about the frog in particular, and biology in general, by using The Digital Frog 2 is also a practical way to educate students. Very few students will go on to become surgeons where their dissecting skills may have some use, but many students will use computers in their future careers or at home. The Digital Frog 2 is not only an effective science tool, but it develops computer skills as well. To learn more about The Digital Frog 2, including downloading a trial version of The Digital Frog 2 Demo go to www.digitalfrog.com  You can also contact them by phoning 1-800-621-3764 or (519) 766-1097.

Animal Equality: Language and Liberation Joan Dunayer ISBN: 0970647557 To say that our species poorly treats the nonhuman animals with whom we share the planet is a great understatement. This lack of respect, exploitation and abuse is maintained, in part, by the language that we use when referring to these sentient beings. In her book Animal Equality: Language and Liberation, Joan Dunayer effectively illustrates how language can harm nonhuman animals. As Carol J. Adams points out in the “Foreword,” “Speciesist language enables us to disregard the suffering and abuse of nonhuman animals.” While showing how language sustains cruelty to nonhuman animals, Dunayer provides considerable, extensively documented information on such barbaric activities as hunting, sportfishing, zoos, aquariums, vivisection and “animal agriculture.” In the chapter “Feeding on Flesh, Milk, Eggs, and Lies” Dunayer provides startling information about many of the brutally cruel acts done to nonhuman animals enslaved by humans for food. She describes what debeaking of turkeys and chickens actually entails along with a procedure the agriculture industry calls “toe clipping.” According to Dunayer, “Unanesthetized, many chicks and most newborn turkeys have their three front toes hacked off at the outer joints.” (page 130) The sheer numbers of nonhuman animals slaughtered for humans is numbing. According to Dunayer, more than 9 billion animals are killed annually in the United States. Many of these live unimaginably cruel lives. In describing an egg factory Dunayer illustrates how a simple name can mislead the public which knows little about the suffering created and perpetuated on factory farms. “In 1993 I visited a ‘state-of-the-art’ Maryland egg factory with the deceptive name Country Fair Farms. Four windowless warehouses imprisoned a total of half a million hens squeezed nine to a cage. Row after row, four tiers of cages extended into the distance, disappearing into the dimly lit haze. From manure pits directly below, huge mounds of excrement saturated the air with eye-stinging ammonia. Cagemates shared a single water nipple and were forced to climb over one another to reach the food trough in front of their cage. In bursts the birds gave frantic cries, worlds away from the soft clucking of contented hens. With a dazed look they stared outward, as if into empty darkness. However hellish, egg factories bear names, like Happy Hen Egg Ranch, that suggest chicken bliss.” (page 128) This ignorance on the part of people who consume eggs definitely is not bliss for the chickens who live their entire lives in conditions humans couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Combating animal abuse must be fought on several fronts – including the language that we use when speaking about the sentient beings we’re fortunate to share this planet with. It is important to use language that gives nonhuman animals the respect that they deserve and to educate our children. Through education we can help ensure that future generations will avoid the mistakes that our species has made up until now and live in harmony with all of Earth’s inhabitants. Using such words as “who” and “she” as opposed to “that” and “it” when referring to nonhuman animals is a good start toward ending our domination of other animals and beginning to live peacefully with them. Anyone interested in helping animals would be wise to read this groundbreaking book!

Earth Child: Games, Stories, Activities, Experiments & Ideas About Living Lightly on Planet Earth
Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner.
ISBN: 1571780548

While we know the importance of teaching children a respect for animals and the environment, we can usually use some assistance with the lessons that we draw upon to get these vital messages across.

In their book Earth Child, Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner provide a wealth of information concerning how we can minimize the negative impact we have on Earth and how we can effectively convey these lessons to our children. Through such things as games, activities and stories, the authors assist parents and teachers to instill important environmental and humane concepts in our children.

Earth Child is composed of eight chapters: "The Circle of Day and Night," "Earth Celebrations Throughout the Year," "Wonders in a Garden," "Trees are Terrific!," "Wet and Wonderful!," "Home, Sweet Home," "Going, Going, Gone…?" and "Hurt No Living Thing."  Each chapter contains insightful information for children (and adults) learning about animals, environmental issues and life on this planet. The information is communicated in an easy-to-understand manner and the games, stories and other activities not only complement the important messages being communicated, but they are also fun and interesting.

Living on a 25-acre property consisting of meadows, forests and several vegetable gardens, the chapters "Wonders in a Garden" and "Trees are Terrific!" were of particular interest to me. My wife Lynn and I are always teaching Gleannan, our five-year-old daughter, about trees, plants and vegetables and seeking her assistance with the planting of these beautiful, living things. After all, planting trees and minimizing our dependence on others for food (much of which is grown with chemicals) by maintaining "ecological" vegetable gardens are two excellent ways to help animals and the environment - and ourselves!

These chapters provide lots of suggestions and activities to further Gleannan’s knowledge and respect for trees and gardens and the myriad of life associated with them.  There are sections within each chapter that deal with certain issues and what we can do to improve these issues. For example, in the chapter "Trees are Terrific!" a section on Christmas trees provides information on using a live tree for Christmas and how to care for it until it can be planted in the ground. Suggestions are also given for "recycling" a Christmas tree that was killed for the festive occasion.

Informative quotes and facts (i.e. "Recycling a 3-and-a-half-foot stack of newspapers saves one 20-foot Southern pine.") as well as organizations that can be contacted for more information are scattered throughout the book. The authors have also compiled an impressive list of books for children that are related to the topics covered in Earth Child. These books, including a brief description of each, are listed throughout Earth Child and at the end of each chapter.

One criticism I have with Earth Child is with the suggested use of meat for some activities. Since Earth Child is about preserving the environment and being kind to animals (Chapter Eight is "Hurt No Living Thing") it is hypocritical to suggest using "cooked ham chunks" on a vegetable kabob or selling hot dogs to "benefit tree conservation organizations" - especially since land (including trees) is cleared for cattle to graze on before they are killed and turned into products, such as hot dogs, for human consumption.

This aside, Earth Child, is a wonderful resource for elementary school teachers, parents and anyone else who wants to educate children as to the beauty and importance of the natural world and the pressing need to protect it.

Note:  The latest revised edition of this book (1998, 475 pages) is titled Earth Child 2000: Earth Science for Young Children  Games, Stories, Activities, and Experiments. This edition of Earth Child contains a section on "Earth Teacher: A Teacher’s Guide for Using Earth Child in the Classroom" and a section on "Surfing for Science on the Web."

Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Application
edited by Randall Lockwood and Frank R. Ascione
ISBN: 1557531064

The correlation between cruelty to animals and violence against people is well documented. Thanks to books like Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence, information pertaining to this important, and disturbing, link is now widely available to parents, educators, social workers, animal care personnel and others who are concerned with this topic. More than 45 informative essays are contained in this impressive volume.

Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse: Linking the Circles of Compassion for Prevention and Intervention
edited by Frank R. Ascione and Phil Arkow
ISBN: 1557531439

Frank R. Ascione and Phil Arkow have put together numerous essays which provide considerable insight into the link of animal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence. The book is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Evolutions, Connections - Child Abuse, Connections - Domestic Violence, Connections - Animal Abuse, Legislative and Legal Contexts, Applications and Conclusions.

Educational and reference books written specifically for children are very important in assisting younger students to learn. The educational and reference material in this section are recommended for younger children. There are also excellent books and CDs that will be very useful to a child’s education found in other areas of “Reviews”.
 

Oxford Elementary School Dictionary Compiled by Robert Allen ISBN: 0195418158 Ages 8+ Having a quality, easy to use dictionary for children is a valuable resource for children. The Oxford Elementary School Dictionary is an excellent reference book for children eight years of age and older. Some of the features of this dictionary include: headwords in colour straightforward definitions pronunciation guides grammar and language tips numbers to separate definitions information boxes containing word origins and other notes example sentences show how words are used in context The Oxford Elementary School Dictionary has been tested in schools and contains over 30,000 words and phrases. Our young daughter has found this book very useful and easy to use.

The Oxford Children’s Thesaurus Robert Allen, Chief Editor ISBN: 0199106037 Ages 8+ The Oxford Children’s Thesaurus contains 70,000 similar and related words and is intended for children eight years of age and older. This excellent reference guide will help to expand a child’s vocabulary and improve their writing. Some of the features that make this thesaurus a useful reference book include: headwords in colour; headwords identified as nouns, verbs, adjectives etc; different definitions are numbered and there are examples of how words are used. This thesaurus will complement a good children’s dictionary.

The Oxford Practical School Dictionary Robert Allen, Chief Editor ISBN: 0199108005 Ages 8+ The Oxford Practical School Dictionary is another quality reference book published by the Oxford University Press for children. This dictionary has been trialled and tested in schools, contains more than 20,000 headwords and over 150 illustrations. Headwords are identified as being nouns, verbs etc which helps with grammar. Example sentences and word origins are also included.