Encyclopaedia Britannica 2001 (DVD) (UK Version)

Age Group: Age 8 and Up, Adults Type: Reference Price: $70

Requires: Pentium, 133 MHz+, Win 95/98/2000/ME/NT 4.0, 32 MB RAM, 120 Mb HD, DVD-ROM

Description:

Access to the encyclopaedia is centered around a 'home' page. On it are a set of 6 feature areas (Search, Compass, Analyst, Timelines, Spotlights and Britannica.com) with a row of tool buttons at the top. Tools give specific access to searching encyclopedia content, browsing the media files, to the dictionary, the Research Assistant and an ability to copy notes into virtual index cards (from both encyclopaedia and web content).

Search by typing in a word, phrase or a question. My son had a school presentation to prepare on the afterlife of the Egyptians so we tried 'Egyptian afterlife' and found 1795 entries. We looked at the ones that seemed most relevant, and he cut and paste sentences into index cards using the Note tool. Afterwards he used the Research Assistant to edit a report from the same notes and to print it. This was a very simple and natural approach to doing research and preparing a paper on it. We were able to extend the search to Britannica.com, which turned up additional and very useful Internet sources, though with a few expired links as well.

Compass provides an interactive view of the world. Start from a world map and zero in on specific areas of interest. At each level you can choose from different views of the same map (including physical and political) and bring up related articles, as well as statistics on that area. Analyst provides Comparative, Historical and Superlative (top and bottom) statistics in different graphical formats. I found Superlative data intriguing and looked at lowest rates of infant mortality in the world, highest rates of higher education and which countries eat the most fish.

The Timelines area is fascinating. Select any subset of all the categories - Architecture, Art, Childhood, Daily Life, Ecology, Exploration, Literature, Medicine, Music, Religion, Science, Sports, Technology, Women - and then see events on any part of the timeline that relate to those categories. In looking at Childhood, I learned that the earliest known formal education was in 2600 BC in Mesopotamia.

Spotlights is a good place to browse in-depth content in Ecosystems, Human Anatomy, Topic Tours (20 topics from African Wildlife to Women Nobel Peace Prize Winners) and Britannica Classics (articles by authors like Einstein or Houdini). Ecosystems cover the 11 major ones from Boreal Forests to Polar Lands. There is extensive online help for the encyclopedia, including Research Tips.

Features:

• Text from the Britannica 32-volume print set
• Over 44 million words
• Over 8,500 photos, maps & illustrations
• Over 80,000 articles (5,500+ new)
• Content of 2000 Britannica Book of the Year
• Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition
• Direct access to Britannica.com
• 30 page User's Guide

Technical Aspects:

At one point, with several windows open, when I tried to access the Analyst, it failed to initialize, with an error message saying that AnalystLineGraph failed to load. When I closed some windows and tried again, it worked.

Most of the information is text and pictures, so that this program would be suitable for someone with auditory difficulty - they would miss only the audio media files.

Report and Conclusions:

I liked the integration with the Internet via Britannica.com, which extends encyclopedia content to include recommended sites on the web. This was offered at several levels in the encyclopedia and tied in to specific content. I found the Research Assistant and Note features simple and natural to use - just what is needed to combine researched information into a collection of notes or a report. One major advantage of this title is its many different avenues for information access - by content search, geographical location or timeline, and with Internet integration.

Encyclopaedia Britannica 2001 will be staying in my DVD drive. I expect to get a great deal of value out of this software, for my own research and for the children's school projects.