Reviews: Software
Click on the link below to go to HARDWARE reviews:
Click on the link below to go to reviews of WORSHIP SOFTWARE (software that shows lyrics of songs, etc. on the big screen):
ILLUMINA GOLD
Illumina Gold Review (3/20/05) Without a doubt, the Ilumina Gold Bible software is the best educational tool we have ever seen for the computer. We haven't been as excited about something since the late 90's.
If you are looking for something to spice up the use of your video projector in the Sunday school we recommend that you pick up a copy of this. The gold edition not only features a lot of encyclopedia type features but also some 3D type views as well as a multitude of videoettes.
There is almost too much to describe. If you plan to use this for your projector, make sure that you get the "Gold" version. This is the one with the extra multimedia features. Check them out at:
www.Ilumina.com The Gold version runs about $100.
Terry gives them 5 of 5 stars!
"WALKING IN THEIR SANDALS" CDAn interesting CD of use to Sunday School teachers is the "Walking In Their Sandals" CD. Version 2 is now out and it includes a variety of videos, over 500 photos and even 360 degree "photo bubbles". Much of the info is designed to be "cut and pasted" into other applications.
There are 14 tours and 34 in-depth articles. Overall I like the CD. It was well done. All I want is more! You can check them out at:
www.ancientsandals.com. We don't get any payment for this recommendation, we are just passing on info we think is of interest to our readers.
TERRY'S RATING: I'll give them 4 of 5 stars.
MANNA BIBLE MAPS
 Manna Bible Maps is a very extensive Bible map program. The software includes over 150 maps, timelines,
genealogies and charts.
The maps are interactive on your computer and since they are vector graphics they print out very sharp. The software also includes several hundred high quality photos from Bible lands.
When you click on a city or site then you will see "pop-up" text that give specific info on the item clicked. Double click on any scripture reference that is in parenthesis and the Bible text appears. Click on the scale and the map allows you to measure distances. You can even do multiple point distances. On any map you can hold down the control button and hit the letter "T" and you can edit the text in the notes with your own comments. The program also includes a Bible measurement calculator/converter.
A neat feature of the disk is that it also includes both PowerPoint and PDF versions of the maps. These are NOT automatically installed and if you are interested in them then you need to manually load them from the CD. This feature is particularly helpful for people that want to use the maps and charts in their own PowerPoint presentations. The program costs about $80.
CONS: The one failure of the program is the inability to resize the maps. The maps default to 640 by 480 and don't automatically resize if your computer has a larger screen. Fortunately, this limitation only applies to the main maps and not the PowerPoint version. There is also a projector application for making the maps appear full size when used with a project. I haven't tried this feature out yet and am not sure about all of it's abilities.
PROS: The bottom line is that this is a very, very powerful program. The PowerPoint version of the maps is a solid plus.
TERRY'S RATING: I give them FOUR of FIVE STARS.
For more information visit:
Manna Bible Maps
XENOS MULTIMEDIA LECTURES ON CDROM
Xenos, a Christian Fellowship in Columbus Ohio, has started producing a variety of multimedia CDROMs. One example that I reviewed was "Objections To Christianity" which reproduces a series of lectures concerning why Christians should trust the Bible, the problem of Evil and Suffering, Evolution, and World Religions. Although I do have a few reservations, I am very pleased to see them pushing the envelope in the use of multimedia for Bible Teaching.
An audio of the lecturer’s speech is recorded on the CDROM and a PowerPoint Slide Show plays in the background. These slide shows are designed for reproducing the lectures rather than for providing the user with a editable set of slides. Basically, if you plan to use these lectures in your class then you simply load the slide show and let it run. Rather than show graphics that illustrate the lesson, the slide shows generally show images of the person teaching the lecture. The main points and scriptures are typed out in text on the slides. Few of the slides had anything other than the main points in text and pictures of the speakers. The Evolution presentation did have a few great graphics, however.
CONS: On the downside, I did feel a bit unsatisfied with the minimal use of graphics. I would have liked to have seen a lot more supporting images in the presentations. In addition, the sound quality was marginal. This was surely done to keep the file size small. In the future I expect that this will be corrected.
PROS The prices of these disks are very reasonable at only about $10 to $15 per CDROM. The particular disk reviewed contained 8 lectures. The CDs look like they are made locally and show how a church can put out a multimedia CDROM on a budget.
The bottom line is that I recommend that you buy at least one disk and try them out. If nothing else, it will be a good demonstration of the technology being used.
TERRY'S RATING: I give them FOUR STARS.
This review is a technical review only. The religious views presented by Xenos may or may not be in agreement with your own.
The minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, 486 at 100 MHz, 4X CDROM, 16MB RAM, Sound and Real Audio player version 5.0 or later software. The disk comes with stand alone PowerPoint viewer software.
1-800-698-7884
CHARLTON HESTON - VOYAGE THROUGH THE BIBLE
If
you are looking for a good way to show the advantage of using the computer
to present your lesson then you can’t get much better than the Charlton
Heston series. There are two disks, one for the life of Christ and
the other for Creation through the life of Moses. Both are great.
This software does a good job of combining the performer’s great voice
with terrific visuals. The disks are full of ancient artwork, modern
photography and classical art. The presentation is strictly professional.
If nothing else, the disks give a good example of what great presentations
can be. I like to intersperse portions from these disks into
my various classes to provide a nice break from the normal PowerPoint presentations
and discussions.
The photographs of ancient sites and artifacts are
obvious good illustrations for the classes. The introduction of classical
art in the series gives an opportunity to discuss what was the artist trying
to convey and how the Bible story differed from the art. Such material
almost always makes for an interesting discussion. The advantage of CD-Roms is that you can skip to desired topic without having
to wade through a long video tape. If you like to tinker you
can search the disks and pull off the avi files you want and show them
where ever you wish in your presentations. Please remember, however
that this material is copyrighted so you can’t redistribute anything on
these disks. Some of the things that I especially like are
the controllable 3D animations such as the one for the Egyptian Thebes
temple and Herod’s temple. The ability to visit 3D recreations of
these structures is something we couldn’t do before the computer age. Back a few years ago I paid nearly $40 for the New Testament disk alone. Just a few weeks ago I ran across the package deal of BOTH the New Testament
disk, the Old Testament and 6 other software units in a single package
for only $29.96 at Walmart. This package is put out by Rhino software
and is a great value. In addition to the Heston series you also get: Compton
Multimedia Bible with James Earl Jones
Billy
Graham’s Steps to Peace with God (Billy Graham style evangelism disk)
1000+
Bible Clip Art Image pack
Zondervan
NIV Bible (searchable, etc.)
What
Would Jesus Do Screensaver
Actual
Reality (Religious Music “Video” type CD.) This
package was put together by Rhinosoft Interactive 105 E. Wisconsin Ave,
Oconomowoc, WI 63066 www.rhinosoftinteractive.com PROS:
A great value. You will certainly find something that you like in
this set. CONS:
There is such a wide variety of material that you will surely find something
that you disagree with. I thought that the Voyage Thru the Bible
was just slightly “liberal” and I don’t agree with the subject matter of
several titles. When you buy a package at this reduced price you
don’t get any printed documentation except for a one sheet handout telling
how to install each CD. I had problem installing the Old Testament
CD. The good news was that the sheet gave a 1-800 number that worked!I called it at 11:00 PM and got an immediate answer to my problem.
This was a real surprise. TERRY’S
RATING: Five Stars! This is a super value. If you
are teaching electronically then you simply MUST buy this set.
PHOTOBUBBLE
“A
WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS”
 This
CDROM by Parson’s Technology is a interesting software package. The
concept is a neat idea. They traveled to the Holy Land set up a camera
on location and took 360 degrees of photos. They then stitched the
photos together to create a seamless “bubble” photograph that you can navigate
with your mouse. By clicking on various portions of the screen you
can look all around yourself. To a certain extent, you can even zoom
in on objects. This allows you to travel to the Holyland in a virtual
world and visit various Holyland sites.
I would like this software
a lot more if they concentrated on archaeology instead of the sites that
they chose. However, I realize that this is probably not what most
of the religious world is interested in. Most of the sites seem to
be the inside of churches that were built over the traditional locations
of important events. If you like to look at the inside of ancient
churches of the Holyland then this is the disk for you. I am finding
limited use of this software in the class. On the other hand, I think
that this disk would be very interesting to people that had visited these
sites and wanted to see them again. Please
note that this review is for “A WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS” and
NOT “In the Footsteps of Jesus on CD-Rom” which is different software with
a similar title. PROS:
A really neat idea. CONS:
Not much archeology material. TERRY’S
RATING: Three Stars. Even though I am finding limited use
of this in the Bible class I would probably get it again. SUGGESTED
SOURCE: CBD
PRICE:
Around $20 plus shipping
Bible
Illustrator #3 by Parsons Technology
 Type
in a topic and this program will search its database of 40,000 illustrations
and give you a list to chose from. You can highlight the parts you
want and paste them into your word processor. I found the program
easy to use. It ran plenty fast on my 266 MHz computer with a 24X
CD ROM. Overall, I was very pleased with the program. You are
given about 400 main topics for quick searches but if you want then you
can actually search the full text of all 40,000 illustrations.
I was impressed that this program included more than just the usual “old”
quotes. I know that it is tempting for program developers to fill
their software with information that is over 50 years old so that they
can avoid copyrights. This software included both old and modern
material. For example, you can get a variety of quotes about Television
and other modern subjects. Another neat feature is that you can add your own illustrations and trade
your additions with others. This allows your database of favorite
illustrations to continue to grow. The only thing that keeps this program from getting 5 of 5 stars was that
it doesn’t allow you to use the right mouse button as a shortcut for copying
highlighted text. That’s a standard procedure for fully functional
Window’s programs and I was very surprised to find that they would miss
that feature.
There are 3 versions of this program. This review was of the deluxe
version.
COST: The deluxe program is $69 list price, $49.95 at CBD.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a great program. 4 of 5 Stars
LOGOS
LESSON BUILDER 1.1
 This product allows you to search through a list of topics or type in a
Bible reference and it will help you produce some simplified teachers notes
as well as a nice handout for your Bible class. It gives you a selection
of suggested questions and teacher comments related to the questions.
You can edit these as you wish. You can add your own questions and
comments for making a class handout.
If you are looking for lots of detailed background information on each
lesson then you have come to the wrong place. This lesson builder
keys on asking good questions. Apparently the plan from Logos is
that you use their other extensive software products for studying and this
product is simply what it says . . . a lesson builder.
It allows you to copy in scripture texts from other Logos products.
It does include some information about answers to some of the questions. The lessons are fairly generic. I suspect that this is so that they
can have as wide an appeal and market as possible. You can add in
your own specific questions and teaching points as you like.
The only problem I had in using the product was to figure out how to control
whether the product printed the teacher’s notes or the student handout.
It turns out that the control is on the print page. I didn’t find
the instructions for this until about page 44 on the manual.
At about $50 the 500 prepared lessons make the lessons cost about $0.10
a each. If you teach in 12 lesson quarters that’s a whopping $1.20
a quarter! This is really a bargain. The program also comes
with free King James Version Bible software along with 2 electronic booklets
- “Leading Bible Discussions” and “Starting & Ending a Small Group”.
Overall I found this to be a very nice product. One of the hardest
things to do as a teacher is to come up with good questions. This
software did a good job with this.
COST: The deluxe program is $59.95 list price, $46.95 at CBD.
http://www.chrbook.com
BOTTOM LINE: This is a great program. 4 of 5 Stars
COREL
GALLERY 1,000,000 One
million images.
This
review is based on my opinion of the usefulness of this software for Christian
publications. 
This
collection consists of about 60,000 photographs, 1,000 fonts, 220 sounds,
125 short videos. The remainder is clipart, webpage gifs and webpage
themes. Comes on 13 CD-ROMS. Corel states that about 800,000
of the images are web gifs. PROS:
Lots of images. Clipart is shown in color in a nice paperback book.
100 photos from the country of Israel. Lots of web page stuff.
Having the book is really nice. You can search all of the images except the web images in one search. CONS:
This collection of 1,000,000 images has less religious images than the
100,000 image Corel MegaGallery! The 800,000 gif images are NOT searchable
by keywords! Sounds were poor. Videos were mostly useless for
Church work. Many of them were simply different ways to show the
words "First Quarter", "Second Quarter", "Third Quarter" and "Fourth Quarter"
which is nice for financial reports but not for much else. Photographs
are not shown in a book but many GIFs are. There
are about 450 religious images in the "Faith" section. Of these images
about 350 are Christian or Jewish. The remaining images are Buddhist,
Hindu, Indian, etc. In addition, there are religious images
scattered among other categories such as holidays like Christmas.
In addition, there are about 100 photos from the country of Israel. Copyright
rules are a lot more straightforward than Corel Mega Gallery. Terry's
Rating - Three Stars out of five.
CLICKART
CHRISTIAN GRAPHICS COLLECTION
We
look forward to testing this software. We have had a lot of disappointments
in trying to find good quality Christian clipart. Christian Computing
Magazine gave this software a good review and recommended it as a buy.
I do not know the regulations concerning the use of these clipart images.
The literature claims 10,000 "Christian-theme images" We have not
yet reviewed this software. You can order the clipart collection
alone for about $29.95 from CBD or with integrated publishing software
for $49.95. http://www.chrbook.com/
CHECK
BACK, WE WILL KEEP ADDING REVIEWS!
Send me your comments! What have been your experiences
with equipment and software of use to electronic Sunday school teachers!
We look forward to hearing from you!
|
