The Digital Frog Blog

Yesterday I was waiting for an appointment and idly watching the activity in the square below. I saw a young child of seven or eight crossing the street weighed down by an enormous backpack and started thinking about why schools are still so dependent on heavy textbooks.

Of course there are some good reasons, namely:

• Teachers are comfortable with these structured learning tools
• They are low-tech and therefore do not go wrong
• Typically they offer a complete course of work, so require less prep time for the teacher

But at the same time, there are significant downsides:

• They can be VERY boring
• They are VERY heavy
• They account for the felling of millions of trees
• They cost a LOT of money
• Outdated content requires replacement of the whole book

For a long time, I have felt that there has to be a better way. In fact, there is a better way to achieve the same benefits of the printed textbook without the list of downsides: interactive, computer-based learning tools.

While at one time access to technology in schools was an issue, computers have become pretty ubiquitous, both at home and in the classroom. Technology-enabled learning tools can engage students in new, interactive ways while still covering the material that historically students have lugged around in textbooks. Related topics can be easily linked in ways impossible in print. Concepts that are difficult to demonstrate in a flat illustration or picture can be made much easier to comprehend through animations, video, and activities to help make learning less passive. Multimedia, when it’s done well, can really expand learning by appealing to multiple learning styles. A textbook may be good for avid readers, but can be less effective for those who learn better from other methods. And all this can be delivered on CD, DVD, the computer’s hard drive or over the internet without the need to lug around heavy textbooks.

This is something Digital Frog International has been doing for a long time‚Äîeven before computers were so common. And while our educational software is a strong supplemental source that was never intended to replace an entire textbook, we’ve strived to embody the advantages that any good computer-based learning tool should have over the “anachonistic” textbook:

• Holistic and comprehensive content designed to meet a wide range of curriculum requirements
• Engaging activities that capture student interest through interaction
• Animations for difficult concepts
• Integrated, context-sensitive dictionary
• Integrated text-to-speech for the visually-impaired and auditory learners
• Interactive concept map to ensure students never get lost
• Customizable workbook materials – print only what you need, when you need it
• Light weight
• Can be dynamically updated via the internet
• MUCH less expensive than text books
• Can be accessed directly from disc, via the school network, on the student’s own computer or via the school portal (depending on the licensing)

So, maybe it’s time that textbooks followed the dinosaurs into extinction?

T-rex image from Noah’s Animal Figurines, where you can buy him for just $12.

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Before we launched the very first version of The Digital Frog back in 1995, we carried out extensive beta testing with local high school students. The student reports gave us much cause for both hilarity and concern.

Each student was asked to dissect the digital frog and then answer an extensive questionnaire and write his or her own comments. Overall, students preferred the digital dissection but for surprising reasons. One student commented “digital disection is much better than real disection because then I don’t have to dodge the scalpels of the kid behind”. Another student thought that “The Digital Frog” is much better than digesting real frogs”!

Yet another commented that “real disection is much better because then I get to mash the brains into the desk”! One has to wonder what these kids were learning in the traditional wet lab environment.

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Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Digital Frog International web site was offline for just short of 24 hours from approximately 5 p.m. Friday, April 25 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but we’re happy to say that everything is back up and running as it should be.

If you received an email from us and tried to unsubscribe from our mailing list during the site outage, you may have to click the unsubscribe link in the email again or send us an email and we will manually unsubscribe you.

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When we set out to re-launch our web site earlier this year, we wanted to make it easier than ever to find out about our range of educational software products, try them for yourself and do a better job of opening communication with educators and parents (not to mention, with each other… but more on that part soon.)

What we lacked, however, was an easy way for you to order the software directly from us. But no longer:

Introducing the online Digital Frog Shop.

As of today, all of our products can be purchased online, directly from Digital Frog International. Everything from single-license versions of our virtual frog dissection, anatomy and ecology program to building site licenses of any of our three Digital Field Trips (or even the new Digital Field Trip Series DVD). You can even order a DemoWare CD for just a $5 shipping and handling fee.

We are able to accept all major credit cards, using Paypal for safe and secure payment processing. (And no, you do not need a Paypal account to purchase from us.) We’ll ship to anywhere in the world and all our products are backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. (See our terms and conditions for more details.)

If you are an educator who needs to place your order with a PO, we’re set up for you too. You can submit your order through the Digital Frog Shop, along with a PO number. We just ask you to follow-up with a fax of the PO on your school’s letterhead and we’ll take care of the rest.

So, come on in! We’re open for business and glad we can make it even easier to provide our educational software to your students.

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If you teach science this conference is a must. We have been exhibiting at the National Science Teachers Association national conference for many, many years and we always learn something new, from the teachers who visit our booth to other exhibitors and, when we have time, from session presenters.

Our favorite presenter of all time is Nancy Harrison (and not just because she recommends The Digital Frog 2.5). Nancy is a practicing pathologist who loves animals and firmly believes that cutting up dead animals in high school is of little pedagogical value and countless animals die unnecessarily.

Nancy’s love of animals led her to research all the computer-based alternatives on the market. Recognizing that teachers are pressed for time, she felt this would help them make the switch from cutting up dead animals to a computer-based alternative. Initially, Nancy showed the teachers several programs, but eventually honed her presentation to just two programs, which she deemed to be the “best of the best”.

Whenever we can, we attend Nancy’s presentation and listen as Nancy explains to a hushed audience how her high school science teacher influenced her life and her career. And, of course, we love it as she tells the audience why The Digital Frog isthe best of the best. We are very fortunate that Nancy endorses our program (as did eSchool News readers) but we do NOT give her any financial support. In fact, Nancy will not even allow us to buy her a cup of coffee.

Nancy’s presentation at CSTA in Long Beach last year was full to overflowing. This year NSTA is in Boston and Nancy will be presenting “Virtual Dissection: The Best of the Best” on Friday Mar. 28 from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Amphitheater of the Seaport World Trade Center (so you might actually get a seat).

By the way, our booth number is 1337 and we will be holding a draw for an unlimited Building Site License for The Digital Frog 2.5 (list price $899). Stop by our booth, mention the “secret” password – The Year of The Frog – and triple your chances of winning.

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If you are a previous visitor to the Digital Frog International web site, you’ll undoubtedly have noticed we’ve been busy over the past while:

Updated digital frogs and field trips
Last year we released updated versions of our virtual frog dissection, anatomy and ecology program The Digital Frog 2.5, as well as all three of our Digital Field Trips: The Wetlands, The Rainforest and The Desert. We also introduced The Digital Field Trip Series DVD, with all three field trips on one disc for a savings of more than 20% off the price of the individual titles.

A new web site
Earlier this year, we launched our new web site—both with a new design and new content to make it easier to find out about our educational software and how to get the most out of it. But that was just the first step.

Introducing… The Digital Frog Blog
Right now, you are looking at the newest addition to the Digital Frog International web site: The Digital Frog Blog. Why a blog? We want to reach out to teachers, parents and homeschoolers to share interesting and useful facts related to the natural sciences, as well as tips and techniques for getting the most out of our educational science software, plus anything else you tell us you are interested in.

Coming soon: E-commerce and interactive forums
We’re currently hard at work on launching our online store to make it even easier to purchase Digital Frog International software, safely and securely without leaving home.

And to help our users connect and get the most out of their software, we will also be launching the Digital Frog forum shortly, allowing teachers, parents, homeschoolers and even students to connect with each other to discuss everything from integrating our programs into your curriculum to useful resources in education, science, nature, geography or whatever else you want to discuss. The sky is the limit.

Help us help you
We definitely don’t want this to be a one way street. Please tell us how you would like to see The Digital Frog Blog evolve. Leave your comments. We promise we’ll read every one. We are listening and are looking forward to this next step in opening the dialogue with you, the teachers, parents, homeschoolers, students and nature-lovers that have kept us doing what we’ve been doing for the past 12 years.

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