5. On-Track Same or Different
 
Welcome to School Zone's Same or Different On-Track Action Software!
     
In this Read Me document, you will find the following:
  • Technical Support
  • Age Level
  • Educational Goal
  • Educational Skills
  • Key Features
  • Play Summary
  • Some Things to Remember
  • Directions for Activities
 
Technical Support
If you experience problems using this software, you can contact School Zone Technical Support.

Visit our Web site at www.schoolzone.com
or email support@schoolzone.com
or call 616.846.9601 from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. EST, Monday-Friday.

Please have the following information available for technical support:
  • operating system
  • CPU type and speed
  • amount of RAM
  • available hard drive space
  • CD-ROM speed
     
Age Level:  Ages 3-5
 
Educational Goal:
To teach and practice preschool skills in preparation for kindergarten through interactive software that appeals to a variety of learning styles.
 
Educational Skills:
    • Comparing
    • Recognizing Colors
    • Size Differentiation
    • Recognizing Letters
    • Basic Sight Words
 
Key Features:
    • School Zone Interactive software keeps children actively engaged.
    • Educators developed this electronic workbook; it contains the most current and essential skills, content, and approaches.
  
Additional Features: 
    • Learning is reinforced with audio and animated rewards.
    • Simple program design allows children to work independently.
    • Fun games are rewarded after every two screens.
    • New questions and activities are generated.
    • Instructions for each page are read aloud.
    • The answers are marked as correct or incorrect.
    • The program saves the progress of each user.
    • Personalized progress reports and reward certificates are available.
    • This electronic workbook has printable pages for off-screen practice.
 
Play Summary:  
  Same or Different challenges children to differentiate between objects according to size, shape, color, or letter. The goal is to complete all of the pages correctly. Once this is accomplished, the user can print a personalized certificate of completion. After every two screens, the user is rewarded with a game. Progress reports and footprints at the bottom of each screen track the user’s progress. A green footprint indicates correct screens, and a red footprint indicates screens with incorrect answers. A user may quit Same or Different at any time and return later. By using the same user name, the software retains that user’s progress. The software randomly shuffles the activities and exercises for each new user.
 
Some Things to Remember: 
    • The picture of the mouse will end what you are currently doing, correct your work, and then take you to the next page or activity.
    • The waving hand will end what you are currently doing and take you to the exit menu, where you can print a progress report or exit the program. Click the blue arrow on the exit screen to start the program over.
    • The footprints at the bottom of the screen show you which pages are correct, which pages need corrections, and which pages you have not attempted.
    • When the directions instruct you to “click,” that means you should press your mouse button one time.
 
Directions for the Activities and Software:  
  1. Introduction: 
  The alligator will tell you how to start play. Type your name in the box, then click the picture of the mouse.
  2. Activities:
  A voice will read the directions for each screen. If you need to hear the directions again, click any word in the directions. Some pages require users to select a picture that is the same as the first one. Other pages direct users to select a picture that is different. Place the cursor on the answer, and then click once to select the answer. To select more than one item, place the cursor on each item and click one at a time.
  3. Moving Between Pages: 
  After completing a page, click the picture of the mouse. Correct exercises will be marked with a star. Incorrect exercises will be marked with a red check. By clicking the picture of the mouse, you will move to the next page whether you have completed it or not. You can choose a page by clicking on the footprints at the bottom of the screen. A red footprint indicates that you need to correct exercises on that page. A green footprint indicates a completed, correct page. You can return to a page at any time by clicking on that page’s footprint. Place your cursor over a footprint to see the page number. Click on the waving hand to exit the program.
  4. Printing Pages: 
  A picture of a printer on the screen indicates that this page can be printed. Click the printer to print the page.
  5. Completing Same or Different: 
  To exit, click the waving hand. To print your progress report, click the picture of the certificate. You can continue play by clicking the check mark. If you have completed the program and all of the answers are correct, you can click the purple ribbon to print a certificate of completion. Or, you can choose to play a game by clicking the picture of the mouse playing ball. You can start over by clicking the blue arrow.
 
Directions for the Games:  
  1. Elephant Game: 
  Race against the computer to see who can pump up the elephant first! You’re the player on the left. Click your mouse when the rectangle crosses over the red target. The winner is the one whose elephant blows away first. Click to start.
  2. Piggy Bank Game:
  How many coins can you catch? Use your mouse to move the pig under a coin so the coin goes into the bank. Try to fill up all three banks at the top of the screen. If you drop three coins, the game is over. Click to start.
  3. Truck Game: 
  Can you drive the truck to the construction site without hitting anything? Use your mouse to move the truck. If you hit three objects, the game is over. You can tell how close you are to the finish by looking at the gauge at the top of the screen. If you want to make the truck go faster, hold the mouse button down. Click to start.