In the end, I had listed sixty titles in a FileMaker Pro database. For each title, I supplied a short description of the software (usually taken from the advertisement or information that came with the software), the source where we ordered the software, the list price, and teaching areas that I though the program might be appropriate for. For the twenty-three programs I was able to preview (not all sixty could be ordered under this arrangement), I extended the information in the database to include my evaluation. Some of the software was actually not on CD-ROM, but I reviewed them because they still sounded like good applications for use in humanities courses.
My favorite program was Microsoft Encarta, the multimedia encyclopedia. It is relatively inexpensive (less than $90 for the academic version). The quality of music, images, and textual information is excellent and written at an appropriate level of sophistication and depth for students in my classes. As an added bonus, Microsoft provides a Teacher's Guide with suggestions for using the program with students.
Some of the other program I was impressed by include Black American HistoryŃSlavery to Civil Rights, Dimensions in Multiculture, Salt of the Earth, and Masterworks of Japanese Painting.
It is likely that I may have missed previewing some wonderful programs (especially at the rate at which new titles are appearing), but I hope that this information provides a guide to some of the better titles that are available now for teachers in the Humanities.
Lynn Ann Wojciechowicz
January 1995