TULSA, Okla., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Now, with just the click of a mouse,
children all across the country can become Doctors of Thinkology -- just like
the Wizard of OZ!
Heartsoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: HTSF) today announced the introduction of its new
critical thinking skills software, Thinkology(R). The first of three titles
to be released, Thinkology's "Clarity" helps young learners (Pre-K thru 4th
grade) master higher order thinking skills in a Saturday morning cartoon
fashion.
Thinkology, a three CD-ROM series, teaches the fundamentals of critical
thinking skills: Clarity, Accuracy, and Logic. Each of the three titles in
Thinkology address specific areas of critical thinking skills with a humorous
cast of cartoon characters, who laugh and giggle their way through learning.
Each CD-ROM provides entertaining animated stories which immerse young
children in real-life scenarios followed by hours of engaging interactive
activities which promote proper thinking skills.
"In this information age, our children are inundated with incredible volumes
of information on a steadily increasing basis," said Benjamin Shell, Heartsoft
Chairman & C.E.O. "With the Clinton Administration's goal to provide every
child in America access to the Internet by the year 2000, known as Goals 2000,
our children need to be equipped with the proper reasoning skills not only to
cope with all this information, but more importantly, to sift through all of
it to determine which data is pertinent to their needs."
"By teaching children at an earlier age about higher order thinking skills,"
said Shell, "skills such as clarity, accuracy, and logic, we equip them with
the tools they need to think and learn better. Thinkology does just that in a
hilarious and fun environment -- children love it!"
Thinkology was developed jointly by the Foundation for Critical Thinking &
Moral Critique, the nation's leading center in helping educators incorporate
higher order thinking skills into their daily curriculum, and Heartsoft, Inc.,
a national publisher of educational software. Thinkology represents the first
software product to teach genuine critical thinking skills to early learning
students.
"The concept of critical thinking, although relatively new to the education
arena, can be traced back 2500 years to the life of Socrates," said Dr. Linda
Elder, President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking. "Critical thinking
is thinking which is self-correcting and which continually assesses itself
using universal intellectual standards to ensure that it is of high quality.
Using Thinkology, children and teachers alike are introduced to basic
intellectual standards essential to high quality thinking. When children
learn to use standards such as clarity, accuracy, and logicalness, in their
thinking on a daily basis, their reasoning abilities improve unilaterally."
"At a time when most thinking skills products simply exercise a child's
inherent reasoning abilities, Thinkology represents the first software product
to actually instruct children in proper thinking methods," said Shell.
"One of the founding precepts we discovered in working with the Foundation
for Critical Thinking during the development of Thinkology, was that children
need to be exposed by example about how to be more clear, more accurate, and
more logical in their thinking processes."
"Often, once these skills are exemplified, the 'light switch is flipped on'
so to speak, and children take thinking skills and run with them. It's a lot
of fun, and very rewarding to watch."
Thinkology's "Clarity" is shipping now as a Windows/Macintosh CD-ROM hybrid.
Each package ships in a teacher-friendly notebook with extensive curriculum
planning materials, suggested classroom activities, and dozens of supplemental
paper activities. Education pricing begins at $79.95 for a 2 CD-ROM single
user version, and continues with a 5 CD-ROM Lab-Pack for $149.95, and a 25
CD-ROM Site License for $449.95. Special district pricing is also available.
Thinkology's 2nd and 3rd volumes, Accuracy and Logic, are planned for
release in November, 1997, and January, 1998, respectively.
Copies of a free CD-ROM Guided Tour of Thinkology which guides viewers
through sample stories and activities straight from the "Clarity" CD-ROM, are
available directly from Heartsoft at 800-285-3475.
Heartsoft, Inc., develops, publishes, and distributes curriculum-based
educational software products in the Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade range
for parents and educators internationally. The company's headquarters are
located at 3101 Hemlock Circle, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012; telephone
918-251-1066; fax 918-251-4018. The company's web sites are located at
heartsoft.com and thinkology.com . Customer Service and
Sales can be reached at 800-285-3475.
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Mr. Shell is available for interview/
/CONTACT: Bryan Reusser of Heartsoft, Inc., 918-251-1066, or
bryanreusser@heartsoft.com ; or Catherine Wambach of Scanlon & Associates,
505-281-5324, or cwambach@aol.com for Heartsoft/
06:01 EDT |
