Indulge Your Imagination! Circle The Globe, Travel Back In Time With Discoveries – IBM’s First DVD-ROM Title
Multimedia Guide To History Engages Students In Learning Experience
Mountain View, Calif. (November 12, 1998) – IBM today unveiled its World Book® Discoveries multimedia software, the first in a series of forthcoming DVD-ROM reference offerings from IBM for families.
Discoveries enhances the 1999 World Book product line by offering students a multimedia introduction to world history. Discoveries invites students of all ages to embark on a time-travel adventure that combines authoritative information with the visual appeal of a computer game.
“IBM’s commitment to education has never wavered. We are eager to bring the best educational software to students of all ages through technological advances such as DVD technology,” said Bernie Rice, general manager of reference software for IBM. “With Discoveries, students can explore history and how it evolved through a compelling combination of sight and
sound.”
Discoveries provides an engaging perspective on fields of knowledge throughout history: the arts, physical and natural sciences, religion, politics and technology. From the prehistoric times to the present, Discoveries features chapters on a number of historic eras for users to discover and explore, including Prehistory, First Civilizations, The Classical World, The Age of Faith, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The Age of Reason, The Age of Revolution, The World at War, The Nuclear Age and Toward the Millenium.
Consistent with World Book’s 80-year reputation as the world’s most authoritative encyclopedia content provider, Discoveries includes works of renowned writers and researchers, including museum curators, historians and scientific researchers. Discoveries’ content is an ideal starting point for students to explore historical topics because it provides a concise, yet rich, overview of historical events, people and places.
Discoveries includes a collection of appealing multimedia features which draw students into the subject matter, inspiring learning and encouraging exploration. Each chapter begins with an Eye Opener screen which accurately represents a scene from the past. Developed in consultation with historians and based on period documents, the Eye Openers include narrations, special music compositions and/or environmental sounds to encourage users to explore the depths of each topic.
With more than 5,400 high-resolution pictures, seven hours of high-quality audio, and more than 900 animations, users can explore a variety of historical settings. The format of Discoveries encourages different kinds of exploration – students can research a specific area of knowledge, enjoy a series of articles, uncover information for a specific presentation or essay, or discover cultural tips to enhance a visit to a specific country or region. Discoveries features easy-to-use search, copy, export and print tools that make finding and using the information easy for the entire family. Discoveries is designed to complement a family’s reference and multimedia encyclopedia library and to attract young minds to the study of history.
Source: IBM