StudyWorks Science Deluxe 5.0

This is not really educational software in the tutorial sense. Many people expecting it to be so have been cruelly disappointed, and the pans one reads for this and Mathematics Deluxe are usually from these folks. On the other hand, if you already understand the math and know what you want to do by way of calculation, your salvation is at hand. This is the no-longer-supported student version of MathCad, and it does everything one is likely to need to do right through college as a science or engineering major. It is extremely WYSIWYG, and has a reasonably gentle learning curve. By invoking it from a command line with a "/a" command following the program specification, one can bring it up in a mode that permits the insertion of collapsible areas in a worksheet, and thus construct a template containing useful functions and definitions for vector algebra calculations. The only things not available in StudyWorks compared to MathCad are the ability to do symbolic calculation, and to build complex procedures (programming). But these are not things typically needed by undergraduates. For more demanding users, MathCad is available from PTC at a reasonable academic price, in fact cheap for what you get.

Disclaimer: I am prejudiced, as the author of one portion of this home-study package. In the absence of information here, I thought I would provide some. This software offers self-paced teaching in a variety of scientific fields, and in addition includes a course in "Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy," which I developed. Here's a summary: "Learn the basics of science fiction and fantasy storytelling from veteran science fiction author and teacher Jeffrey A. Carver. Multi-layered discussion, examples, and exercises lead students of all ages through the fundamentals--including turning ideas into stories, world building, creating human and alien characters, conflict and plot, language and style, writing workshops and support groups, rewriting, and the basic steps to publication. "The course is suitable for use in the classroom, as well as by individual aspiring writers. Designed to be accessible to middle-school students, it also contains illustrations, hands-on exercises, and resources that will be of value to students through college and adulthood. "The object of the course is to learn the fundamentals of storytelling, to explore the many facets of the craft of science fiction and fantasy writing, and to have fun! All are welcome--including those who enjoy the challenge of writing for its own sake, and those who aspire to eventual publication."And that's just one segment of the software package. Best--Jeffrey A. Carver

I purchased both the Science Deluxe & the Mathematics Deluxe, and I am highly impressed! This is the best educational software I have ever used.I have been using StudyWorks! to teach myself higher mathematics & science, so I really like the textbook format.However, I think that the Science program needs to have tests & quizzes, like the Math program does.If StudyWorks had software on other subjects, such as English Grammer & Composition, History, World Geography, etc. I would buy them sight unseen.