
Voices of the 30s is a Hypercard program with pictures by photographers such as Dorothea Lange, audio excerpts from speeches given in the 30s, audio interviews with people who lived through the Depression, QuickTime movie clips from the movie The Plow that Broke the Plains and the documentary Brother, Can You Spare A Dime as well as people and events of the 1930s, and textual quotations from Grapes of Wrath and ten other works. The program also includes an annotated bibliography of over 200 sources of books, articles, film, and audiotapes about the 1930s and a "Who's Who" section containing biographical information about 70 people who played important roles in the 30s. For some of these people, photographs or film clips are included.
For the teacher who wants to use this program as a student research tool, the "Themes" section provides topics, issues, and activities for six themes: Arts, Agriculture, Government, Economics, History, and Ethics. A "Comments" window can be opened in any section, allowing students to make comments about the current screen. "Related Topics" or "Links" are provided to help students explore further. Activities are designed to be open-ended, and students can add cards to the hypercard stacks. A "RouteMaker" and "RoutePlayer" are also included, so students can prepare presentations. A very helpful Teacher's Guide is included along with a Quick Reference Card.
One word of caution: the program does require a minimum of 4 MB of RAM, and runs much smoother and quicker with 8MB. Also, you need to use the Quick-Time version 1.5 that comes with the program. Higher versions seemed to be incompatible.
This program would be a wonderful supplement for any
teacher, class, or student studying any aspect of the 1930s.
It is highly interactive, easy to use, and contains a wealth
of information. I would give it Five Stars!
An added bonus
is SUNBURST's ninety-day preview policy.