14 DAY TRIAL // Have you ever wished you had the chance to go back to school just for a few days, so that you can catch up on all the USA geography knowledge that you've missed?
Sure there are many books, and learning notes that you can use, but it's not fun this way. Besides the option of hiring a tutor, I've found the next best thing. It's called "Know your USA".
What it does
This little application created by EdWare has everything you need for your basic geography needs. It has a smooth, flash-like design that will please your sight. The menu is easily navigable and user oriented.
After you log in, you can notice that the program is divided into four great sections. This is a progressive categorization. Firstly, you have the "Study Your USA" section, where you evidently gather various knowledge about the United States. You can learn general information "About the USA" in the first part, and then you can move on to a more specialized (and, again, progressive) category from the following: regions, states, state capitals, major cities, mountains, rivers and lakes.
I like how the information is structured, although the program could have been organized a little better.
For instance, in the States section, when you click on a state, there's a panel that slides down presenting you with a zoom and a more detailed look on it: nickname, capital, largest city, area, population, union admission, time zone(s), abbreviation and the state's anthem. I find this to be a fair amount of information.
But (there's always a but), this doesn't happen in the rest of the sections.
For example, in the State capitals part, all you get is a map of the USA, with pointed out state capitals. There are no state names, and no further information. It's the same case with the "Major cities" section, where you only get the states' names, with no back-up for the "Major City" title (area, population, and so on). I would have really appreciated a slide down window, just like the one in the States section.
Assuming that you've gone through the learning stage, you have the chance to test yourself in the "Teach Your USA" section. This is like an assisted exam, where if you're not able to answer correctly, you are given the correct answer. All quizzes are "click" based, meaning that you have to point out the answer (e.g. Please click on Providence).
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to correctly answer the questions here, but it's not like taking candy from a baby either. Keeping in mind the amount of information that you received during "classes", the tests are fairly created, with an average level of difficulty.
After you answer all the questions (or not) you can move on to the next level of testing, and solve the "Examine Your USA" tests. These are exactly the same questions from the previous section, but only this time, you don't have to point or click on the answers, but type them. The level of difficulty is a little higher here, but far from unapproachable. The answers are not case sensitive, but you have to type the answers exactly how they were presented to you (e.g. "the southeast" is correct, but "southeast" is not).In the Lake section I was a little disoriented by the highlighting. Besides the Great Lakes, most of the other ones are tiny. When highlighted, the outer line of the lake remains the same, and in some cases the highlight is barely noticeable, so I ended up spending more time searching for the lake on the map, than concentrating on the correct answer.
You shouldn't be learning all day, so that's why the developer has included the "Jigsaw Puzzle" section. This way you put "business" and fun together. I like this part, and it's created both for the ones that barely passed the tests, and for the teacher's pets (meaning, it has 2 levels of difficulty: one in which you have to complete the puzzle with guides, and the other where you have a map of the USA and have to drag each state to it's location without any borders on the map to help you.All in all, I find this program to be a good utility that makes the learning process easier and more fun.The recommended display resolution for this program is 1024*768. You can't change the application's resolution, so if you want to see it like the producer intended you'll have to change your display's resolution.
The Good
The design of the program is nice, and the menu navigation is easy. Also, you get a fully functional 7 day trial.
The Bad
Although there are many things you can learn with this software, more information could have been included.
The Truth
The program is no match for Encarta, but it offers enough information for your need to know more about USA Geography.
