WCarmen Sandiego is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? video game was classified as a "mystery exploration" series by creators and the media, the series would later be deemed edutainment when the games became unexpectedly popular in classrooms. The franchise centers around the fictional thieving villain of the same name, who is the ringleader of the criminal organization, V.I.L.E.; the protagonists are agents of the ACME Detective Agency who try to thwart the crooks' plans to steal treasures from around the world, while the later ultimate goal is to capture Carmen Sandiego herself.
WCliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company claims to promote the reading of the original work and does not view the study guides as a substitute for that reading.
WThe ClueFinders is an educational software series aimed at children from age 8-12 that features a group of mystery-solving teens. The series was created by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older, elementary-aged students. The series has received praise for its balance of education and entertainment, resulting in numerous awards won.
WEarly Learning House is a collection of four main educational video games and two compilations for the Windows and Macintosh platforms, developed by Theatrix Interactive, Inc. and published by Edmark software. Each different game focuses on a particular major learning category with selectable skill settings for preschooler, kindergarten and elementary learners. Millie's Math House (1992) on mathematics, Bailey's Book House (1993) on language, Sammy's Science House (1994) on science, and Trudy's Time and Place House (1995) on history and geography. A spin-off, Stanley's Sticker Stories (1996), sees players create animated storybooks with the series' characters. Millie & Bailey Preschool and Millie & Bailey Kindergarten each contain the combined activities from two of the four software products. In addition the programs can be configured by an adult mode to suit students with special needs. Most of the activities in every game have two modes, one to allow learners to explore and try it out for themselves and the other for learners to follow specific tasks set by the game characters. Learners also have the option to print pictures of creative activities and record sounds in phonics activities. Later the games were re-developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology and re-published by The Learning Company with newer graphics and additional activities.
WImagination Express is an educational series of interactive storybook generator video games developed by Edmark, and announced on November 14, 1994. The titles in the series include Destination: Castle , Destination: Neighborhood, Destination: Rain Forest , Destination: Ocean, Destination: Pyramids, and Destination: Time Trip, USA.
WLiving Books is a series of interactive read-along adventures aimed at children aged 3–9. Created by Mark Schlichting, the series was mostly developed by Living Books for CD-ROM and published by Broderbund for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Two decades after the original release, the series was re-released by Wanderful Interactive Storybook for iOS and Android.
WMighty Math is a collection of six educational video games for the Windows and Macintosh platforms, developed and published by Edmark software. As the title indicates, the games are heavily oriented on mathematics. Two of each games cater for different age groups with fitting content. Carnival Countdown and Zoo Zillions are suited for Kindergarten and 2nd graders and teaches beginner topics. Number Heroes and Calculating Crew cater for 3rd till 6th graders and teaches intermediate topics. Astro Algebra and Cosmic Geometry are designed for 5th till 9th graders and teaches advanced topics. The games were all developed under Harcourt's strategy. In response to the series growing popularity, Edmark launched a website called the "Mighty Math Club" in November.
WReader Rabbit is an educational game franchise created in 1983 by The Learning Company. The series is aimed at children from infancy to the age of nine. In 1998, a spin-off series called The ClueFinders was released for older students aged seven to twelve.
WThinkin' Things is a series of educational video games by the Edmark Corporation and released for Windows and Mac in the 1990s. Entries in the series include Thinkin' Things Collection 1 (1993), Thinkin' Things Collection 2 (1994), Thinkin' Things Collection 3 (1995), the adventure game Thinkin' Things: Sky Island Mysteries (1998), Thinkin’ Things Galactic Brain Benders (1999), Thinkin' Things: All Around Frippletown (1999) and Thinkin' Things: Toony the Loon's Lagoon (1999).