ILLUMINA GOLDIllumina Gold Review (3/20/05) Without a doubt, the Ilumina Gold Bible software is the best educational tool we have ever seen for the computer. We haven't been as excited about something since the late 90's.If you are looking for something to spice up the use of your video projector in the Sunday school we recommend that you pick up a copy of this.
The gold edition not only features a lot of encyclopedia type features but also some 3D type views as well as a multitude of videoettes.There is almost too much to describe. If you plan to use this for your projector, make sure that you get the 'Gold' version. This is the one with the extra multimedia features. Check them out at: The Gold version runs about $100.Terry gives them 5 of 5 stars!
'WALKING IN THEIR SANDALS' CDAn interesting CD of use to Sunday School teachers is the 'Walking In Their Sandals' CD. Version 2 is now out and it includes a variety of videos, over 500 photos and even 360 degree 'photo bubbles'.
Much of the info is designed to be 'cut and pasted' into other applications.There are 14 tours and 34 in-depth articles. Overall I like the CD. It was well done. All I want is more!
You can check them out at. We don't get any payment for this recommendation, we are just passing on info we think is of interest to our readers.TERRY'S RATING: I'll give them 4 of 5 stars.
MANNA BIBLE MAPSManna Bible Maps is a very extensive Bible map program. The software includes over 150 maps, timelines, genealogies and charts.
The maps are interactive on your computer and since they are vector graphics they print out very sharp. The software also includes several hundred high quality photos from Bible lands.When you click on a city or site then you will see 'pop-up' text that give specific info on the item clicked. Double click on any scripture reference that is in parenthesis and the Bible text appears. Click on the scale and the map allows you to measure distances.
You can even do multiple point distances. On any map you can hold down the control button and hit the letter 'T' and you can edit the text in the notes with your own comments. The program also includes a Bible measurement calculator/converter.A neat feature of the disk is that it also includes both PowerPoint and PDF versions of the maps. These are NOT automatically installed and if you are interested in them then you need to manually load them from the CD. This feature is particularly helpful for people that want to use the maps and charts in their own PowerPoint presentations. The program costs about $80.CONS: The one failure of the program is the inability to resize the maps. The maps default to 640 by 480 and don't automatically resize if your computer has a larger screen.
Fortunately, this limitation only applies to the main maps and not the PowerPoint version. There is also a projector application for making the maps appear full size when used with a project. I haven't tried this feature out yet and am not sure about all of it's abilities.PROS: The bottom line is that this is a very, very powerful program. The PowerPoint version of the maps is a solid plus.TERRY'S RATING: I give them FOUR of FIVE STARS.
For more information visit:XENOS MULTIMEDIA LECTURES ON CDROMXenos, a Christian Fellowship in Columbus Ohio, has started producing a variety of multimedia CDROMs. One example that I reviewed was 'Objections To Christianity' which reproduces a series of lectures concerning why Christians should trust the Bible, the problem of Evil and Suffering, Evolution, and World Religions. Although I do have a few reservations, I am very pleased to see them pushing the envelope in the use of multimedia for Bible Teaching.An audio of the lecturer’s speech is recorded on the CDROM and a PowerPoint Slide Show plays in the background. These slide shows are designed for reproducing the lectures rather than for providing the user with a editable set of slides. Basically, if you plan to use these lectures in your class then you simply load the slide show and let it run.
Rather than show graphics that illustrate the lesson, the slide shows generally show images of the person teaching the lecture. The main points and scriptures are typed out in text on the slides. Few of the slides had anything other than the main points in text and pictures of the speakers.
The Evolution presentation did have a few great graphics, however.CONS: On the downside, I did feel a bit unsatisfied with the minimal use of graphics. I would have liked to have seen a lot more supporting images in the presentations. In addition, the sound quality was marginal. This was surely done to keep the file size small. In the future I expect that this will be corrected.PROS: The prices of these disks are very reasonable at only about $10 to $15 per CDROM. The particular disk reviewed contained 8 lectures.
The CDs look like they are made locally and show how a church can put out a multimedia CDROM on a budget.The bottom line is that I recommend that you buy at least one disk and try them out. If nothing else, it will be a good demonstration of the technology being used.TERRY'S RATING: I give them FOUR STARS.This review is a technical review only. The religious views presented by Xenos may or may not be in agreement with your own.The minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, 486 at 100 MHz, 4X CDROM, 16MB RAM, Sound and Real Audio player version 5.0 or later software. The disk comes with stand alone PowerPoint viewer software.
1-800-698-7884CHARLTON HESTON - VOYAGE THROUGH THE BIBLEIf you are looking for a good way to show the advantage of using the computer to present your lesson then you can’t get much better than the Charlton Heston series. There are two disks, one for the life of Christ and the other for Creation through the life of Moses. Both are great.This software does a good job of combining the performer’s great voice with terrific visuals. The disks are full of ancient artwork, modern photography and classical art. The presentation is strictly professional. If nothing else, the disks give a good example of what great presentations can be.
I like to intersperse portions from these disks into my various classes to provide a nice break from the normal PowerPoint presentations and discussions.The photographs of ancient sites and artifacts are obvious good illustrations for the classes. The introduction of classical art in the series gives an opportunity to discuss what was the artist trying to convey and how the Bible story differed from the art. Such material almost always makes for an interesting discussion.The advantage of CD-Roms is that you can skip to desired topic without having to wade through a long video tape. If you like to tinker you can search the disks and pull off the avi files you want and show them where ever you wish in your presentations. Please remember, however that this material is copyrighted so you can’t redistribute anything on these disks. Some of the things that I especially like are the controllable 3D animations such as the one for the Egyptian Thebes temple and Herod’s temple. The ability to visit 3D recreations of these structures is something we couldn’t do before the computer age.Back a few years ago I paid nearly $40 for the New Testament disk alone. Just a few weeks ago I ran across the package deal of BOTH the New Testament disk, the Old Testament and 6 other software units in a single package for only $29.96 at Walmart. This package is put out by Rhino software and is a great value.
In addition to the Heston series you also get:. Compton Multimedia Bible with James Earl Jones. Billy Graham’s Steps to Peace with God (Billy Graham style evangelism disk).
1000+ Bible Clip Art Image pack. Zondervan NIV Bible (searchable, etc.). What Would Jesus Do Screensaver. Actual Reality (Religious Music “Video” type CD.)This package was put together by Rhinosoft Interactive 105 E. Wisconsin Ave, Oconomowoc, WI 63066PROS: A great value.
Lumina Bible Downloads
You will certainly find something that you like in this set.CONS: There is such a wide variety of material that you will surely find something that you disagree with. I thought that the Voyage Thru the Bible was just slightly “liberal” and I don’t agree with the subject matter of several titles. When you buy a package at this reduced price you don’t get any printed documentation except for a one sheet handout telling how to install each CD.
I had problem installing the Old Testament CD. The good news was that the sheet gave a 1-800 number that worked!I called it at 11:00 PM and got an immediate answer to my problem. This was a real surprise.TERRY’S RATING: Five Stars! This is a super value. If you are teaching electronically then you simply MUST buy this set.
PHOTOBUBBLE - “A WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS”This CDROM by Parson’s Technology is a interesting software package. The concept is a neat idea. They traveled to the Holy Land set up a camera on location and took 360 degrees of photos. They then stitched the photos together to create a seamless “bubble” photograph that you can navigate with your mouse. By clicking on various portions of the screen you can look all around yourself. To a certain extent, you can even zoom in on objects. This allows you to travel to the Holyland in a virtual world and visit various Holyland sites.I would like this software a lot more if they concentrated on archaeology instead of the sites that they chose.
Sunday Software'sSupport Page for the Ilumina Bible CD/DVD(including an )Pleasenote: this page is for our customers who have purchased oneof two versions of Ilumina from us, either the 'Gold PremiumEdition' or the newer 'Ilumina Bible DVD' (which is the GoldPremium edition with some tweaks, repackaged, andre-released October 2010 under the simple original name 'Ilumina Bible').Wecannot respond to requests about the original version ofIlumina Bible CD, Ilumina 'silver', Ilumina Gold, IluminaParent-Teacher edition, or any of the various Iluminaupdaters or 'unlock' versions of Ilumina. For helpwith those, go to ilumina.com. (That said, these notesmay help.)Yes,Ilumina has come out in many editions over the years!And not all of them will run on today's operating systems.We sell only the latest full version of Ilumina. Whenviewing screens in the Ilumina program, you might seemisleading copyright dates or name left over from thedeveloper's continual updating of the program. For example,the Ilumina Gold Premium DVD's exit screen still has thecopyright of 2006, even though the program has been updatedseveral times since.