Suggestions are needed....

[Rossian]

.......for interesting software to be loaded onto a laptop which a bright 11yr old grandaughter will be getting.

She's getting it because she goes to a school where all the homework HAS to be done on-line and where 95 % of all interaction with the school (travel, school meals/ paying for extra classes etc) is also on-line.

As windows 8 will almost certainly be the default OS - will this limit choice? Not being a boring old fart like wot I is she sees no problems with touch screen interfaces (she picked up Granny's iPad and was whizzing around it in 5 mins last Christmas).

Anyone with first hand experience of what might be useful/challenging/ interesting in here?

Oh, and not hideously expensive would be good as well.

The Ancient Mariner

[mixture]

Wolfram Mathematica ? :E

Reckon you'll need to give us a bit more of a clue.... what sort of things is she bright at ?

[Rossian]

........I would say that she's brilliant at everything - but that's just being a fond Grandad.
This is first year of secondary school so there's a fair amount of trying different subjects out. She has done well, at primary, as well as so far this year at maths, music and English. The way that maths is taught now I personally find similar to nailing a jelly to the wall so I keep a distance from that. English I understand and have taught to foreigners so grammar is important. With her peers grammar is "super-boring, Grandad, innit" (She adds that last word to wind me up.)
Spanish is taught without ANY reference to grammar - not even the vital bits of the verbs to be and to have, which I find baffling.
I'll certainly look up your suggestion on maths.
A good language programme would be useful, I think.
Music? Probably a good teacher and lots of practice will improve that.
I'm open to suggestions but ones from direct experience would be best.

The Ancient Mariner

[Saab Dastard]

If you can get a Student licence for Sibelius that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, it would be excellent for someone interested in music. I've looked at an eval version (my son has it at school) and was impressed, but it is expensive.

SD

[mixture]

Rossian,

Thanks for that.

Guess I should point out that the particular choice of smiley was there next to Mathematica for a reason... however if she is particularly gifted at maths then I guess such a piece of software may provide her with something to grow into (and give her nice fancy ways to present her maths homework to the teachers !).

The problem with language is as you point out.... most modern teaching methods tend to focus on the fast results method (i.e. basically vocabulary and examples of applications in basic phrases). Most resources I know of are in textbook form.... for example, if you are serious about getting her into French you basically want to investigate the two bible brands that are BLED and Bescherelle .... and any so called French teacher that either does not know about them or does not use them in their tuition process is not a French teacher worth listening to (PM me if you want more info or pointer in the right direction on this topic).

I'll have a think.....

[jimtherev]

Yes, I agree: nice to have but v. expensive if you aren't sure it will be used. I would love it, but make do with Noteworthy Composer, which allows me to write music, import and mess about with midi files, add lyrics and print everything out. Evaulation copy is free, here: NoteWorthy Composer - Download Evaluation (http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/composer/evaluate.htm) , and a full license is $49.

[Rossian]

....I had a brainwave this AM and rang her school. I explained the reason for "no names no pack drill" and the lady said MS Office. That can be used for any likely homework project and with proper internet access she can get all the other stuff in the "School IT site" music ,maths languages etc. It sounds quite a switched on place.
Beats the crap out of my slate and slate pencil (yes,really) as a means of passing on knowledge.

The Ancient Mariner

[Dak Man]

Open Office is free online and offers most of the MS Office functionality.

[Saab Dastard]

the lady said MS Office

One used to be able to get a student license for Office 2010 pro for £35 (I know, I did for my 2 sons), but now you would be lucky to get Office 2013 (not Orifice 365) for twice that, sadly.

SD

[Rossian]

...that was the Office package we were looking at. How,exactly, does one go about getting a student licence (bearing in mind that this is an 11 yr old)?

The Ancient Mariner

[Ancient Observer]

Google "software for students".
Prices vary.
MS have been on a broad campaign to get the discounts stopped, so you have to hunt around a bit.

[MacBoero]

Microsoft Office Student and Home Edition full product is about £110 nowadays and includes Word, Excel, Onenote and PowerPoint. The discounted offering for students is the Office365 product, which costs £60, runs for 4 years and entitles the qualifying student to use Word, Excel, Onenote, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Publisher. They also get access the cloud services with 20GB space and can do things like online collaborative work.

[mixture]

How,exactly, does one go about getting a student licence (bearing in mind that this is an 11 yr old)?

If you're feeling lazy, try any of the big Microsnot resellers... dabs, misco etc.

Might even find it on Amazon if you're lucky.

[Mike-Bracknell]

Student discounts, deals & offers for premium software in UK - Software4Students (http://www.software4students.co.uk/)