Customer Reviews
One of the best learning tools I've found for my son with DS! 
2008-04-06
We have used several of the Jumpstart programs over the years, because my son (who has Down Syndrome) really learns alot from educational computer games. We enrolled in the online part of this product, and it is very close to one of the best we have tried. (see review of School Zone's Time, Money & Fractions)
What I liked best was that every time he finishes playing online, it seems to 'revise' what and how it was presenting so that it is easier to learn the next time he logs on. He can't skip ahead and just do what he likes or what is easiest, he has to keep trying the elements that are more challenging for him. He loves the format, being able to choose his character and 'roaming' around the little town.
What I didn't like is it was a HUGE hassle getting it going on my Dell with XP OS, and I'm not a novice at this stuff. The good part is that they are available by phone support and worked with me until it was working. It proved to be worth it altho I almost cancelled the whole thing it got so frustrating. Also, some of the areas are confusing as to how to navigate and there is little on screen help. Again, their phone support is a huge help.
There is an online trial you can download, however, it is only 5 days and requires a credit card. You can find it at http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/jumpstartworld/trialsoon.aspx .
I am always looking for good software products for 2nd - 3rd graders, please email me if you know of a good one....or leave a comment telling me which one you like. Thanks!
Progress report emailed to mom 2008-03-17
First I would like to say I don't let my 6 year old play non-educational games. With that being said, she does enjoy this game and asks to play it as a reward. The map is easy to find and when asked to go to a charactor, they can click on the charactor and instantly arrive instead of having to move about the map. The reward gems keep her motivated.I just checked my email and the software mailed me an update on her progress. "_____ has completed counting 1-100, _____ has attempted the initial sound, ______ has attempted the ending sound." This was VERY impressive to me as I really appreciate I don't have to stay by her as she does each activity. So me finding the nitty gritty info of her strengths and weaknesses is fantastic! So tonight I'll sit there and ask her to show me her gems and with that excitement we'll work the weak points together. The charactors are cartoonish but for my child it's great.
Diana LOVES IT 
2008-01-31
my daughter can't get enough it is worth every penny, she is learning like never before, this system is even teaching her about saving money and to keep trying, it is also helping her self esteem. I did not expect to have to pay for each unit but I would recomend this product.
Dificult Install 
2007-12-25
The install was awful. It installed 600mb of stuff onto my hard drive and it still needed an internet connection to install. Just to launch the thing requires an internet connection. So forget this if you want to travel with it on a laptop. Why do they do this? I think it's so they can sell you more modules. Turns out what you buy only contains two modules, the other 10 you can purchase. Once installed it would constantly hang as soon as we went into the arcade. I ended up returning it. I also think, but can't verify because it didn't work right, that they show you the other 10 modules as places you can go, but are roped off inside the game. So your kids see these other 10 modules dangling in front of them. Meaning your kid will see these and put pressure on you to buy the other 10 so they can go there. Honestly, I think the game you buy is a ploy to get you to buy more.
Grandchild adores it!!!!! 2007-10-13
I purchased it to encourage her to do more difficult tasks in learning. Little did I know how infectious this would be. We saw that it had 12 levels to complete and the tasks plus lessons to achieve them were fun and viable. She completed 2 and was going for 3... couldn't do anything but play the existing 1-2 levels. My naive awareness was that I had purchased a game with 12 levels.
WELL... now my grandchild is hooked and we need to move on. You go to the website and sign up as a member to buy the other levels. I will say the better deal was to buy all the next levels at once, download them and move on. It cost more to buy one as you need it.
This is a great game. Everything works as it should, Graphics are amazing. You are able to put your own photo pictures around the town on the billboards or other adventure sites. A blimp flies around and you can add your own banner wording. It has become a family time game... because it is so interesting to watch how she learns, how she improves with following instructions, and how she is so excited to move on to another gem or earn a new badge. We even ask if we can do some of the races or adventures, because they are so cool.
She has Tuberous Sclerosis and this game has been a great fit for her learning disabilities and encouraging her to try harder. The math and reading tasks have really pushed her. We highly recommend this one.
Deceptive product designed to sell you more 2008-07-03
My son is entering 2nd grade, and has enjoyed the Jumpstart K & 1st grade products. I had thought this was another standalone program, like the previous versions. It's not!
The box has a section on the bottom, with requirements, and mentions that you need a broadband connection, but doesn't say why.
When I installed, I could not continue without creating an account on Jumpstart's web site. I never register software products, and dislike giving out my personal information, as it usually results in more junk in my inbox or mailbox. Needless to say, I used a fake e-mail address and got past that.
Next thing you get is a pitch to sign up for monthly subscription at [...]/month. If I hadn't paid for the software in the first place, this might seem more reasonable. Having to subscribe to a service that charges whether your child plays or not isn't what I bought the product for.
I declined, and my son did enjoy the games once he was in. The load-up time was very long, however.
Now that it's installed, it wants my e-mail/password each time the program starts. And it's now not playing nicely on my laptop. About 30% of the time the program gets to a screen that says UPDATING and hangs. Other times, I get an error that Application Starter has had a problem and needs to exit. Usually I have to reboot clean, just to get it to run. This is XP Pro on a Dell laptop that usually has no issues with any software.... not sure what's making it unhappy.
Overall, I'm not satisfied with this program. I'll give it a few more days, but if my son's not playing it much, I will replace it with something from another company. This subscription thing feels like a bait-and-switch, so my next purchase of this sort of software will be from another company.
Jump Start World the gift that keeps on Taking 2008-06-20
From the get go this was trouble: I thought I was buying a self-contained program. No. Your child can play with the cd but through their web site. With the cd you get "2-packs" only. Your child can not continue beyond that with out you paying for additional packs. JumpStart will take 7.99 a month from you whether your child plays or not. I didn't recognize these charges until 3 months down the road. I thought I paid for one additional month. They took the other two payments without my authorization. They credited me for one month but not the other two. Do I sound bitter? Yes, he did not play those three months(thinking we did not have priviledges to play.
Expensive for Full Version, Technical Issues, Good When it works 
2008-05-31
The initial price is just to get you to buy a copy. The 2 levels it comes with are hardly worth the cost. To get all the modules is insanely expensive considering the learning games just change the difficulty - there are no other learning games, just new sections of the game to run around. I've had technical problems with the graphics, and most recently with being able to play the learning games - but technical support has been non-existent despite multiple emails. The game itself is fun, my kid really likes it, he does learn with the games - but I have found it not to be worth the cost.
One of the best educational games ever! 2008-05-19
For starters, let me just say that we are a big computer family. Our three children have experienced many computer learning games, from Reader Rabbit to Putt-Putt.
Nothing can begin to compare to Jumpstart World.
Two of our children play JSW Second Grade regularly: our first-grade daughter, who is highly gifted and homeschooled, and our third-grade son, a bright student who attends school. Our third grader, as we expected, finds the learning games to be quite easy, but still engaging. He is still motivated to play and progress, however, because the 3-D environment and games are so exciting.
Our first grader does quite well with the learning games, though they are likely too advanced for many first grade students. As a homeschooling parent and prefessional tutor, I am very impressed by the amount of real learning that this game encourages. This is much more than just edu-tainment.
The gameplay itself is adventurous and interesting, and requires that children master learning games in order to complete various "missions." The children can also trade in learning game points, or "gems," at a special store, where they can purchase a variety of things, like flowers that they can grow in their own garden, pets which the children can name and train and play with, etc.
Our children received this game last fall. It is May now, and they still request to play often. We purchased all of the learning packs at once, which saved money over the monthly plan, and our first grader is on the next-to-last pack, largely because she plays it almost daily. I only wish there was a Jumpstart World Third Grade.
The reasons I gave this product four stars instead of five are:
1) The price to purchase additional learning packs is too high for many families.
2) The company should make it very clear on the box that internet connection, a great deal of hard drive space, and a graphics accelerator really are needed for this game to work. Not a problem for this computer-geek family, but perhaps a rude surprise to some other families.
Don't buy if you have less than 420MB on your C drive! 2008-05-03
I couldn't install this on my PC which had less than 420MB on the C drive. I had lot's of space elsewhere but this program doesn't allow you to choose which drive to install it on. So if you have that problem don't buy this software. I'm sorry if this is not exactly a review but if I can't install it for this simple reason, I believe people should be aware about it.
