Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Fun-2-Learn Computer Cool School

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

We have tried a few 'early computer learning toys' and found them wanting. This is the first one I have seen that is properly interactive, bug free, and well built.

My kid is only 2, so he is officially too young. But frankly, he has mastered the paint part of it already; he is quickly learning the rest.

A few technical points:

1. Yes, its like a USB keyboard but it does not act as a keyboard if the software is not running. So, the kid is not going to be able to mess with your PC outside of the software--a good thing. The software auto-launches and closes with the on-keyboard "power button" so the kid can start it up without help. My kid is 2 yrs old and learned that fast.

2. The tablet is like a tablet, not a mouse. Its position on the screen is absolute rather than relative. It might take the adult (me) a bit to get used to. My kid finds it easy, but he doesn't have 20 years of habit to overcome :).

3. The docs are evasive about where the kids drawings are saved. Here is the answer for Windows XP users:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Fisher-Price\Computer
Cool School\US\User0\Base

The 'Application Data' directory is normally hidden. Substitute 'User0' with the relative position on the log in screen. The files are regular .png graphics files. Fair warning: don't change these files. The software won't expect that. This is simply a hint for making a copy of them to email to friend/grandparents :).

If there is any downside to this thing, it is that it contains a limited amount of content. The kid hasn't explored all of it yet, but I suspect I'll end up buying the software expansions.

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FOLLOW-UP: A few friends of mine have tried running this product with Windows Vista. Very buggy. I only now recommend this for XP users. Typical of many toy manufacturers, they simply don't get software. It is not a "make once and forget about it" thing. You have to keep and plan for updates as the industry changes. The price they sell it to distributors for should account for those future costs.

I bought this when it was first released for my 2 1/2 year old. I hooked it up to my old Dell with Windows XP (this is not Mac compatible - and I converted to iMac in Dec). I bought the additional Dora & Diego software, and the Clifford software will be installed on her 3rd birthday in 10 days.

She LOVES this thing! I LOVE THIS THING! It keeps her busy, and she easily mastered all the navigating. The first month we had it, the old Dell had no sound - she still managed to use it and enjoy it in silence. Now, I almost wish I hadn't gotten the sound fixed! HA!

I'll definitely purchase the additional software to keep the variety in the activities.

The only problems I've encountered: sometimes a warning pops up that the keyboard cannot be detected. I just unplug it and plug it back in. Problem fixed. The cards that are the templates for writing are very slick and impossible to stack neatly - get a small basket or something for them.

I've found it quite durable.

The best feature for parents is that it requires a password to exit the program, so if you install this on your main computer, the child cannot get out of the Cool School program and into your computer! Brilliant!

I bought this for my 4 year old daughter and although she enjoys playing it, I really question the educational value. There are different subjects for her to explore, but the product is not really teaching her anything substantial. We have a lot of Leapfrog products and I have to say that this product does not teach her anywhere near as much as those do. Some of the product is hard to use as well - the letter writing part seems like a great idea but in reality it is next to impossible to actually recreate the letters and not have them look like disjointed pointy things (that look nothing like the actual letters). My daughter got pretty frustrated with that activity and now doesn't even try that one anymore.

My niece has the ClickStart from Leapfrog and now I'm wishing I'd bought that instead - it's really helped her learn how to spell 3-letter words and it's great that there's so much focus on computer skils too (another thing the Cool School does not do).

All in all, definitely not worth my $[...].

We bought this for my daughter last Christmas, only to find out that the $15 games are going for over $200 (wonderpets) The product has been discontinued by Fisher Price so now people are price gauging like crazy! It is a very fun toy my daughter loves it and has 4 or 5 games that I bought in the $30 range from Ebay, but if I knew the games weren't going to be made anymore I never would have bought it. Just wanted to make you people aware of this, especially since now I see it is at a lightening deal price.

I bought this toy mostly for my 5 yr old but my 7 yr old also likes playing it. Very simple to install I had no problems at all. Each game add-on has a lot of things to do. Very educational, highly recommend. It is somewhat similar to to the Digital Arts and Crafts Studio but this is more of an educational toy than just pictures.

My 4 year old twins received this for their birthday last month. They are really into "learning" stuff like practicing counting, letters, numbers and so on. Yeah, it may not be a really great learning toy but what toy is? That is what school and parents are for. This is a toy that just help to reinforce what they have learned from school or parents.

My daughters like the drawing part the best. It may not have a specific learning objective like other areas but the game itself gives them independence and the navigation helps with dexterity. And of course the stamps are tons of fun.

They also play with the math games where they have to click on a specific number of shapes. It helps with shape recognition and counting. And the letters/sounds help with letter recognition as well as phonics. Everything on the toy helps them to learn something.

Someone else mentioned the Click Start is so much better. I have to disagree. We also have the Click Start by Leap Frog and the mouse on that is so small and so touchy that my daughters get frustrated with it very quickly. Either the styllis or regular computer mouse can be used to navigate and select on this toy and it seems to be much easier for them. And the games on the Click Start (we have most of them) are not any more educational or fun.

The large, simple buttons make it easy for them to navigate from one area of the "school" to the next with little help from me. The Click Start has typical video or computer game menus that 4-yr-olds have a hard time getting back to and understanding what to do next to get where they want to go.

My one gripe would be that the blue plastic cover on the styllis pad comes off often. But, overall it's a fun and educational toy. I can't wait to get more of the CDs.

I bought this computer for my 3 3/4 year old grand daughter. She goes to preschool where her group is at the "pre-kindergarten" writing stage. When I introduced her to the Cool School, she quickly adapted to the steps involved to accomplish a task. The variety of subjects were varied enough to keep her attention as well as motivated her to complete one subject before moving on to a new one. She seemed comfortable with the colors, graphics and sounds, and was familiar with the operating requirements after one sitting.

The most amazing observation I made was the improvement to her dexterity after her first hour and a half of "home work". Whereas she had difficulty moving the pen to the correct arrow at the beginning, she was spot-on at the end of the first period. By the second session she was attempting to write her letters on the writing pad.

The art program is particularly excellent. Both the grand daughter and her mother had great fun creating fabulous "paintings". I think that the variety of media and tools that are offered is excetionally thoughtful, and that it allows for instantly rewarding creativity.

I have purchased 2 additional learning discs, but I think that she will make a lot of headway with the original program, and I will save the discs for later.

Bravo and thank you to Fisher-Price for this amazing teaching tool, not toy! I'm sure all of my grand children will be eager to learn on this computer.

Our 3 yr old received this for his birthday and has been playing with it almost every day since. It is very easy for him understand and figure out what to do with the activities. Our 7 year-old also enjoys playing with it, even though it's below his level at this point. Very much recommend this toy.

Only gripe is with Fisher-Price, because after launching the software it shows all 6 available packages, even though you may not have all of them purchased/installed. They still show up on the selection screen, just slightly greyed-out than the ones that have been bought/installed. Obviously a marketing ploy that they shouldn't have to do. Our son constantly asks to see/play the software that we have not installed, because each is based on characters he's familiar with (Thomas, Diego, Scooby-Doo, etc...)

My girls, ages 4 & 6 were given Computer Cool School for Christmas. Actually my then 3 year old chose it out of the Target catalog, and I really thought it was a waist of money...but Nana bought it for them, and I am so happy she did!
It has entertained my girls for countless hours (although I set the timer, so they aren't on it for too long in one sitting) and they have created so many fun pictures. My 4 year old loves spelling "words" and my 6 year old is has fun writing sentences and creating pictures to go along. The addition train has also been a good introduction to addition for my youngest. After 5 months we finally bought two additional games and the girls have a renewed interest in it. Overall...the best Christmas present by far!!!

My 3 year old son has been using this item since last December. We have two of them, one for our home and one at Nana's house. It's helped him not only learn how to interact well with the computer, but it's also a great learning tool. The starter software has helped him with numbers, letters and shapes. Unfortunately, Fisher Price elected to discontinue the item in 2011. This is partly because it only works with Windows XP and Vista. The biggest problem is that they elected to discontinue the software at the same time. Terrible idea. It's like discontinuing printer ink when discontinuing a printer. Ink is typically available for many years after. Fisher Price dropped the ball, and the software is now only available through price-gouging opportunists on eBay and Amazon ($99 for software that was $17 retail). Bad move, Fisher Price. You should support your items with software for at least a few years after discontinuing the product, because some actually like to continue using what they purchased!