Contact:
Julie Gates
Sunburst Technology
800-860-4009
jgates@edresources.com
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW HOT DOG STAND: TOP DOG SOFTWARE CHALLENGES STUDENTS IN GRADES 5-8 TO BUILD DATA ANALYSIS AND MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog expands Sunburst's popular collection of educational simulation software.
PLEASANTVILLE, NY, March 24, 2003 -- Sunburst Technology announced an expansion to its best-selling line of educational simulation software with a new title that helps students build their data analysis and money management skills. Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog, which meets National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, engages students in grades 5-8 in challenging competitions against intelligent computer opponents to create the most successful concession stand business. Based on the award-winning Hot Dog Stand: The Works, Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog is shipping now. It is the latest in Sunburst's simulation products, which include the best-selling Hot Dog Stand: The Works, Ice Cream Truck and Concert Tour Entrepreneur.
With opportunities to experience the workings of a competitive market, students build math and reading skills as they operate their concession stands against computer-generated vendors -- each with a strategy for success. With three levels of play, students' goal is to outpace rivals by making sound buying decisions in response to varying conditions and events of a busy stadium season. Students rely on their research and planning skills to develop inferential reading, critical thinking and data analysis skills. In Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog, students learn and practice: data analysis skills; reading charts and graphs; budgeting and money management; using probability and statistics; strengthening basic operations; understanding business math; developing reading comprehension; and relying on inferential thinking skills.
Students begin by selecting from the program's three levels. There are four events to plan for at the Beginner Level, six at the Intermediate Level, and eight at the Advanced Level. In this program, students begin with $5,000. They review an event calendar to choose the best location for their hot dog stand in a stadium that is hosting a variety of events, buy a stand, and hire employees. They check the news for changes in weather and business conditions that could affect stadium attendance and the public's willingness to spend money.
To successfully run their business, students must pay attention to customer preferences and the strategies employed by their competitors. Therefore, they have the option to buy and analyze market research data that contains different types of charts and graphs prior to each event. They use the data to make decisions about purchasing supplies and setting their product prices.
When students are ready to open their stand, customers move about, going to all stands in the stadium to make purchases. As items are sold, bar graphs are updated indicating the amount of each item sold. As customers mill about the stands, speech bubbles appear revealing customers' attitudes about prices and availability of supplies. Students then analyze their sales results and adjust their business decisions for the next event.
Students who have access to the Internet also can create an Internet account within the program that allows them to save and open games on the Internet. This way, they can access the program away from the classroom. They can also see how their sales compare with other students' sales from around the world.
Pricing and Availability Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog is available now in a Macintosh®/Windows® CD-ROM format through Sunburst Technology and educational resellers such as Educational Resources®. The suggested price for a single edition of Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog is $99.95. Licenses for ten users are also available for $99.95 and unlimited site licenses are $699.95. A Network version is expected to be available this summer.
Hot Dog Stand: Top Dog includes toll-free technical support, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time, every business day. For sales and ordering information, customers can call Sunburst at 800-321-7511, Educational Resources, or their local educational reseller. Information and online ordering for these titles are also available on www.sunburst.com.
Company Background Sunburst Technology publishes award-winning instructional software for the K-12 school market, as well as original multimedia products. Proprietary series in the Sunburst lineup include HyperStudio®, Tenth Planet, HMI, and Little Planet. Top selling titles include HyperStudio, Type to Learn, Hot Dog Stand: The Works, Easy Book Deluxe and A to Zap! The publisher, a company of Thayer Capital Partners, is headquartered in Elgin, IL, with its development center in Pleasantville, NY.