Multimedia contents and interaction with the user are the
main strong point of educational software and the features that mainly
differentiate them from traditional media such books and television.
Multimedia contents give the software the capability of
attracting the user and children specially: cartoons, characters, dialogues,
sounds and movies are able to stimulate the curiosity of younger users and push
them to the exploration of the software.
A high level of interaction with the software gives the user
the freedom for deciding what to do: users can choose the direction to take for
exploring the software and can establish the level of detail of the provided
information and stop whenever they want. Links and hyperlinks through the educational tools invite the user
to discover new scenarios, new arguments and surprising points of view
supporting the development of associative thinking and of a multidimensional
(and multimedia) vision of the same problem.
All these features can drastically modify the way of learning
of the users changing a passive approach into the wish of learning. Instructors
often claim that children learn by doing, thus certain softwares which are
expressly designed to involve them actively in the learning process and giving
them the control of their education seem to be a key tool for improving learning
efficiency.
Educational software
in facts are not conceived to maximize the degree of knowledge of the users on
certain topics but their primary aim is to improve their learning and,
of course, a deep knowledge of the topics handled by the software will be an
worthwhile side effect.
By consequence children experience their own ways of learning
and thinking and become conscious of their peculiar learning mechanisms. Children will start controlling their own intellectual
activities and will exploit this new skill it in their future studies.
Major software products integrate systems for the
communication between users and between students and teachers. This aspect
results important as it allows the students to share doubts and experiences in
a natural way and they can undertake the software exploration together.
Common techniques for the communication among users include
instant messaging systems.
These kind of communication facilities allow the involvement
of the teacher (or possibly more than one teacher) as well. Teachers can take
part to the determination of the teaching paths of his students by deciding for
instance what to propose them or the level of difficulty, help the students,
answer their questions in real time. Moreover teachers interacting with their
students can evaluate their level of knowledge and plan the subsequent teaching
strategies.
Another benefit provided by educational packages is the
possibility for the students to self-assess their learning. Normally
self-assessment tests can be found within the packages at the end of each module (if software is organized in modules) or
at the end of a course, so the student can verify his learning by means of
quizzes and questions and evaluate his degree of knowledge of the presented topic.
Students are often attracted by the test proposed by these tools due to their
playful nature or to their simplicity and, by respect to traditional tests
proposed by teachers in classrooms, they avoid any subjection to the reaction
of the teacher or of the rest of the class.
Educational software offers several advantages directly to
teachers as well. Main products are offered together with authoring software
which allows to modify, extend and update both the contents of the software and
the test that can be proposed for student’s evaluation.
The use of educational tools moreover improves, for the
teachers, the possibility of tracking students learning and advancements and
can drastically reduce the time devoted to stand up lessons giving to the
instructor more time for tutoring activities.
Due to all these features, educational software gained an
important role in children education, at school and at home and over the years
many themes have been taught by means of such tools exploiting their exceptional
multimedia capabilities.
Types of Educational Software
There are many types of educational software available for a
variety of different subjects, but educational software companies have now
began to create educational applications for students and teachers to use as
learning and teaching tool. Some that have been so interesting and most
engaging software include;
1. Drill & Practice Software
Teachers can include drill and practice software to
strengthen the existing skill set of the students. This software is beneficial
when teachers are trying to prepare students for exams and tests.
2. Educational Games
There are numerous educational gaming software available in
the market. Educational software companies have combined gaming and education
into one. This type of software is very effective younger children because it
motivates them to learn.
Others include;
3. Simulations
Simulations software enables teachers to teach students
through virtual experience. For instance, students can use this software to
gain the experience of flying a plane.
4. Tutorial Software
Through tutorial software, teachers can teach students new
lessons and provide them a platform through which they may learn the lesson at
their own pace. Tutorial software consists of giving students new information
to learn, give them time to practice it, and then evaluate their performance.
