How well different kinds of educational software engage learners generally

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.