Educational software
Encyclopedia
Educational software is computer software
, the primary purpose of which is teaching
or self-learning
.
s to generate simulated onboard instrument data. One such system was the type19 synthetic radar trainer, built in 1943. From these early attempts in the WWII era through the mid 1970s, educational software was directly tied to the hardware, usually mainframe computer
s, on which it ran. Pioneering educational computer systems in this era included the PLATO system (1960), developed at the University of Illinois, and TICCIT
(1969). In 1963, IBM had established a partnership with Stanford University's College for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences (IMSSS), directed by Patrick Suppes
, to develop the first comprehensive CAI elementary school curriculum which was implemented on a large scale in schools in both California and Mississippi. In 1967 Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC, now Pearson Education Technologies) was formed to market to schools the materials developed through the IBM partnership. Early terminals that ran educational systems cost over $10,000, putting them out of reach of most institutions. Some programming language
s from this period, particularly BASIC
(1963), and LOGO
(1967) can also be considered educational, as they were specifically targeted to students and novice computer users. The PLATO IV system, released in 1972, supported many features which later became standard in educational software running on home computers. Its features included bitmap graphics, primitive sound generation, and support for non-keyboard input device
s, including the touchscreen
.
in 1975, changed the field of software in general, with specific implications for educational software. Whereas users prior to 1975 were dependent upon university or government owned mainframe computer
s with timesharing, users after this shift could create and use software for computers in homes and schools, computers available for less than $2000. By the early 1980s, the availability of personal computers including the Apple II
(1977), Commodore PET
(1977), Commodore VIC-20
(1980), and Commodore 64
(1982) allowed for the creation of companies and nonprofits which specialized in educational software. Brøderbund
and The Learning Company
are key companies from this period, and MECC
, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, a key non-profit software developer. These and other companies designed a range of titles for personal computers, with the bulk of the software initially developed for the Apple II.
graphics and sound were increasingly used in educational programs. CD-ROM
s became the preferred method for content delivery. With the spread of the internet in the second half of the 1990s, new methods of educational software delivery appeared. In the history of virtual learning environments
, the 1990s were a time of growth for educational software systems, primarily due to the advent of the affordable computer and of the Internet
. Today Higher Education institutions use virtual learning environments like Blackboard Inc.
to provide greater accessibility to learners.
’s National Curriculum). The design of educational software programmes for home use has been influenced strongly by computer gaming concepts – in other words, they are designed to be fun as well as educational. However as far as possible a distinction should be drawn between proper learning titles (such as these) and software where the gaming outweighs the educational value (described later).
The following are examples of children’s learning software which have a structured pedagogical approach, usually orientated towards literacy and numeracy skills.
formed to deliver to individual consumers courseware based on personalization
technology that was previously only available to select schools and the Education Program for Gifted Youth
.
software. While teachers often choose to use educational software from other categories in their IT suites
(e.g. reference works, children’s software), a whole category of educational software has grown up specifically intended to assist classroom teaching. Branding has been less strong in this category than in those oriented towards home users. Software titles are often very specialised and produced by various manufacturers, including many established educational book publishers.
and open-source software
systems are available. While technically falling into the Courseware category (see above), Moodle
is an example of open-source software with an assessment component that is gaining popularity. Other popular international assessment systems include QuestionMark
and EvaluNet
XT.
describes an intentional merger of computer games
and educational software into a single product (and could therefore also comprise more serious titles described above under children’s learning software). In the narrower sense used here, the term describes educational software which is primarily about entertainment, but tends to educate as well and sells itself partly under the educational umbrella. Software of this kind is not structured towards school curricula, does not normally involve educational advisors, and does not focus on core skills such as literacy and numeracy.
.
The first commercial reference software products were reformulations of existing content into CD-ROM
editions, often supplemented with new multimedia
content, including compressed video and sound. More recent products made use of internet
technologies, to supplement CD-ROM products, then, more recently, to replace them entirely.
Wikipedia
and its offspins (such as Wiktionary
) marked a new departure in educational reference software. Previously, encyclopedias and dictionaries had compiled their contents on the basis of invited and closed teams of specialists. The Wiki
concept has allowed for the development of collaborative reference works through open cooperation incorporating experts and non-experts.
for learning software for younger children and produced custom child-friendly pieces of hardware instead. The hardware and software is generally combined into a single product, such as a child laptop-lookalike. The laptop keyboard for younger children follows an alphabetic order and the qwerty
order for the older ones. The most well-known example are Leapfrog products. These include imaginatively designed hand-held console
s with a variety of pluggable educational game cartridges and book-like electronic devices into which a variety of electronic books can be loaded. These products are more portable than general laptop
computers, but have a much more limited range of purposes, concentrating on literacy
.
s of different kinds of human activities, allowing players to explore a variety of social, historical and economic processes.
For example:
Do games such as these qualify as edutainment
? To do so, they would need to have been created with a clear educational intent. In their publicity material, the developers of these games such as these generally focus more on the 'fun' aspects of the games rather than their educational potential. This might be taken as evidence of an absence of educational intent. On the other hand, large amounts of information of an overtly educational nature may be found within the manuals of many of these games (for example, Europa Universalis
, Railroad Tycoon
and Rails Across America
), suggesting that education was indeed very much in the minds of the developers. Accordingly, these games may be classified as edutainment
.
In any event, the games have been enthusiastically received in some educational circles and even passed into academic literature.http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/living/health/16792666.htm?source=rss&channel=montereyherald_health.
(or an equivalent user device). The history of such software is usefully summarized in the SCORM 2004 2nd edition Overview (section 1.3), unfortunately, however, without precise dates. In the years immediately following 2000, planners decided to switch to server
-based applications
with a high degree of standardization
. This means that educational software runs primarily on servers which may be hundreds or thousands of miles from the actual user. The user only receives tiny pieces of a learning module or test, fed over the internet one by one. The server software decides on what learning material to distribute, collects results and displays progress to teaching staff. Another way of expressing this change is to say that educational software morphed into an online educational service. US Governmental endorsements and approval systems ensured the rapid switch to the new way of managing and distributing learning material.
See also:
, foremost targeted to middle and secondary grades; and, UberStudent
, designed for the academic success of higher education and college-bound secondary students. In addition, Portos, designed by Cornell University, is a complete educational operating system designed to teach programming.
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
, the primary purpose of which is teaching
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
or self-learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
.
Early History, 1940s - 1970s
The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog computerAnalog computer
An analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
s to generate simulated onboard instrument data. One such system was the type19 synthetic radar trainer, built in 1943. From these early attempts in the WWII era through the mid 1970s, educational software was directly tied to the hardware, usually mainframe computer
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
s, on which it ran. Pioneering educational computer systems in this era included the PLATO system (1960), developed at the University of Illinois, and TICCIT
TICCIT
TICCIT is an acronym for Time-shared, Interactive, Computer-Controlled Information Television, first developed by the MITRE Corporation in 1968 as an interactive cable television system....
(1969). In 1963, IBM had established a partnership with Stanford University's College for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences (IMSSS), directed by Patrick Suppes
Patrick Suppes
Patrick Colonel Suppes is an American philosopher who has made significant contributions to philosophy of science, the theory of measurement, the foundations of quantum mechanics, decision theory, psychology, and educational technology...
, to develop the first comprehensive CAI elementary school curriculum which was implemented on a large scale in schools in both California and Mississippi. In 1967 Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC, now Pearson Education Technologies) was formed to market to schools the materials developed through the IBM partnership. Early terminals that ran educational systems cost over $10,000, putting them out of reach of most institutions. Some programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
s from this period, particularly BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
(1963), and LOGO
Logo (programming language)
Logo is a multi-paradigm computer programming language used in education. It is an adaptation and dialect of the Lisp language; some have called it Lisp without the parentheses. It was originally conceived and written as functional programming language, and drove a mechanical turtle as an output...
(1967) can also be considered educational, as they were specifically targeted to students and novice computer users. The PLATO IV system, released in 1972, supported many features which later became standard in educational software running on home computers. Its features included bitmap graphics, primitive sound generation, and support for non-keyboard input device
Input device
In computing, an input device is any peripheral used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or other information appliance...
s, including the touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
.
History 1970s – 1980s
The arrival of the personal computer, with the Altair 8800Altair 8800
The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU and sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics and other hobbyist magazines. The designers hoped to sell only a few hundred build-it-yourself kits to hobbyists, and were...
in 1975, changed the field of software in general, with specific implications for educational software. Whereas users prior to 1975 were dependent upon university or government owned mainframe computer
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
s with timesharing, users after this shift could create and use software for computers in homes and schools, computers available for less than $2000. By the early 1980s, the availability of personal computers including the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
(1977), Commodore PET
Commodore PET
The Commodore PET was a home/personal computer produced from 1977 by Commodore International...
(1977), Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
(1980), and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
(1982) allowed for the creation of companies and nonprofits which specialized in educational software. Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
and The Learning Company
The Learning Company
The Learning Company is an American educational software company, founded in 1980. It produced a grade-based system similar to Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series. The products for preschoolers through second graders feature Reader Rabbit, and software for more advanced students features The...
are key companies from this period, and MECC
MECC
The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium , most commonly known as MECC, was an organization founded in 1973. The goal of the organization was to coordinate and provide computer services to schools in the state of Minnesota; however, its software eventually became popular in schools around...
, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, a key non-profit software developer. These and other companies designed a range of titles for personal computers, with the bulk of the software initially developed for the Apple II.
History 1990s
Major developments in educational software in the early and mid 1990s were made possible by advances in computer hardware. MultimediaMultimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
graphics and sound were increasingly used in educational programs. CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s became the preferred method for content delivery. With the spread of the internet in the second half of the 1990s, new methods of educational software delivery appeared. In the history of virtual learning environments
History of virtual learning environments
A virtual learning environment is a system that creates an environment designed to facilitate teachers in the management of educational courses for their students, especially a system using computer hardware and software, which involves distance learning...
, the 1990s were a time of growth for educational software systems, primarily due to the advent of the affordable computer and of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Today Higher Education institutions use virtual learning environments like Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise software company with its corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is primarily known as a developer of education software, in particular learning management systems. Blackboard was founded by CEO Michael Chasen and chairman Matthew Pittinsky in 1997 and...
to provide greater accessibility to learners.
Children's learning and home learning
An immense number of titles, probably running into the thousands, were developed and released from the mid-1990s onwards, aimed primarily at the home education of younger children. Later iterations of these titles often began to link educational content to school curricula (such as EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
’s National Curriculum). The design of educational software programmes for home use has been influenced strongly by computer gaming concepts – in other words, they are designed to be fun as well as educational. However as far as possible a distinction should be drawn between proper learning titles (such as these) and software where the gaming outweighs the educational value (described later).
The following are examples of children’s learning software which have a structured pedagogical approach, usually orientated towards literacy and numeracy skills.
- ClickN KIDSClickn kidsClickN KIDS Inc is an online education company based in Carson City, Nevada. ClickN KIDS develops and markets online educational software to homes and in schools internationally...
, Research based phonics and spelling software titles - Disney Interactive learning titles based on characters such as Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, AladdinAladdinAladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
, The Jungle BookThe Jungle Book (1967 film)The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by...
and Mickey MouseMickey MouseMickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves... - GComprisGComprisGCompris is a suite of free educational software for children aged 2 to 10., and is currently part of the GNU project.It is available for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and other systems...
, contains numerous activities, from computer discovery to science - Knowledge AdventureKnowledge AdventureKnowledge Adventure, Inc. is a maker of educational software including the Adiboo and JumpStart series of grade-based and subject-based titles, such as My First Encyclopedia. It was established in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, then later merged with another large education software firm, Davidson...
’s JumpStartJumpStartJumpStart is an educational media franchise for children, consisting mostly of educational games, produced by Knowledge Adventure. The series is distributed as Jump Ahead in the United Kingdom...
and Blaster Learning SystemBlaster Learning SystemThe Blaster Learning System was originally created by Davidson, but is now owned by Knowledge Adventure. Originally, the series simply taught mathematics, but eventually expanded to other subjects, such as language arts and science. Due to the popularity of the original Math Blaster series,...
series - The Learning CompanyThe Learning CompanyThe Learning Company is an American educational software company, founded in 1980. It produced a grade-based system similar to Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series. The products for preschoolers through second graders feature Reader Rabbit, and software for more advanced students features The...
’s Reader RabbitReader RabbitReader Rabbit is an edutainment software franchise created in 1986 by The Learning Company. This series currently makes up the greater part of a franchise of grade-based and subject-based titles, where the games for infancy through second grade feature Reader Rabbit...
, The ClueFindersThe ClueFindersThe ClueFinders is a series of edutainment software aimed at children aged eight to twelve. The series is produced by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older elementary-aged students....
and Zoombinis series.
Courseware
Courseware is a term that combines the words 'course' with 'software'. Its meaning originally was used to describe additional educational material intended as kits for teachers or trainers or as tutorials for students, usually packaged for use with a computer. The term's meaning and usage has expanded and can refer to the entire course and any additional material when used in reference an online or 'computer formatted' classroom. Many companies are using the term to describe the entire "package" consisting of one 'class' or 'course' bundled together with the various lessons, tests, and other material needed. The courseware itself can be in different formats, some are only available online such as html pages, while others can be downloaded in pdf files or other types of document files. Many forms of e-learning are now being blended with term courseware. Most leading educational companies solicit or include courseware with their training packages. In 1992 a company called SCORE! Educational CentersSCORE! Educational Centers
SCORE! Educational Centers , was owned by Kaplan, Inc., which is a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company, and was a United States provider of customized supplementary education and one-on-three tutoring services for children in kindergarten through ninth grade...
formed to deliver to individual consumers courseware based on personalization
Personalization
Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined mainly to the Web, it is increasingly becoming a factor in education, health care Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined...
technology that was previously only available to select schools and the Education Program for Gifted Youth
Education Program for Gifted Youth
The Education Program for Gifted Youth, at Stanford University, is a gifted education program which offers distance and residential summer courses for students of all ages. It is a distance learning program, meaning that courses are taught remotely via the Internet, rather than in the traditional...
.
Classroom aids
Some educational software is designed for use in school classrooms. Typically such software may be projected onto a large whiteboard at the front of the class and/or run simultaneously on a network of desktop computers in a classroom. This type of software is often called classroom managementClassroom management
Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers;...
software. While teachers often choose to use educational software from other categories in their IT suites
Software suite
A software suite or application suite is a collection of computer programs, usually application software and programming software of related functionality, often sharing a more-or-less common user interface and some ability to smoothly exchange data with each other.Sometimes software makers...
(e.g. reference works, children’s software), a whole category of educational software has grown up specifically intended to assist classroom teaching. Branding has been less strong in this category than in those oriented towards home users. Software titles are often very specialised and produced by various manufacturers, including many established educational book publishers.
Assessment software
With the impact of environmental damage and the need for institutions to become "paperless" , more educational institutions are seeking alternative ways of assessment and testing, which has always traditionally been known to use up vasts amount of paper. Assessment software refers to software with a primary purpose of assessing and testing students in a virtual environment. Assessment software allows students to complete tests and examinations using a computer, usually networked. The software then scores each test transcript and outputs results for each student. Assessment software is available in various delivery methods, the most popular being self-hosted software, online software and hand-held voting systems. Proprietary softwareProprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
and open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
systems are available. While technically falling into the Courseware category (see above), Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
is an example of open-source software with an assessment component that is gaining popularity. Other popular international assessment systems include QuestionMark
QuestionMark
The Questionmark Corporation is a supplier of online assessment software to educational institutions, public sector employers and commercial companies worldwide. The company was started in 1988 by current chairman John Kleeman. Primary markets are Europe and North America...
and EvaluNet
EvaluNet
EvaluNet Ltd is a South African-based developer of educational software headquartered in Cape Town. The company was founded in 1995 as Interactive Learning Solutions and changed name to EvaluNet in 1999. In September 1999, Naspers, a multinational JSE-listed media company, purchased a 49% share...
XT.
Edutainment
In a broader sense, the term edutainmentEdutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
describes an intentional merger of computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
and educational software into a single product (and could therefore also comprise more serious titles described above under children’s learning software). In the narrower sense used here, the term describes educational software which is primarily about entertainment, but tends to educate as well and sells itself partly under the educational umbrella. Software of this kind is not structured towards school curricula, does not normally involve educational advisors, and does not focus on core skills such as literacy and numeracy.
Reference software
Many publishers of print dictionaries and encyclopedias have been involved in the production of educational reference software since the mid-1990s. They were joined in the reference software market by both startup companies and established software publishers, most notably MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
The first commercial reference software products were reformulations of existing content into CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
editions, often supplemented with new multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
content, including compressed video and sound. More recent products made use of internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
technologies, to supplement CD-ROM products, then, more recently, to replace them entirely.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and its offspins (such as Wiktionary
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...
) marked a new departure in educational reference software. Previously, encyclopedias and dictionaries had compiled their contents on the basis of invited and closed teams of specialists. The Wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
concept has allowed for the development of collaborative reference works through open cooperation incorporating experts and non-experts.
Educational software on custom platforms
Some manufacturers regarded normal personal computers as an inappropriate platformPlatform (computing)
A computing platform includes some sort of hardware architecture and a software framework , where the combination allows software, particularly application software, to run...
for learning software for younger children and produced custom child-friendly pieces of hardware instead. The hardware and software is generally combined into a single product, such as a child laptop-lookalike. The laptop keyboard for younger children follows an alphabetic order and the qwerty
QWERTY
QWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
order for the older ones. The most well-known example are Leapfrog products. These include imaginatively designed hand-held console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
s with a variety of pluggable educational game cartridges and book-like electronic devices into which a variety of electronic books can be loaded. These products are more portable than general laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
computers, but have a much more limited range of purposes, concentrating on literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
.
Computer games with learning value
These are games which were originally developed for adults or older children and which have potential learning implications. For the most part, these games provide simulationSimulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
s of different kinds of human activities, allowing players to explore a variety of social, historical and economic processes.
For example:
- City-building gameCity-building gameCity-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
s such as the SimCitySimCitySimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
series (1989–2003) and Caesar (video game)Caesar (video game)Caesar is a city-building computer game where the player undertakes the role of a Roman governor, building ancient Roman cities.Released in 1992 on the Amiga, ported the next year to Atari ST, PC and Macintosh, the game was similar to SimCity...
(1993–2006) invite players to explore the social, practical and economic processes involved in city management; - Empire-building games such as the Civilization (video game) series (1991–2005) and the Europa UniversalisEuropa UniversalisEuropa Universalis is a grand strategy video game released on March 14, 2000 by Paradox Interactive and distributed in North America by Strategy First...
series (2000–2007) help players to learn about history and its political, economic and military aspects; - Railroad management games such as Railroad TycoonRailroad TycoonSid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation game. There are five versions; the original Railroad Tycoon , Railroad Tycoon Deluxe , Railroad Tycoon II , Railroad Tycoon 3 , and Sid Meier's Railroads! .Railroad Tycoon was written by game designer Sid Meier and published by MicroProse and...
(1990–2003) and Rails Across AmericaRails Across AmericaRails Across America is a railroad simulation game released in late 2001 by developer Flying Lab Software and publisher Strategy First. It received generally positive reviews...
(2001) illuminate the history, engineering and economics of railroad management. - Geography games such as PlaceSpottingPlaceSpottingPlaceSpotting is an online game, based on Google Maps. Its server is based in Switzerland and has English and German language versions. In international Media, PlaceSpotting is recommended as a challenging amusement and an educational way of wasting time on the internet.-Overview:The way...
(2008–2009) help players to find locations on earth according to some hints.
Do games such as these qualify as edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
? To do so, they would need to have been created with a clear educational intent. In their publicity material, the developers of these games such as these generally focus more on the 'fun' aspects of the games rather than their educational potential. This might be taken as evidence of an absence of educational intent. On the other hand, large amounts of information of an overtly educational nature may be found within the manuals of many of these games (for example, Europa Universalis
Europa Universalis
Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game released on March 14, 2000 by Paradox Interactive and distributed in North America by Strategy First...
, Railroad Tycoon
Railroad Tycoon
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation game. There are five versions; the original Railroad Tycoon , Railroad Tycoon Deluxe , Railroad Tycoon II , Railroad Tycoon 3 , and Sid Meier's Railroads! .Railroad Tycoon was written by game designer Sid Meier and published by MicroProse and...
and Rails Across America
Rails Across America
Rails Across America is a railroad simulation game released in late 2001 by developer Flying Lab Software and publisher Strategy First. It received generally positive reviews...
), suggesting that education was indeed very much in the minds of the developers. Accordingly, these games may be classified as edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
.
In any event, the games have been enthusiastically received in some educational circles and even passed into academic literature.http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/living/health/16792666.htm?source=rss&channel=montereyherald_health.
Software in corporate training and tertiary education
Earlier educational software for the important corporate and tertiary education markets was designed to run on a single desktop computerDesktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
(or an equivalent user device). The history of such software is usefully summarized in the SCORM 2004 2nd edition Overview (section 1.3), unfortunately, however, without precise dates. In the years immediately following 2000, planners decided to switch to server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
-based applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
with a high degree of standardization
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
. This means that educational software runs primarily on servers which may be hundreds or thousands of miles from the actual user. The user only receives tiny pieces of a learning module or test, fed over the internet one by one. The server software decides on what learning material to distribute, collects results and displays progress to teaching staff. Another way of expressing this change is to say that educational software morphed into an online educational service. US Governmental endorsements and approval systems ensured the rapid switch to the new way of managing and distributing learning material.
See also:
- SCORMSCORMSharable Content Object Reference Model is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment, which is commonly supported by a learning management system...
- Virtual learning environmentVirtual learning environmentDefined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...
, LMSLearning management systemA learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
(learning management system) - Web-based training
Software for specific educational purposes
There are highly specific niche markets for educational software, including:- Driving test software
- Interactive geometry softwareInteractive geometry softwareInteractive geometry software are computer programs which allow one to create and then manipulate geometric constructions, primarily in plane geometry. In most IGS, one starts construction by putting a few points and using them to define new objects such as lines, circles or other points...
- Language learning software (KVerbosKverbosKVerbos is a software program for computers. It is an educational program that helps people practice Spanish verbs. The program comes with a set of more than 9000 Spanish verbs and its conjugation. You can select the verbs and tenses you want to train...
or English in a Flash, for example) - Mind Mapping Software such as MindGeniusMindGeniusMindGenius is a mind mapping software application, allowing the user to capture large amounts of disparate information and view the resulting content from different viewpoints. It has been available commercially since 2001...
which provides a focal point for discussion, helps make classes more interactive, and assists students with studying, essays and projects. - Notetaking
- Software for enabling simulated dissection of human and animal bodies (used in medical and veterinary college courses)
- Spelling tutor software
- Typing tutors (KTouchKTouchKTouch is a software application written for the KDE SC desktop environment that drills students in the method of touch typing. It comes with lessons for many different keyboard layouts across many different languages. It also has exercises for learning to use a number pad. As the user types, it...
, Mario Teaches Typing or Mavis BeaconMavis Beacon Teaches TypingMavis Beacon Teaches Typing is an application software program for teaching touch typing. The typing program was initially released in late 1987 by The Software Toolworks and has been published regularly ever since. It was originally created by a team of developers from Software Toolworks...
, for example) - Medical and healthcare educational software
- OOo4Kids
Operating systems for education
While mainstream operating systems are designed for general usages, and are more or less customized for education only by the application sets added to them, a variety of software manufacturers, especially Linux distributions, have sought to provide integrated platforms for specifically education. Among the most popular are Sugar, aimed primarily at preschool and elementary grades; EdubuntuEdubuntu
Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities....
, foremost targeted to middle and secondary grades; and, UberStudent
UberStudent
UberStudent is a free and opensource computer operating system and collection of programs for higher education and college-bound secondary students, their teachers and schools, and researchers, knowledge workers, and lifelong learners....
, designed for the academic success of higher education and college-bound secondary students. In addition, Portos, designed by Cornell University, is a complete educational operating system designed to teach programming.
Selected reports and academic articles
- Judi Johnson, “Then, Now and Beyond… A Look at the Past 30 Years of Educational Software” in Learning & Leading with Technology Volume 30 Number 7 (2003)
- Warren Buckleitner, “The State Of Children's Software Evaluation--Yesterday, Today And In The 21st Century” in Information Technology in Childhood Education (1999), 211-220
- Virvou, M., Katsionis, G., & Manos, K. (2005). "Combining Software Games with Education: Evaluation of its Educational Effectiveness." Educational Technology & Society, 8 (2), 54-65.
- Said Khalifa, Chris Bloor, Walter Middelton, Chris Jones. “Educational computer software, technical, criteria, and Quality” in Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2000
- "An Environmental Scan of Children’s Interactive Media from 2000 to 2002" (An executive summary prepared for by Just Kid Inc., June 2002)
- Seels, B. (1989). The instructional design movement in educational technology. Educational Technology, May, 11-15. http://www.coe.uh.edu/courses/cuin6373/idhistory/1960.html
- Niemiec, R.P. & Walberg, H.T. (1989). From teaching machines to microcomputers: Some milestones in the history of computer-based instruction. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 21(3), 263-276. http://www.coe.uh.edu/courses/cuin6373/idhistory/ibm.html
Products and suppliers
- Adventus InteractiveAdventus InteractiveAdventus Incorporated is a Canadian IT company founded in 1996 specializing in educational software. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Adventus is a recognized leader in music learning software...
- ALEKSAleksALEKS is an Internet based interactive mathematics and science tutoring and assessment program for subjects in mathematics, the sciences, and business....
- Blackboard Inc.Blackboard Inc.Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise software company with its corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is primarily known as a developer of education software, in particular learning management systems. Blackboard was founded by CEO Michael Chasen and chairman Matthew Pittinsky in 1997 and...
- BrøderbundBrøderbundBrøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
- CourseInfo LLCCourseInfo LLCCourseInfo LLC, one of the two companies forming Blackboard Inc. was founded in 1997 by Dan Cane and Stephen Gilfus while at Cornell University. They joined together to officially form the partnership known as CourseInfo and developed the company into a small course management software provider....
- Davidson & AssociatesDavidson & AssociatesDavidson & Associates was an educational software company headquartered in Torrance, California. It was best known for the Blaster series, including Math Blaster and Reading Blaster...
- Dorling KindersleyDorling KindersleyDorling Kindersley is an international publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 51 languages. It is currently part of the Penguin Group....
- EdmarkEdmarkEdmark Corporation was a publisher of educational print materials and an educational software developer in Redmond, Washington.They developed software for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS in several languages and sold it in over a dozen countries.-History:...
- EducationCityEducationCityEducationCity.com provides educational software to schools and homes. The elearning service was founded in 1999 and the company said the site has over 15,000 schools registered and 8,000 families. The service provides games mapped to the National Curriculum in Literacy, Maths, Science and language...
.com - EvaluNetEvaluNetEvaluNet Ltd is a South African-based developer of educational software headquartered in Cape Town. The company was founded in 1995 as Interactive Learning Solutions and changed name to EvaluNet in 1999. In September 1999, Naspers, a multinational JSE-listed media company, purchased a 49% share...
- FuturekidsFuturekidsFuturekids, Inc. is a privately-held internationally franchised K–12 educational software company headquartered in El Segundo, California, which focuses on technological literacy and computer literacy.- History :...
- Inspiration SoftwareInspiration SoftwareInspiration® Software, Inc. is an education technology software company based in Portland, Oregon, which provides several visual thinking and learning products for the K-12 education and business markets including Inspiration®, InspireData®, Kidspiration®, Webspiration Classroom™ service and...
- Knowledge AdventureKnowledge AdventureKnowledge Adventure, Inc. is a maker of educational software including the Adiboo and JumpStart series of grade-based and subject-based titles, such as My First Encyclopedia. It was established in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, then later merged with another large education software firm, Davidson...
- LJ CreateLJ CreateLJ Create Ltd is a UK based company that produces interactive educational technology for the global market. Currentlythe company operates in over 60 countries.-About LJ Create:...
- Mavis BeaconMavis BeaconMavis Beacon is a fictional female African-American character created for the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software.- History :Developed to be a anthropomorphic representation of a Software Toolworks instructional typing program, Mavis Beacon debuted as simply a photo of a model on the software's...
- Promethean World
- QuestionMarkQuestionMarkThe Questionmark Corporation is a supplier of online assessment software to educational institutions, public sector employers and commercial companies worldwide. The company was started in 1988 by current chairman John Kleeman. Primary markets are Europe and North America...
- Renaissance LearningRenaissance LearningRenaissance Learning Inc. is an educational software and hardware company, publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol RLRN. It is headquartered in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, USA, with offices in Canada, and the United Kingdom...
- RM plcRM plcRM plc is a British company specialising in providing products and services to schools, colleges, universities and government education departments & agencies...
- SchoolForgeSchoolForgeSchoolForge is a coalition of open source software development groups, school boards, curriculum advisory panels, and other organizations intent on advancing the use of Free Software, Open Source Software, and Open Content in Educational systems, world-wide...
- SEBITSEBITSEBIT Education and Information Technologies Inc. is an e-education company based in Ankara, Turkey. The company is fully owned by Türk Telekom and it is located at zone of the Middle East Technical University....
- Software MacKievSoftware MacKievSoftware MacKiev is a company specialized in consumer and educational software development and publishing for Macintosh, Windows, and mobile platforms...
- SpicyNodesSpicyNodesIn concept mapping and information visualization, SpicyNodes is a method for displaying hierarchical data in which a focus node displays rich information, and the surrounding nodes display related information .- Main idea :...
- The Learning CompanyThe Learning CompanyThe Learning Company is an American educational software company, founded in 1980. It produced a grade-based system similar to Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series. The products for preschoolers through second graders feature Reader Rabbit, and software for more advanced students features The...
- 3D Indiana3D Indiana3D Indiana is a commercial Educational software for teaching and research on the human anatomy. The name is an acronym for Three-Dimensional Interactive Digital Anatomy. This softwareis basedon the principles ofvolumetric anatomy...
See also
- Adaptive learningAdaptive learningAdaptive learning is an educational method which uses computers as interactive teaching devices. Computers adapt the presentation of educational material according to students' weaknesses, as indicated by their responses to questions. The motivation is to allow electronic education to incorporate...
- Advanced Distributed LearningAdvanced Distributed LearningAdvanced Distributed Learning is the product of the ADL Initiative, established in 1997 to standardize and modernize training and education management and delivery. The Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness oversees the ADL Initiative...
- Audiobook
- Authoring tool
- Baby (computer)
- Computer aided instruction
- Computer-assisted language learningComputer-assisted language learningComputer-assisted language learning is succinctly defined in a seminal work by Levy as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning"...
- E-learningE-learningE-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...
- Educational gameEducational gameEducational games are games that have been designed to teach people about a certain subject, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play...
- Educational technologyEducational technologyEducational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and...
- EdutainmentEdutainmentEdutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
- Electronic blackboard
- Graphing calculatorGraphing calculatorA graphing calculator typically refers to a class of handheld calculators that are capable of plotting graphs, solving simultaneous equations, and performing numerous other tasks with variables...
- History of virtual learning environmentsHistory of virtual learning environmentsA virtual learning environment is a system that creates an environment designed to facilitate teachers in the management of educational courses for their students, especially a system using computer hardware and software, which involves distance learning...
- Instructional technologyInstructional technologyIn education, instructional technology is "the theory and practice ofdesign, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Definitions and Terminology Committee...
- Intelligent tutoring systemIntelligent tutoring systemAn intelligent tutoring system is any computer system that provides direct customized instruction or feedback to students, i.e. without the intervention of human beings, whilst performing a task. Thus, ITS implements the theory of learning by doing. An ITS may employ a range of different...
- Interactive geometry softwareInteractive geometry softwareInteractive geometry software are computer programs which allow one to create and then manipulate geometric constructions, primarily in plane geometry. In most IGS, one starts construction by putting a few points and using them to define new objects such as lines, circles or other points...
- Learning management systemLearning management systemA learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
- Online learning
- SCORMSCORMSharable Content Object Reference Model is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment, which is commonly supported by a learning management system...
- SLOOP ProjectSLOOP ProjectSLOOP - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective - is an eLearning and open content project started in 2005 thanks to a European project co-funded within the Leonardo da Vinci programe...
- SpellingSpellingSpelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters...
- Text-to-speech
- Virtual learning environmentVirtual learning environmentDefined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...
External links
- The schoolzone.co.uk Guide to Digital Resources, 5th ed. (2005) - A full-colour guide with reviews of around 500 selected and recommended products, categorised by subject area, albeit specific to the UK school system.