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ICT Training
June 2002
Contents
Job Aid
Prepared by Oksana Maibroda
Software selection workshop
What questions should you be asking before choosing a
software program as a tool for your instruction? Not all features
will apply to your needs, but a checklist may help you
determine how useful your software can be to you and your
students. This workshop will focus on different issues such as:
What does the program claim to help learners achieve? How
does the program help instructors? How easy-to-use is the
software? How does the software evaluate the learner's
responses?
Objectives
1
Defining
software
2
Evaluating
software
4
Activities
7
Trainer
Notes
10
Objectives
The objective of this workshop is to prepare teachers to
systematically examine computer software before they use it
with their students. The activity is designed to provide teachers
with a basis for evaluating software and creating their own
evaluation form.
CSLP — Software Selection
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Defining software
There are many different types of computer software packages
available on the market today. This workshop will focus on the five
that are more commonly used in educational settings. These five
types of computer assisted instruction (CAI) software are generally
considered to be: ‘Drill and practice’; ‘Tutorial’; ‘Simulation’;
‘Problem solving’; and ‘Educational games’.
Drill & practice
Drill and practice programs are those that present material to be
learned through repetition. This type of program is valuable when
teachers wish to an activity that will give immediate feedback. This
type of software is often used to enhance lessons in mathematics or
other factual material.
Tutorial
Tutorial software is able to present material that has been
previously taught or present new material learned in an individual
setting. In essence, a tutorial program will provide an opportunity
to enhance previous learning or create new learning based on the
curriculum objective. A good tutorial offers help screens to give
further explanation or further illustration. The tutorial should
present information and interpret wrong answers. When
interpreting wrong answers the program should have the ability to
continue the lesson from that point by providing feedback on the
misunderstood information before continuing with new
information.
Simulations
Simulation software can provide opportunities to test skills in real
applications by creating situations that allow students to act in that
situation. Simulations are used to teach procedural knowledge, such
as learning how to fly a plane or drive a car. Good simulation
programs can provide an environment for practice situations that
are not possible in the classroom or may put the student at risk . It
provides procedural learning when it is either too dangerous or not
possible to be in a true setting.
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Problem solving
Problem solving software presents problems for students based on
skills they have previously acquired. They provide applications of
basic problem solving strategies, means-end analysis, and
brainstorming. Problem solving software will help students to
create and improve their problem solving strategies.
Instructional & educational games
Instructional or educational games are software packages that
create skills in a gaming environment. The game is provided as a
motivational tool whereby the student go through elaborate game
procedures, master a number of skills.
While all five of the above types of software contain an
instructional component, only the drill & practice programs corrects
what has been learned, whereas simulations apply what has been
learned, and problem solving programs develop learning strategies.
Understanding the types of software available will help you
evaluate by choosing software by making educated judgements,
which software best meets the goals of the curriculum.
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Evaluating the software
Now that we have defined the different types of software available
to us, we can begin the process of breaking down the evaluation
into smaller, easily analyzed components. The components we will
be looking at are: educational value, entertainment value, ease of
use, design features, value, and packaging integrity.
Educational Value
To provide educational value the software must be able to perform
in a capacity that meets the teacher's curriculum. The software
package should offer good presentation in the topic area or areas
to be taught. Graphics and sound should not detract from the
program's educational intentions and feedback should be relevant
with meaningful graphics and sound capabilities. The program
should grow with the student and offer a nice challenge range, as
well as, provide strategies to extend the learning. To be
educationally sound the program must offer something for
everyone by being free of gender, ethnic, and religious biases.
When assessing the educational value of a software package, you
need to consider what the student can learn from this program and
if the learning is meaningful and in line with what you have set up
as a goal to meet your curriculum objectives.
Entertainment Value
Entertainment will provide a level of fun to the educational
experience and will motivate the students to use the software over
and over again. Entertaining educational software should include
graphics, speech, and sounds that are meaningful to students, as
well as, provide an appeal to a wide audience. The program
should provide a fluid challenge level and allow the student to
select from a range of difficulty levels.
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Ease of Use
The ideal software package should be easily used by a student with
minimal help or instruction. Students should be able to use the
software independently after the first use. It is important that the
teachers can look at the software and appropriately evaluate that
the skills needed to operate the program are in the developmental
range of the student. To be easy to use, the software must provide
good navigation by implementing straightforward menus, large
icons that are easy to select, and the ability to quickly move in and
out of activities at any part. Most importantly, the software must
be easy for the teacher to understand how to apply the program in
an effective manner.
Value
Unfortunately, many times our first question concerning software is
"How much is it?" It is important that the software creates
educational value, therefore a more appropriate question should
be "What is it worth?" Considering the cost of a software program,
we need to rate the programs relative value considering the current
software market. Of course, we must also consider the hidden costs
involved with implementing new software. Consider the following
questions:
• Will you need additional hardware to implement the software
successfully?
• Will the software require significant teacher training?
• Can the software be applied to a wide range of topics or does is
have a narrow curricular relevance/use?
• Can the software be used over a network to benefit the whole
school or only on a single desktop computer?
Package integrity
Software companies spend millions of dollars each year to give
their packaging the ‘eye catching’ appeal that will make you want
to make the purchase without considering the technical issues or
reading reviews. Before purchasing an educational software
package, be sure to look for the following information.
• The packaging should clearly state the educational objectives
and age appropriateness of the program.
• You should look for several ‘true’ screen shots to illustrate the
content features, as well as, the system requirements to use the
software.
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CSLP — Software Selection
Good educational software will always state the specific
learning skills addressed by the software and offer a thirty day
money back guarantee for unsatisfied customers. If a company
truly creates great educational software they will have no
reason to hide these features from consumers. They will proudly
display all the information needed to help you make an
educated decision on your purchase. They will be so confident
that you will find a benefit of their product that a money back
guarantee is not a big deal. When software companies do not
provide this information on their packaging it is like trying to
guess what a novel is about by looking at its cover. So, ‘Buyer
Beware’.
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Activities
Activity 1: Compiling evaluation
criteria
Brainstorm criteria that you would include in an evaluation form
that reflects your personal teaching philosophy keeping in mind
the students and the topics you intend to teach. Write your ideas
on large chart paper.
Activity 2: Development of evaluations
forms
Use the computer or pen and paper to create an evaluation form
with the criteria that meet your needs and those of your students.
This can be done collaboratively in small groups or individually.
Decide on the type of measurement you would use (e.g. rating
scale, strengths/weaknesses, checklist, etc), the grade level you are
targeting, and subject area. Once your form is done apply it to a
software package of your choice. Use the questions found at the
end of this document to complete this activity.
Activity 3: Presenting your results
Present the results of the evaluation you conducted to your
colleagues.
Here are some software evaluation features and questions to help
with your evaluation form development activity.
• Documentation & supplementary materials
• Program content
• Presentation
• Effectiveness
• Audience appeal & suitability
• Practice/assessment/feedback
• Ease of use
• User interface and media quality
1. What are the objectives of the software?
a. What is the intended purpose of the software, and where
is it intended to be used?
b. What does the program claim to help learners achieve?
c. What is the developmental level of the intended
audience?
d. How does the program help instructors?
2. How user-friendly is the software?
• Instruction manual
• Quick and easy
• Save previous work
• Quit from any point
• Save previous work
• Self-explanatory or based on a set of rules or instruction
3. How does the software evaluate the learner's responses?
• Informative feedback
4. Does the program focus on different learning styles in the
exercises?
• Recognition
• Recall
• Comprehension
• Experiential learning (learning by doing)
• Constructive understanding (using computer as a tool to
discover new information)
5. Does the program offer exercises that can be worked on by a
pair or a group of students as well as an individual?
6. How does the program keep track of students' scores/make
them available to the instructor?
• Keep a record number of correct/incorrect answers
• Track of total time spent on an exercise
• Average scores
• Chart their progress
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7. What types of activities does the software offer?
• Games
• Text Construction /Reconstruction
• Quizzes
• Simulation
• Problem Solving
• Tutorial
• Drill-and-Practice
• Exploratory Activities
8. How does the software present these activities?
• Cloze
• Storyboard
• Jigsaw Reading, etc…
9. Does the software offer a selection of possible correct responses
(where appropriate)?
• Feedback for both correct and incorrect answers
• ‘Flag’ errors
• Allow students to repeat exercises (correct mistakes)
10. How much control does it allow learners and/or instructors
over the content of the lessons?
• Modify lessons or add customized lessons
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Trainer Notes
What you must do:
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•
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Introduce software selection and evaluation and what issues
teachers should be aware of when choosing software for their
classroom.
Use the activities to allow teachers to develop and share their
own criteria for an evaluation form.
Provide some sites that teachers can use as a resource.
Things you will need for your workshop:
•
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Handouts for all participants
Projector and computer with live internet connection for the
presenter
Computers for all participants or pen and paper
Large chart paper with makers
Power Point presentation on Software Selection
Resources
http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/
The PEP site is an informational resource for Parents, Educators,
and children's software Publishers. The content of this site has been
developed in response to the interests and needs of these three
audiences.
• http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/
EvaluTech is a searchable database that contains more than 7000
reviews of instructional materials recommended for classroom use
in kindergarten through grade 12. Trained reviewers using extensive
criteria evaluate these materials. Products evaluated include
computer software, audio/visual materials, CD-ROM-based
reference databases, websites, and print materials. Evaluation
criteria include some correlation to state student academic
standards. There is no fee for searching or for printing reviews.
•
http://www.caslt.org/
The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers promotes
the advancement of second language teaching throughout Canada
by creating opportunities for professional development, by encouraging research and by facilitating the sharing of information and the
exchange of ideas among second language educators.
•
http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/index.html
The Québec English School Network mission statement Supports
and promotes pedagogical collaboration and innovation in our
community of learners. It provides interesting links for both English
and French teachers in the province.
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