11 Types of Education

Software Available to
Schools
More and more educational software companies, both online and offline, are popping up
to help fill a need for more interactive, personalized educational experiences for
students. Their benefits are numerous, and most importantly, education software is a
cost-efficient solution for schools who want to manage data and information about their
students in an organized manner.

Types of Educational
Software
Online education software has become an essential teaching tool for teachers to use as
part of their lessons. Their implementation in classrooms has improved performance of
both the students and teachers alike.

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. Following
are types of educational software that a school should implement:

1. Authoring Systems
An authoring system helps teachers develop their own instructional software. Teachers
can create electronic flash cards or index cards to teach children about certain
concepts. Also, they can create multimedia content like reviews, lessons, and tutorials.
You may even consider web based alternatives because web authoring systems assist
teachers in creating multimedia content that can be used on a website.

2. Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing software is used to create and design handouts, newsletters, and
flyers. Teachers can use this software to inform parents and students about events or
activities taking place in school. Usage of desktop publishing software is a must-have
skill for new graduates, and so high schools are already teaching students how to use
desktop publishing suites such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite.

3. Graphic Software
Students can use graphic software to capture, create, and change images available on
the internet, on the program itself, or images available online. It is especially useful for
creating online presentations.

4. Reference Software
Teachers can include reference software in research projects. Reference software let’s
students access the encyclopedia, thesauruses, atlases, and dictionaries.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Special Needs Software

Online education software also includes special software developed to address the
requirements of a student with special needs. This software is combined with assistive
software providing students with special needs with an effective platform to learn.
Examples include computers reading text aloud, speech synthesizers, and multimedia
software targeting certain learning disabilities.

10. Math Problem Solving

Software
This educational software makes it possible for math teachers to strengthen the
problem solving skills of students and science teachers may use this software to
conduct science experiments.

11. Utility Software

Utility software assists teachers in preparing tests, quizzes, and even functions as a
grading book. Teachers that are not used to technology will find this software easy to
learn and use.

Benefits of Educational
Software
Educational software incorporates multimedia content and gives users a high level of
interactivity. These two features differentiate them from traditional teaching practices.
Multimedia content like pictures, graphics, and sound help engage the students in their
lessons. For instance, when learning about history, students can go back and view
videos or other online-based content related to it. Online education software also
benefits teachers. It allows teachers to connect better with the students, helps them
keep the students interested in the lesson, and promotes a productive environment for
learning.
Software Designed for Education

Software designed to teach new content or reinforce a lesson can assist an educator in addressing
learners’ needs, particularly when time demands or the teacher-student ratio limits the teachers’ ability
to provide sufficient one-to-one interaction. Academic software can offer students opportunities to
learn new content or provide additional practice to reinforce concepts already presented.

Tutorials

Tutorial software presents new material, usually in a carefully orchestrated instructional sequence with
frequent opportunities for practice and review. These software packages are self-contained lessons,
often aligned with standards, and are designed and planned according to the principles of instructional
design. Tutorials may be primarily text or a combination of text and multimedia components, including
graphics, animation, and audio and video clips. Some may have built-in classroom management
components that track, record, and report individual student progress on each included lesson. All are
interactive, in that the student must respond and interact for the tutorial to progress. Tutorials give the
student control of the pace and often the path of instruction. Tutorials are limited by their inability to
respond to students’ questions or concerns outside their programming.

Drill-and-Practice Software Drill-and-practice software is designed to reinforce previously presented

content. Drill-and-practice software is used to questions learners on key content points, giving them the
opportunity to practice their knowledge. This type of software provides instant feedback as to the
correctness of a response. Some drill-and-practice software packages track correct answers and move
the level of questioning to more complex content as the students’ responses indicate increased mastery.
Drill-and-practice software ranges from fairly simple text-based, flash-card-type software to complex
and sophisticated multimedia software. Drill-and-practice software allows the students to control the
pace of the interaction, but users typically cannot alter the path of the review until they have mastered
each level. Drill-and-practice provides instant feedback, and it may respond with additional drills
targeting diagnosed weaknesses. Some drill-and-practice lacks quality and interests if used for overly
long periods of time or for too many review sessions, it does not stimulate learning or promote interest
in the content practiced.

Educational Games

Educational games present and review instructional content in a game format. Content is repackaged so
that it is furnished within the framework of a sequence of game rules and graphics. Educational games
are often better received by learners because the game component adds an element of interest and
entertainment. It is important to be sure the game elements do not overshadow the instructional
elements. Several broad categories of educational games are available to teachers who are interested in
adding entertainments as an enhancement to the classroom.
Adventure GamesAdventure games provide students the opportunity to solve mysteries and participate
in educational adventures.

Simulation Traditional Board or Card games

Simulations of traditional board and card games typically require that the student respond with correct
answers before advancing a game piece on a graphic of a board or playing a card in a virtual hand. This
type of game superimposes content material on the traditional real-world game. Students must know
how to play the traditional game to participate in the educational version.

Video-Game Adaptations

Video-game adaptations are educational adaptations of television and popular video games that add an
element of “entertainment” to the classroom. Games that let students shoot down the right answer or
race their virtual cars to the finish line by driving over the correct responses in the road are some
examples. Students enjoy the stimulating visuals and sound, practice eye-hand coordination, and
review content simultaneously. Gaming has been a widely accepted instructional strategy that has value
in a classroom.

Simulations

Simulations are software packages that present the user with a model or situation in a computerized or
virtual format. When using the software, learners interact with the simulation, and it responds to their
actions. Conditions are thus simulated in response to user input. Simulations are available that
duplicate the conditions and appearance of a chemistry lab so that student can mix and heat virtual
chemicals and see the results without having to deal with the real substances. Or students can dissect a
virtual frog or examine parts of the human body and see how each individual component works.
Simulations offer the student opportunities to interact with the content and to participate in discovery
learning. Simulations can time-shift models by slowing processes down or by speeding up the impact of
student-direct changes. They can also provide safe versions of what would be dangerous experiments in
the real world.