Introduction ® Educational/Instructional software was first used as a tutoring tool for students in the 60s and 70s, but over the past 30 years, it has evolved into software that incorporates some or alll of the five functions. for helping students learn including. drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, games, and problem solving.© Universities, software companies, and open source projects have all developed software for educational purposes that blends two or more of these five categories of instructional software. ® Today's instructional. software also uses both objectivist and constructivist learning concepts in its design, which benefits the learner since both concepts are valuable ike) accomplishing educational goals for students.Knowledge exists outside of individuals and can be transferred from teachers to students. Students learn what they hear and what they read. If a teacher explains abstract concepts well, students will learn those concepts. Learning is successful when students can repect what was taught. Knowledge has personal meaning. It is created by individual students. Learners construct their own knowledge by looking for meaning and order; they interpret what they hear, read, and see based on their previous learning and habits. Learning is successful when students can demonstrate conceptual understanding.© Educational software is valuable to ALL.ages of students for many reasons including: » making learning more fun, > motivating students, » helping with long-term memory of the material, and > providing a thorough educational experience that incorporates many proven learning concepts into the curriculum.art a TOOL that helps. NCCC REe ome! eeeG ies ae teaching their students.P SOFTWARE that incorporates some or all of the PIV Une ONS MKOE helping siucdents [citmya and PRACTICE Rane lKo Micrel iUt= Software that uses drills to enhance learning uses. repetition | To help students learn the material. ——_Drills and practice are a form of objectivist learning and is excellent for students to prepare for tests and/or learn concepts that are simple or even sometimes complicated, but require memorization fo) ais material.~Some of the arills and practice software are also insightful since it might track the student's progress and continue to display questions until student's answer the questions correctly a_ given number of times before moving on to the next type of question, or a more difficult problem type. This is called branching.re ca TEs eATUTORIALS © Tutorials, like drills, often use branching by allowing students to move to the next topic after mastering a section, or keep the student in the current section if they have not mastered the material. ®©Tutorials are more objectivist than constructivist learning since students have little or no input into what is taught.Tutorials are difficult and expensive to develop, which explain why developers choose tutorials. less than other types of educational software to develop. Tutorials should WKxe) a comprehensive — approach to instruction and simulate a real classroom experience. to teach students the entire learning goals ~ of a subject. Wa =Simulations are educational software tools that simulate the “live” learning experience for students. Students use simulations in place of the live experience usually in advance of the = simulated activity.~The use of simulations saves money and replaces activities that might be not practical or may be even dangerous until the student learns the olen VINA “Simulations usually allow many different students the opportunity to paniicipate in the simulated (imitation) activity an unlimited number of times in order to master the activity before ~ participating with the actual oS they are learning.of the types of learning environments to be simulated are: a chemistry experiment, operation of an automobile or airplane, or biology or medical procedures.GAMES © Games are G form of educational software designed fo be fun, competitive, and motivational for students. olt is best for teachers to integrate games as par of an entire learning curriculum, but not focus on games as the only activity.®A good method of integrating games into the curriculum is as a reward or change of pace to regular learning activities. ®Some educators frown upon games because some games have an element of violence and discriminate — against students who do not excel in games.Plus, the educational benefit for games is sometimes difficult to predict. Games incorporate drills and practice, and simulation, but differ because of the rules and format. Games provide a_ stimulating learning environment. if used effectively, and allow students to learn while enjoying the activity.ional software that provides an NmMent for: > recalling information, > sequencing, > analyzing, > organizing, - predicting outcomes, and - formulating ideasProblem solving software helps students learn a sequence of events that leads to the solution, and is often included in math and science educational software packages.Problem solving software is motivational and improves the interest of the subject for students, but it is often difficult to measure its effectiveness and can sometimes frustrate students who have difficulties reaching the final solution.Problem solving software can. provide both an objectivist or constructivist environment depending on the software's activities and approach to learning.; INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE can} be Visited ‘on the} WTS or can be bodght-difrom software Site dealers. ,©The teacher through his school should decide on the best computer-based instructional (CBI) materials for the school resource collection. © But beware since CBls need much improvement, while. web-based educational resources are either paced eieisiems or what isBe extremely careful. Don't be caught up by the attractive features forgetting their instructional We] a ia} Evaluate the design and content elements: Text legibility Effective use of color schemes Attractive layout and design Easy navigation from section-to-sectionClarity in explanations and illustrations of concepts and principles Accuracy, coherence, logic of information Relevance/effectiveness in attaining learning objectives Absence of biased materialsoi choosing ine program i har presen Minwihe eclass™ ihere™cre®some programs thet are atiractive on the eye but it does not contain a 100% chica! content.