Page 1 of 5

Evaluating Educational Software

The ability to evaluate software is an important skill for teachers who wish to use computers in the
classroom. In principal, software can be evaluated using tools designed for reviewing other educational
resources - indeed if software can't stand up to this sort of assessment, it is probably unsuited for classroom
use. However, software has unique characteristics that also should be examined...

What Makes Software Different From Other Educational Resources?

Computers provide a unique environment for learning. The varied software available can provide
students with a rich range of learning experiences to meet needs through a wide variety of learning styles.

Because of the nature of computers, the learning resources available to use with it can provide
experiences unlike that provided by other resources. This means that, while computer software can and
should be reviewed using all the criteria described for any other educational resource, the evaluation should
go further by examining:

a. educational features that may be unique because of the nature of computers;

b. features maximizing learning by maximizing the use of the capabilities of the computer;
c. networking and connectivity;
d. friendliness in setting up and administering the use of the software;
e. ease of use by the student and the teacher
f. documentation (electronic or paper) that accompanies the product.

Three Categories of Educational Software

Educational software takes many forms, designed to provide students with a variety of knowledge
and skills based on a variety of models. It should be noted that software types are not necessarily mutually
exclusive; many educational products contain features of more than one of these types. For instance, a
simulation may contain tools such as a database to help students track their discoveries; an authoring
program may contain a rich library of resources making it contain elements of reference materials.

The following page describes some of the most common types of software - most software used
in a classroom will fall into one or more of these categories.

G. MacRae – Rev. Feb. 2003

 Page 2 of 5
Evaluating Educational Software

Categories

Software tools allowing the student to perform a variety of tasks that make use of the power of the
computer. Tools fall into the categories of applications, authoring/presentation, programming and
information gathering.
Application Tools: Designed to allow the student to write, perform calculations in a systematic way, store,
Tool Software

sort and retrieve information, create or modify pictures, sound or video. E.g., word
processing programs, spreadsheets, databases…
Authoring/Presentation These are special cases of applications tools used to prepare materials to present to an
Tools: audience. E.g., slide shows, group presentation projected on a large screen, interactive
presentations allowing a viewer to click on hypertext or other objects to weave
through an organized maze of information, or products published on the World Wide
Web (Internet)...
Programming Tools: Allow students to take control of the full power of the computer to make it do what
they instruct it to do. Programming languages fall into this category.
Information Gathering Gather information through external sensors connected to the computer are common in
Tools: the teaching of science.
Teaching software takes on a variety of forms. They may reinforce or teach knowledge and skills directly,
create situations allowing students to manipulate an environment to determine the results of changing various
parameters, or allow students to learn through playing games. Simple electronic books or complex interactive
multimedia books allowing students to explore a new or familiar story or environment also fit this category.
Drill: Drill programs are not designed to teach, but to provide students with practice
recalling information or performing simple repetitive tasks. Normally they include
feedback to indicate student success.
Guided Practice: This form of software moves beyond simple drill, providing, in addition to feedback
on student performance, some remedial help. The drill may move forward at a rate
commensurate with the student's level of success, providing more challenging exercises
as the student shows sufficient competence at his/her current level.
Teaching Software

Tutorial: A tutorial teaches a student by providing information and ideally assessing the
students’ understanding or competency in using the skills being addressed. It may
include tracking mechanisms to monitor student progress
Educational Game: These allow students to learn or reinforce learning while competing against others or
against 'the computer'.
Simulation: Simulations engage the student in an exercise that models an aspect of the real world.
One early simulation had students manage a virtual lemonade stand by making
decisions concerning supplies purchasing and pricing to try to maximize with a variety
of random variables (e.g. weather and its impact on sales) effecting the results. Other
simulations involve scientific experiments, social science exploration, etc.
Exploration: Exploration software allows the student to explore an environment rich in learning
opportunities. Typically students click on interactive screens to 'see what they can find'
- discoveries may include animations, games, quizzes, or any number of different
learning experiences.
Reading Materials: Electronic books may contain text for on-screen reading, read the text to the student,
or provide a rich multimedia presentation of the materials. Often the information is
presented in a non-linear format allowing the student to explore pages by clicking on
text or pictures. There is often a very fine line separating exploration programs and
reading materials.
Computers can provide a rich source of information in a variety of formats; text, graphics, sound and video.
Information

Students may access the information from menus, hypertext links and various searching devices; they may be
Sources

able to retrieve information for products that they are creating.

Reference Materials: These often take the form of CD-ROM resources providing the student with access to
large amounts of reference information. Some reference material may come as
relatively simple databases, others provide information collected and accessible
through the Internet.

G. MacRae – Rev. Feb. 2003

 Page 3 of 5
Evaluating Educational Software

Criteria
The tables below provide a set of criteria that may be useful when assessing educational software
for its suitability in the classroom. They are clustered under the general categories of:
• Content and Curriculum Match
• Pedagogy/Program Design
• User Friendliness
• Compatibility
• Versatility

1. Content and Deals with the specific information presented in the program. This may include
Curriculum Match the curriculum-related information that the program presents to the student and/or
the information presented to effectively use the software such as may be available
in help screens and on-line instructions.
• content supports curriculum expectations
• information is accurate and current
• all information is bias/stereotype free
• information is age appropriate
• promotes thinking skills
• promotes problem solving
• well-structured content tutorial available on-line, giving assistance on
many aspects of the expected learning

2. Pedagogy/Program Deals with features related to how the software design supports learning and the
Design curriculum. This may include learning strategies used in programs designed to
teach or reinforce knowledge and skills. This category of assessment is less
appropriate to tool or information software.
• text may be adapted to various target audiences
• has a variety of presentation formats to match different student learning
styles
• allows teacher to select appropriate levels of difficulty to meet individual
student needs. E.g., software designed to teach multiplication allows the
teacher to select the number of digits.
• allows teacher to choose content or skills covered to meet individual
student needs
• provides various levels of difficulty which can be adjusted by the student
• automatically adjusts to student's level of ability
• provides appropriate branching based on student responses
• provides feedback to student responses which is helpful to student
learning
• inviting nature motivates children to revisit the program
• provides the capacity to record and store sound using a simple technique,
as appropriate (e.g. in learning a language)
• allows simultaneous, connected use by a number of students working at
different computers. (e.g., a game that allows students at different
computers to compete for the purpose of learning, or a database on
cultural information is accessed and updated by students in different
countries using the Internet to link their computers)
• allows users to generate graphs or charts easily using data they input into
the program

G. MacRae – Rev. Feb. 2003

 Page 4 of 5
Evaluating Educational Software

Criteria (cont’d)

3. User Deals with aspects of the program that make it straight forward for the student to
Friendliness operate in a productive manner. Issues such as ease of navigation, support (on-line and
print), and the ability to quit the program may be included here.
• operates without technical problems
• will operate without difficulty beyond the year 2000
• on-screen text is easy to read and presented in chunks of appropriate size,
properly formatted for the target audience
• graphics are of excellent quality, well laid out, and appropriate to support the
presentation
• sound and video are clear and crisp and support the presentation
• sound and video are presented using intuitive controls for play, pause, volume,
etc.
• provides easy, intuitive on-screen help at all times
• commands and branching are available through pull-down menus, hypertext, or
other obvious links
• allows user to leave the program at any time (Quit Option) using an easily-
understood escape mechanism
• provides a mechanism to save work/progress when user exits the program
• provides a mechanism for user who exits a program to return automatically to
the same place at a later time
• includes a manual and/or on-line tutorial giving detailed technical information
on how to use the software effectively
• includes useful documentation and/or on-line resources to assist student
learning, e.g., blackline masters
• can be used independently by the target audience

4. Compatibility Compatibility deals with using the program in conjunction with other software or
computer files. This criterion is most often relevant to tool software but may apply to
others.
• allows users to import or use data from other applications as appropriate. (e.g.,
database program will allow data to be imported from a different database
application)
• allows users to import and use graphics created with common graphic file
formats, such as pict, bmp, gif, etc.
• allows users to import and play major sound file formats such as .aiff and .wav
• allows pages and presentations to be easily saved in a format that can be
mounted and used on the WEB
• allows the export of data (text, graphics, sound, and video) in formats
compatible with other applications where appropriate, (e.g., can export a table
or chart generated by the tool to a word processing document)
• file formats for products produced are Mac/Windows compatible, facilitating
use on either platform
• allows the creation of a free run time version, i.e. the software will create a
presentation that can be viewed on a computer that does not have this particular
software installed. (e.g., it may come with a "player" that is freely distributed.)

G. MacRae – Rev. Feb. 2003

 Page 5 of 5
Evaluating Educational Software

Criteria (cont’d)

5. Versatility Deals with a variety of useful capabilities that make the program more flexible in its use.
Some examples include…
• printing available when appropriate; may be turned on and off by teacher
• built-in tracking permits teacher to monitor student progress effectively
• allows the user to interact/collaborate with others over a network in a way that
enhances learning
• allows students to check and correct spelling readily, using a context-sensitive
Canadian dictionary, i.e. one that distinguishes appropriate use of words such as
"their" and "there"
• allows student to check grammar at a grade-appropriate level
• allows seamless use of the WEB and other networked resources, for example, a
word processor that allows students to imbed links connecting the document to
information on the Internet
• allows the information presented to be displayed as a computer slide show

Overall (Your The overall comment consolidates your impressions of the software based on the other
Summary) categories and clearly state whether it is an appropriate resource for the classroom. You
might include additional information based on criteria like those suggested below.
• learning clearly improved because of technology
• motivates the majority of students

G. MacRae – Rev. Feb. 2003