SoftwareEducational Software, Its Types, Examples and How it Affects Student Success

Educational Software, Its Types, Examples and How it Affects Student Success

Educational software is a program designed specifically for use by teachers and students to support the teaching-learning process. This software is intended solely for the purpose of facilitating teaching and learning.

For this reason, while other types of software may also be used for educational purposes, they will only be considered educational software if that is its express purpose. In the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, the first educational programs appeared.

Features of Educational Software

Depending on the use of the software, it can be said that it performs one or another function. The features that stand out the most in this type of computer program are:

  • Providing online education.
  • Manage educational material.
  • Remote management of student tasks.

Although the functions are not mutually exclusive, the former is generally the exclusive use of distance learning centers or in exceptional cases where learning centers that offer face-to-face classes cannot fulfill them as such. On the other hand, the second and third functions will depend on the teacher, since these functions can be performed with physical material. Development issues are handled by the educational software development company Wesoftyou.

Types of Educational Software

It is divided into several types depending on the type of educational function that corresponds.

Type of exercises and practice

It is also known as exercise software because it allows students to work on problems or answer questions and get feedback on whether the answers are correct or not. An example of this type of software is practice tests. This type of software is designed for students who are putting into practice their learning of facts, processes, or procedures that they have previously studied. 

Type of Study Guide

This type of software acts as a teacher, in the sense that it provides all the information and activities the student needs to master the subject; for example, introductory information, examples, explanations, practice, and feedback.

These tutorials are designed to teach new content step-by-step throughout the learning sequence, similar to what a teacher would do in a classroom, and thus allow the student to work autonomously.

The aim is for the student to be able to learn the entire subject without having to resort to other support or supplementary materials.

Modeling Type

It is also known as simulation and seeks to simulate real or imagined systems to demonstrate student functioning. Thus, simulations are not used to introduce new content, but rather to practice and apply content that has already been seen in more realistic environments.

An example of this type of software is a program that dissects a frog and thus learns the same information without the need to directly manipulate the animal. Modeling can teach something or teach you how to do something. This allows students to experience events that, for various reasons, may be dangerous, expensive, or difficult to access.

Game Type

This type of software is also known as educational games and aims to increase student motivation by adding rules and rewards to exercises or simulations. These games are characterized by rules, a high value of entertainment, and competitiveness, with the aim of combining fun with learning.

For this reason, it is common for professors to use it as an activity among their explanations, to maintain students’ attention and motivation, reinforcing the content. By 2025, revenue in the field of software is projected to be 11.6 billion US dollars.

Type of Problem-Solving

This type of software is specifically designed to improve problem-solving skills. This can be achieved by improving general qualifications or by addressing specific content issues. This program should provide an opportunity to solve a problem (via a goal), suggest a sequence of actions or operations (via a process), and provide a way to perform cognitive operations to achieve a solution.

Thus, students have the opportunity to create hypotheses and put them to the test in order to try to solve the problems.

Conclusion

Software is a general term for various types of programs used to operate computers and related devices. Programs enable a person to interact with a computer and provide its convenience and functionality.

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