Educational software

Under educational software is any software that can be used for educational purposes.

The term was coined by the Austrian media didactic specialist Peter Baumgartner based on the English technical term educational software , which, however, can be better translated with learning software . The term teaching software, which is used in German-language media didactics, is also more narrowly defined than Baumgartner's term.

Baumgartner divides educational software into five categories:

Microworlds and modeling
Presentation and visualization program
Drill and test software
Tutor systems
Simulations

There have been repeated objections to the use of the term, especially since “educational software” is not a specific type of software, but a specific way of using software. Therefore, the term is so vaguely defined that it can be used for some important applications, e.g. B. as a decision-making basis for the financial support of software development projects, is hardly useful. It is useful, however, for the classification of programs and systems that - such as B. Programming languages for children - although specially created for learning, they do not correspond to the definitions of learning or teaching software in the context of e-learning .

Individual evidence

↑ Britta Voss, Wanda Grabe, Kirsten Wienold: Variants of media learning environments. ( Memento of September 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.52 MB) p. 35.
↑ Andreas Reiter: Medial teaching and learning systems. (PDF; 961 kB) p. 5
↑ Kai Glesczinsky: (Learning) software ( Memento from June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
↑ Peter Baumgartner, Sabine Payr: Learning with software. Österreichischer StudienVerlag, Innsbruck 1994.
↑ Ronald Knoch: Classification systems and typologies of teaching and learning systems. ( Memento of June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
↑ Christine Schwarz: On the sustainability of high expectations. ( Memento from August 12, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 40 kB) In: Erwin Wagner, Michael Kindt (Ed.): Virtual Campus. Scenarios - strategies - study. Waxmann, Münster / New York / Munich / Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8309-1093-2 .

[1] Britta Voss, Wanda Grabe, Kirsten Wienold: Variants of media learning environments. ( Memento of September 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.52 MB) p. 35.

[2] Andreas Reiter: Medial teaching and learning systems. (PDF; 961 kB) p. 5

[3] Kai Glesczinsky: (Learning) software ( Memento from June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)

[4] Peter Baumgartner, Sabine Payr: Learning with software. Österreichischer StudienVerlag, Innsbruck 1994.

[5] Ronald Knoch: Classification systems and typologies of teaching and learning systems. ( Memento of June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)

[6] Christine Schwarz: On the sustainability of high expectations. ( Memento from August 12, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 40 kB) In: Erwin Wagner, Michael Kindt (Ed.): Virtual Campus. Scenarios - strategies - study. Waxmann, Münster / New York / Munich / Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8309-1093-2 .