Overview: Types of Instructional Software

Instructional software can be divided into several different types. These types include applications, drill and practice, tutorials, simulations, instructional games, problem solving, multimedia and teacher utilities. Application software refers to software that is used to automate task such as report cards and grade books, attendance sheets, student databases and word processing. The MS Office Suite® products fall into this category, as do databases. Drill and practice software is very useful for tasks that require rote memorization such as learning multiplication facts or learning how to type. These types of software attempt to help students memorize by repetition usually in the form trying to beat ones best score by achieving a task with better accuracy in less time. Tutorials usually consist of linked pages that introduce a new topic and then allow for some exploration of the topic. These may be linear or they may be branching but either way, the learner is guided through a progression from an introduction to an assessment of the learning. These will occasionally be available as textbook resources and are produced by the publisher of the textbook. Simulations are visual representations of concepts that would be difficult to otherwise describe to students. These are sometimes called animations and are usually artist’s renderings rather than actual video recordings. They are especially useful for describing things that are either too small (atoms) or too far away (cosmic events) to be seen. Instructional games are designed to make learning fun and are often purchased rather than downloaded as a free resource. Examples include Knowledge Adventure® and Reader Rabbit®. Learners play games and lessons are embedded in the game. This type of activity is sometimes called “edutainment”. Problem solving software provides a problem to be solved with a certain data provided and learners must use logic to solve the problem. I do not find this type of program to be in widespread use at this point but I do believe many such applications are under development. Smartboards® are the perfect tool to pair with problem solving software and will make it much easier for teachers to capture the step by step procedures for solving complex problems that involve multiple steps. Multimedia refers to using video and audio production software to make things like documentaries or oral history reports. Slideshows, video clips on Youtube, and other presentations require creativity of students. Mac computer software is often thought of as the ideal resource for media instructional software. The last type of instructional software is teacher utilities. This might includes lesson plans and test banks. It also may include applications such as PCR Educator or HeadMaster. These are school administration software applications and are packages of software for school wide use. These can also include online grade books to improve school to home communication. Sadik, A. (Producer). (2008). Types of instructional software. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/alaasadik/types-of-instructional-software-presentation#