Abstract

Existing approaches for choosing educational software are criticized and rejected as inadequate. A novel paradigm, based on the perspectives of the teacher, student and designer, which addresses the criticisms of existing approaches, is described. A study of the use of this paradigm by a group of experienced teachers is also described. The results of this study indicate that the use of the paradigm helped assessors to articulate an holistic awareness of educational issues, enabling a coherent review of pedagogical, curriculum and learning issues. The authors maintain that this improvement in assessment is due to the scope of the paradigm for generating issues and questions which are directly relevant to the perceived use of a given software package in a specific educational setting.

Citation

McDougall, A. & Squires, D. (1995). An empirical study of a new paradigm for choosing educational software. Computers & Education, 25(3), 93-103. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved June 8, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/79799/.

Keywords

• Computer Software Evaluation
• Computer Software Selection
• Courseware
• Designers
• Educational Assessment
• educational technology
• Holistic Approach
• models
• student attitudes
• teacher attitudes
• Use Studies