Evaluating Software Programs for Your CoursePrepare Your Evaluation Worksheet
Evaluating and selecting software for use in your classroom requires a clear understanding of the specific skills and knowledge you want your students to acquire. With this in mind, your motivation for incorporating software into your course is the basis for evaluating potential software programs.
Put together a list of the skills and topics you would like your students to learn when using this software. Include in your evaluation how experienced your students are with microcomputers, software, and the Internet. Describe your primary motivation for including software in your course. For example, your students may need to learn a specific software package associated with a particular career or industry, or you may want to provide them with more opportunities to practice their skills. Finally, note whether you would prefer to have the software installed and run on school or student computers.
Budget
Have a general idea of your budget constraints. If the students are buying the software and a book, review the total cost to make sure it’s not prohibitive. If your academic institution or department is purchasing the software, learn and follow their purchasing and approval process. If you are planning on buying several copies for installation in a computer lab, consider purchasing a site license.
Software Location
Another aspect critical to your software selection is where the software will be located. The choices include the computer lab, on student computers, or run from the Internet. If you plan on asking your students to use the software on their computers, make sure that they own a computer. Whatever option you choose, you should still make sure your students have access to computers at your academic institution. Don’t forget to ask your students if they have Internet access.
If you plan on using the software in a computer lab, become familiar with the lab computers’ hardware and software configuration and multimedia capabilities by asking your media technician.
Types of Software to Consider
After preparing your evaluation worksheet, it’s time for you to start looking for software. Depending on your reasons for integrating a software program into your course, you may want to consider several types of software.
To help your students comprehend the material, take a look at software presenting the information using a different approach than your lecture and/or textbook. If you teach from a theoretical point of view, consider software illustrating the material in an applied point of view, or vice versa. If you teach the material quantitatively, search for software communicating the material qualitatively, or vice versa. These tools are particularly powerful if the students can input their own information and see the results. For courses involving a human element (such as history, sociology, psychology, humanities, etc.) look at software incorporating animated clips, historical photos, and documents.
Usually, students need to practice over and over when learning to apply mathematical concepts, language skills, statistics, or accounting. For number-based problems (equations, accounting, statistics, and economics), consider using a software program that generates an unlimited quantity of problems using a random number generator. For language software, look for programs offering your student the opportunity to hear, see and read the desired language repeatedly.
Evaluation Process
Once you have found a few programs that interest you, use your evaluation worksheet to assess each one based on your needs, and then evaluate the technical aspects of the program.
Technical Evaluation
The technical evaluation includes installation, ease of use, and reliability. Ask your media technician to evaluate the software’s technical aspects. If needed, ask the technician to test the software on the lab computers. If you have the time and are comfortable with testing software, you could carry out the technical evaluation yourself.
When your students are installing the software on their computers, a simple installation process is best, with obvious “default” installation choices. Note any problems or error messages you experience during installation. If the software will be installed on both PCs and Macintoshes, ask the technician to evaluate the software on both types of machines.
Ease of use is defined as how well your students can use the software without needing the manual or a lot of help from you. Click all of the menus and try the various features. Would you want the students to use the software in a computer lab, due to its complexity? Keep in mind your students’ degree of computer experience during your assessment.
Reliability refers to how consistently the software runs cleanly and properly on the microcomputer. The software should be reliable when it’s installed on a system using up-to-date operating systems (e.g., Windows Millennium or 2000). Investigate most of the software functions and features to see if you experience any problems.
Software Distribution
One practical detail related to student-installed software is distribution. Explore the software availability and packaging to ascertain if it is easy to distribute. Options for software distribution include “bundling” a copy of the software on a diskette or CD-ROM with the textbook and providing a copy of the software on a diskette to each student in class. If the program is freeware, you may ask your students to download it from a Web site.
Technical Support
Review the software program’s technical support options. Note: Do not rely on technical support to solve significant software problems. Instead, evaluate the software before purchase for compatibility and reliability (along with your media technician).
When experiencing software problems, most people prefer to talk to the software publisher’s technical support staff. When technical support by phone is available, find out if you have to pay a fee, and/or if tech support is free for a specified time period after purchase (typically 30 to 90 days). If telephone support isn’t free, thoroughly review their Web page and online customer service and ask if your students can contact technical support by e-mail without incurring any charges. A well-organized and in-depth customer service Web site can compensate for a lack of printed documentation or limited telephone technical support. When there is no manual, the software manufacturer will sometimes provide online documentation on its Web site. On the software manufacturer's online support pages, look for a searchable knowledge base, detailed “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” and contact information, including the technical support telephone number and hours.
Manuals and Online Help
Clear and thorough software manuals as well as online help can save you and your students hours of frustration. If possible, review the manuals before buying the software. Look for clear, easy-to-read writing, without much technical language (other than the terms associated with your discipline). Skim the table of contents and the index to see if you can easily find specific topics, or search online help. Specific examples using real data illustrated with printouts of the software screens often are the most helpful.
