Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Chapter 1 THE PROMISE
- Chapter 2 STUDYING THE PROMISE
- Chapter 3 THE ABSENCE OF CHILDREN'S ACADEMIC COMPUTING AT HOME
- Chapter 4 THE AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
- Chapter 5 THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
- Chapter 6 THE ROLE OF GENDER IN HOME COMPUTER USE
- Chapter 7 SCHOOL USE OF COMPUTERS
- Chapter 8 CHILDREN'S PREFERENCE FOR GAMES
- Chapter 9 REDEFINING A NEW TECHNOLOGY AS A SOCIAL INNOVATION
- Chapter 10 VIEWING TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A SOCIAL PROCESS
- Chapter 11 REEXAMINING THE HOME-SCHOOL COMPUTER CONNECTION
- Chapter 12 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
- Appendix A A FURTHER NOTE ON SITE FIELDWORK AND ANALYSIS
- Appendix B LIST OF CODES FOR SITE LOG ANALYSIS
- Appendix C SITE LOG ANALYSIS CODEBOOK
- Appendix D LIST OF FAMILIES AND SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN
- Appendix E SPECIFIC STEPS FAMILIES MIGHT TAKE
- References
- Index
Chapter 4 - THE AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Chapter 1 THE PROMISE
- Chapter 2 STUDYING THE PROMISE
- Chapter 3 THE ABSENCE OF CHILDREN'S ACADEMIC COMPUTING AT HOME
- Chapter 4 THE AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
- Chapter 5 THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
- Chapter 6 THE ROLE OF GENDER IN HOME COMPUTER USE
- Chapter 7 SCHOOL USE OF COMPUTERS
- Chapter 8 CHILDREN'S PREFERENCE FOR GAMES
- Chapter 9 REDEFINING A NEW TECHNOLOGY AS A SOCIAL INNOVATION
- Chapter 10 VIEWING TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A SOCIAL PROCESS
- Chapter 11 REEXAMINING THE HOME-SCHOOL COMPUTER CONNECTION
- Chapter 12 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
- Appendix A A FURTHER NOTE ON SITE FIELDWORK AND ANALYSIS
- Appendix B LIST OF CODES FOR SITE LOG ANALYSIS
- Appendix C SITE LOG ANALYSIS CODEBOOK
- Appendix D LIST OF FAMILIES AND SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN
- Appendix E SPECIFIC STEPS FAMILIES MIGHT TAKE
- References
- Index
Summary
It is software more so than computers themselves that will ultimately determine whether educational computing will have a long-term future and reach its instructional potential.
(Williams and Williams, 1985, p. 5)Perhaps more has been written about software than any other topic in educational computing. At the time of our study, many observers held that existing academic or educational software led children to engage in nothing more than “electronic page turning.’ Others argued that while most software was inadequate, useful packages did exist.
The literature on software at the time of our study convinced us that the bulk of commercially developed instructional software did have serious limitations. It also indicated that a good deal of software was useful, and that educational computing in the home was worthwhile for children. We therefore concluded that there were far fewer Type III and Type IV families than Type I and Type II families not because of the unavailability of good software. Instead, the reasons, then and now, have more to do with family educational practices, family knowledge and attitudes about software and computers in general, and the conditions shaping families' knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
In this chapter we look closer at the quality and quantity of academic software present within the families in our sample and compare the results with observations about software in the literature. We then show how family awareness and appraisals of software affected the presence or absence of software and its use when present. We also raise some hardware and ergonomic issues contributing to software usage at home. We end the chapter with a brief look at what has happened to instructional software since our study.
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- Beyond Technology's PromiseAn Examination of Children's Educational Computing at Home, pp. 48 - 61Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1994