August 1994 — Features

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Educational Effectiveness of Computer Software

Yet Oregon Trail has become an arcade game at OOJH. Some learning may take place, such as fording a shallow river and floating across a deep one, but it is occasional and not necessarily registered for later recall. Oregon Trail is a software program with tremendous educational potential; however, the way it is currently used at OOJH is for amusement only. Results and Recommendations From our observations and interviews at OOJH, it was concluded that children do not utilize educational software as intended by its designers. The lunch-time computer lab was set up to provide students with exposure to various stand-alone educational software. It was not the administration's intention to provide students with fun activities. After all, in the equivalent study hall period, one is not permitted to play games. Each child used his or her limited time to fulfill some need for relaxation and fun; it was better to be at the lab and "play" than to be at the study hall and study. Each of the students picked a program they found challenging. Students also stopped using some programs, deeming them "boring," "too slow" or "not challenging enough." All students were attracted at first to a particular software game because it was readily available, already known to them, recommended by a friend or easy to learn. Each came back to a particular game because some characteristic -- such as scoring high or great graphics -- were appealing. These characteristics were put there by designers to encourage children to explore further, yet did not guarantee learning would result.
Ideally, a teacher should be "bundled" with the software. At the site where the program is purchased, that teacher could give a short workshop on how to use the program in a classroom. Including such information in the written documentation is, in many cases, not enough; few teachers read all the documentation. It is faster and easier to learn by demonstration, and then browse through the manuals. However, because teachers are not "bundled," software designers' expectations cannot be satisfied.