<s>
Educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
a	O
term	O
used	O
for	O
any	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
which	O
is	O
made	O
for	O
an	O
educational	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
encompasses	O
different	O
ranges	O
from	O
language	O
learning	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
classroom	O
management	O
software	O
to	O
reference	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
computer	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
in	O
education	O
and	O
training	O
dates	O
to	O
the	O
early	O
1940s	O
,	O
when	O
American	O
researchers	O
developed	O
flight	B-Application
simulators	I-Application
which	O
used	O
analog	O
computers	O
to	O
generate	O
simulated	O
onboard	O
instrument	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
these	O
early	O
attempts	O
in	O
the	O
WWII	O
era	O
through	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
,	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
directly	O
tied	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
,	O
on	O
which	O
it	O
ran	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pioneering	O
educational	B-Application
computer	I-Application
systems	O
in	O
this	O
era	O
included	O
the	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
(	O
1960	O
)	O
,	O
developed	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
,	O
and	O
TICCIT	B-Protocol
(	O
1969	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
programming	O
languages	O
from	O
this	O
period	O
,	O
p3	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
LOGO	B-Device
(	O
1967	O
)	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
considered	O
educational	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
were	O
specifically	O
targeted	O
to	O
students	O
and	O
novice	O
computer	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
IV	I-Operating_System
system	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1972	O
,	O
supported	O
many	O
features	O
which	O
later	O
became	O
standard	O
in	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
running	O
on	O
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
features	O
included	O
bitmap	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
,	O
primitive	O
sound	O
generation	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
non-keyboard	O
input	B-Device
devices	I-Device
,	O
including	O
the	O
touchscreen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arrival	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
in	O
1975	O
,	O
changed	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
software	O
in	O
general	O
,	O
with	O
specific	O
implications	O
for	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
users	O
prior	O
to	O
1975	O
were	O
dependent	O
upon	O
university	O
or	O
government	O
owned	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
with	O
timesharing	O
,	O
users	O
after	O
this	O
shift	O
could	O
create	O
and	O
use	O
software	O
for	O
computers	O
in	O
homes	O
and	O
schools	O
,	O
computers	O
available	O
for	O
less	O
than	O
$2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
including	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
(	O
1977	O
)	O
,	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
(	O
1977	O
)	O
,	O
VIC-20	B-Device
(	O
1980	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
(	O
1982	O
)	O
allowed	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
companies	O
and	O
nonprofits	O
which	O
specialized	O
in	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
and	O
other	O
companies	O
designed	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
titles	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
bulk	O
of	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
initially	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
school	O
classrooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
such	O
software	O
may	O
be	O
projected	O
onto	O
a	O
large	O
whiteboard	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
class	O
and/or	O
run	O
simultaneously	O
on	O
a	O
network	O
of	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
in	O
a	O
classroom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
notable	O
are	O
SMART	O
Boards	O
that	O
use	O
SMART	O
Notebook	B-Device
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
board	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
pens	O
to	O
digitally	O
draw	O
on	O
the	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
type	O
of	O
software	O
is	O
often	O
called	O
classroom	O
management	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
While	O
teachers	O
often	O
choose	O
to	O
use	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
from	O
other	O
categories	O
in	O
their	O
IT	B-Application
suites	I-Application
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
reference	O
works	O
,	O
children	O
's	O
software	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
whole	O
category	O
of	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
has	O
grown	O
up	O
specifically	O
intended	O
to	O
assist	O
classroom	O
teaching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
then	O
scores	O
each	O
test	O
transcript	O
and	O
outputs	O
results	O
for	O
each	O
student	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
systems	O
are	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
technically	O
falling	O
into	O
the	O
Courseware	O
category	O
(	O
see	O
above	O
)	O
,	O
Skill	O
evaluation	O
lab	O
is	O
an	O
example	O
for	O
Computer-based	B-Application
assessment	I-Application
software	O
with	O
PPA-2	O
(	O
Plan	O
,	O
Prove	O
,	O
Assess	O
)	O
methodology	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
conduct	O
computer	O
based	O
online	O
examination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moodle	B-Application
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
with	O
an	O
assessment	O
component	O
that	O
is	O
gaining	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
popular	O
international	O
assessment	O
systems	O
include	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
,	O
Blackboard	B-Protocol
Learn	I-Protocol
,	O
EvaluNet	O
and	O
XT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
publishers	O
of	O
print	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
and	O
encyclopedias	O
have	O
been	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
educational	O
reference	O
software	O
since	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
commercial	O
reference	O
software	B-Application
products	I-Application
were	O
reformulations	O
of	O
existing	O
content	O
into	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
editions	O
,	O
often	O
supplemented	O
with	O
new	O
multimedia	O
content	O
,	O
including	O
compressed	O
video	O
and	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
recent	O
products	O
made	O
use	O
of	O
internet	O
technologies	O
,	O
to	O
supplement	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
products	O
,	O
then	O
,	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
to	O
replace	O
them	O
entirely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wikipedia	O
and	O
its	O
offspins	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Wiktionary	O
)	O
marked	O
a	O
new	O
departure	O
in	O
educational	O
reference	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Previously	O
,	O
encyclopedias	O
and	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
had	O
compiled	O
their	O
contents	O
on	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
invited	O
and	O
closed	O
teams	O
of	O
specialists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wiki	B-Protocol
concept	O
has	O
allowed	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
collaborative	O
reference	O
works	O
through	O
open	O
cooperation	O
incorporating	O
experts	O
and	O
non-experts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
manufacturers	O
regarded	O
normal	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
as	O
an	O
inappropriate	O
platform	B-Device
for	O
learning	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
younger	O
children	O
and	O
produced	O
custom	O
child-friendly	O
pieces	O
of	O
hardware	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
is	O
generally	O
combined	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
product	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
child	O
laptop-lookalike	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
laptop	B-Device
keyboard	O
for	O
younger	O
children	O
follows	O
an	O
alphabetic	O
order	O
and	O
the	O
qwerty	O
order	O
for	O
the	O
older	O
ones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
imaginatively	O
designed	O
hand-held	B-Application
consoles	I-Application
with	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
pluggable	O
educational	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
and	O
book-like	O
electronic	O
devices	O
into	O
which	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
electronic	O
books	O
can	O
be	O
loaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
products	O
are	O
more	O
portable	O
than	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
but	O
have	O
a	O
much	O
more	O
limited	O
range	O
of	O
purposes	O
,	O
concentrating	O
on	O
literacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
mainstream	O
operating	O
systems	O
are	O
designed	O
for	O
general	O
usages	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
more	O
or	O
less	O
customized	O
for	O
education	O
only	O
by	O
the	O
application	O
sets	O
added	O
to	O
them	O
,	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
software	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
especially	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
,	O
have	O
sought	O
to	O
provide	O
integrated	O
platforms	B-Device
for	O
specifically	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
the	O
important	O
corporate	O
and	O
tertiary	O
education	O
markets	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
desktop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
(	O
or	O
an	O
equivalent	O
user	O
device	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
years	O
immediately	O
following	O
2000	O
,	O
planners	O
decided	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
server-based	O
applications	B-Application
with	O
a	O
high	O
degree	O
of	O
standardization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
runs	O
primarily	O
on	O
servers	O
which	O
may	O
be	O
hundreds	O
or	O
thousands	O
of	O
miles	O
from	O
the	O
actual	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
server	B-Application
software	I-Application
decides	O
on	O
what	O
learning	O
material	O
to	O
distribute	O
,	O
collects	O
results	O
and	O
displays	O
progress	O
to	O
teaching	O
staff	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
way	O
of	O
expressing	O
this	O
change	O
is	O
to	O
say	O
that	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
morphed	O
into	O
an	O
online	O
educational	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
McDonald	O
's	O
also	O
experimented	O
with	O
this	O
via	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
software	O
eCrew	B-Application
Development	I-Application
Program	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
highly	O
specific	O
niche	O
markets	O
for	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
notable	O
example	O
is	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Solitaire	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
developed	O
to	O
familiarize	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
,	O
especially	O
the	O
mouse	B-Device
and	O
the	O
drag-and-drop	O
technique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mavis	B-Device
Beacon	I-Device
Teaches	I-Device
Typing	I-Device
is	O
a	O
largely	O
known	O
program	O
with	O
built	O
in	O
mini-games	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
user	O
entertained	O
while	O
improving	O
their	O
typing	O
skills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tovertafel	B-Application
is	O
a	O
games	O
console	O
designed	O
for	O
remedial	O
education	O
and	O
counter-acting	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
dementia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tutor-based	O
education	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
defined	O
as	O
software	O
that	O
mimics	O
the	O
teacher	O
student	O
one	O
on	O
one	O
dynamic	O
of	O
tutoring	O
with	O
software	O
in	O
place	O
of	O
a	O
teacher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
study	O
was	O
conducted	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
education	B-Application
software	I-Application
on	O
children	O
with	O
mild	O
disabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
results	O
were	O
that	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
a	O
positive	O
impact	O
assisting	O
teaching	O
these	O
children	O
social	O
skills	O
though	O
team	O
based	O
learning	O
and	O
discussion	O
,	O
videos	O
and	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
large	O
market	O
of	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
in	O
use	O
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
team	O
decided	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
system	O
in	O
which	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
should	O
be	O
evaluated	O
as	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
current	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
called	O
the	O
Construction	O
of	O
the	O
Comprehensive	O
Evaluation	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Learning	O
Tools	O
and	O
Educational	B-Application
Software	I-Application
(	O
CEELTES	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
be	O
evaluated	O
is	O
graded	O
on	O
a	O
point	O
scale	O
in	O
four	O
categories	O
:	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
technical	O
,	O
technological	O
and	O
user	O
attributes	O
;	O
area	O
of	O
criteria	O
evaluating	O
the	O
information	O
,	O
content	O
and	O
operation	O
of	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
;	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
criteria	O
evaluating	O
the	O
information	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
educational	O
use	O
,	O
learning	O
and	O
recognition	O
;	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
criteria	O
evaluating	O
the	O
psychological	O
and	O
pedagogical	O
use	O
of	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
