<s>
Reference	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
software	O
which	O
emulates	O
and	O
expands	O
upon	O
print	O
reference	O
forms	O
including	O
the	O
dictionary	B-Operating_System
,	O
translation	O
dictionary	B-Operating_System
,	O
encyclopaedia	O
,	O
thesaurus	O
,	O
and	O
atlas	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
print	O
references	O
,	O
reference	B-Application
software	I-Application
can	O
either	O
be	O
general	O
or	O
specific	O
to	O
a	O
domain	O
,	O
and	O
often	O
includes	O
maps	O
and	O
illustrations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
bibliography	O
and	O
statistics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reference	B-Application
software	I-Application
may	O
include	O
multimedia	O
content	O
including	O
animations	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
video	O
,	O
which	O
further	O
illustrate	O
a	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Well	O
designed	O
reference	B-Application
software	I-Application
improves	O
upon	O
the	O
navigability	O
of	O
print	O
references	O
,	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
search	O
functionality	O
and	O
hyperlinks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
and	O
encyclopedias	O
rushed	O
into	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
editions	O
soon	O
after	O
the	O
widespread	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
to	O
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
opportunities	O
brought	O
by	O
new	O
media	O
enticed	O
new	O
competitors	O
into	O
the	O
reference	B-Application
software	I-Application
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
and	O
most	O
well-known	O
was	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Encarta	I-Application
,	O
first	O
introduced	O
on	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
and	O
then	O
also	O
moving	O
online	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
major	O
reference	O
works	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
market	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
prolific	O
brands	O
was	O
Merriam-Webster	O
,	O
which	O
released	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
and	O
then	O
online	O
versions	O
of	O
English	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
,	O
thesauri	O
and	O
foreign	O
language	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2010	O
,	O
reference	O
materials	O
have	O
begun	O
to	O
appear	O
as	O
apps	O
on	O
Smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
English	O
as	O
a	O
foreign	O
or	O
second	O
language	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
seen	O
as	O
an	O
interesting	O
pedagogical	O
development	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
subject	O
of	O
much	O
discussion	O
,	O
as	O
language	O
learners	O
increasingly	O
abandon	O
print	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
for	O
online	O
editions	O
and	O
apps	O
like	O
the	O
one	O
produced	O
by	O
Macmillan	O
Education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
list	B-Application
of	I-Application
online	I-Application
dictionaries	I-Application
is	O
maintained	O
under	O
"	O
dictionaries	B-Operating_System
"	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	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previous	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
allowed	O
anyone	O
and	O
everyone	O
to	O
join	O
in	O
creating	O
and	O
editing	O
an	O
online	O
set	O
of	O
reference	O
works	O
.	O
</s>
