Educational Software

Kids like nothing better than games, and that applies to educational software as well. From the very start, children's educational software needed to be fun. The best kind of learning has always happened when the student doesn't know it, and what better way to make learning fun than with a game?

The younger the child, the simpler the game needs to be. At pre-school ages, children are learning one thing at a time, and not necessarily tying them together. Colors, shapes, and names of things are all excellent game activities for this age. Other possibilities are games that teach letters and numbers.

Programs like Reader Rabbit Preschool and Disney Learning Preschool are produced commercially, while shareware, or software that is shared for a low price, is also available. Many of the shareware programs rival the more expensive commercially-available products, so be sure to examine some of those offerings.

Some popular educational shareware pre-school programs include Amy's First Primer, The Wonder Book, and the Animated series, which includes Animated Spelling, Animated Math, and Animated Clock. Math Rescue is an older game, but it still has staying power.

Of course, as your child grows and learns he or she will need new challenges. There are many games available that challenge elementary-school students. One way to get recommendations is to see what types of software programs are being used at school. Especially at the elementary level, these tend to be games that will engage the child.

An older but still very popular program with "staying power" is Oregon Trail, by The Learning Company. This program integrates Social Studies, history, and even a little math as you try to get your wagon successfully to the end of the Oregon Trail. This education-disguised-as-a-game is widely used in school systems, even today.

Reader Rabbit and Spell It are good spelling games, while Math Blaster and James Discovers Math are popular math games. Math Blaster has a very "arcade" feel to it, and may be a good choice for a young boy who finds math boring.

Once into the Middle School and High School ages, you'll probably be looking for software that covers a specific area. For instance, an elementary science software program can introduce younger students to the concepts of electricity, the human body, plants, and astronomy all in one program.

However, a separate program or part of a larger program will be required for each of these subject at a high-school level. They need more in-depth information about the subjects, and suggestions for places to research for reports. This type of software can be a great way ways to help students 'round out' their knowledge on a particular subject.

There is less actual "gaming" at the higher levels, of course, but the software still needs to engage the learners. One of the biggest improvements that educational software games offer is to make that "old boring" subject, history, come alive.

There are lower-level games that help students learn the names of states and capitals, and challenging high-school and college games that work students through timelines of national and world events. Pictures, video, animations, narrations, and links to reference sites all make these huge improvements over the boring lectures and flash cards of the past.

Your library likely has some of the titles you're considering, so check there first, and compare commercially-sold software with shareware. With your assistance, educational software games can engage a child in learning that he otherwise would consider boring.