Making decisions about software for classroom use

With computers commonplace in today's schools, teachers have been introduce d to a plethora of software to use for instruction in their classrooms. Sof tware companies provide materials to administrators and they in turn expect teachers to make appropriate choices for their schools. Teachers are faced with two initial concerns: knowledge base and time. Teachers are given num erous attractive packages from which to choose with limited instruction abo ut making these important decisions. Furthermore, time is not allotted for the additional responsibility of examining software. Teachers need a simple , time-efficient instrument to guide their decisions about software. Theref ore, the purpose of this paper is to report the process of generating a rev iew form that can guide teachers in the selection of educational software. As a result of this field test, a list of criteria for evaluating software and a review form were developed.