Improving the Design, Delivery and Marketing of Children`s Software

Numerous application software packages exist that attempt to teach children various educational skills. However, some of these programs tend to have short-comings. A discussion is made of some of the flaws of children`s educational software programs, as well as recommendations for improvement in the design of such programs. No specific packages would be quoted since general comments would be made that all designers can look at for improving their packages. The research is based on the evaluation of over 25 children software packages over a period of 7 years. The results show that many packages still need a lot of improvement before the software can be extremely beneficial to children. The study can be used by developers for improvements in product design quality. The points can be noted by educators using the packages so they can explain the design flaws (where necessary) so students are not misled. Marketing and delivery methods are also briefly discussed.