Evaluating the Booker Maths software for children and the role of software in the curriculum

The educators participating in this research (N=30) were familiar with school computer software and reported that the main classroom advantages of such software pertained to: enhancing students' educational experiences and improving students' motivation and familiarity with technology. The main disadvantages pertained to an inability to extend the students' learning and thinking, the lack of computers in the classroom, and the inappropriateness of some software content. Participants familiar with the Booker maths software for children considered the programs to be motivating, to have educational value, and to be useful as a supplementary activity focusing on basic practice as well as on higher-level thinking. Findings from this research support the notion that self-correcting software material and educational games are useful in education for reinforcing learning and to practise and advance new concepts and knowledge. Issues about the rate of students' learning and the need for teachers to be involved and to interact with children as they use computer software are discussed.