Software for Home, Personal & Educational Use

Some software applications are specially designed for home, personal and educational use. Different types of software are available for home, personal and educational use.

1.Integrated Software:

Integrated software is a set of different software applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation.The applications in the integrated software have similar interface like software suite. The difference between integrated software and software suite is that the applications in the integrated software cannot be purchased separately. Microsoft Works is an example of integrated software.

2. Personal Finance Software:
Personal Finance Software is used to manage the financial matters of an individual or home office. It is used to record personal income and expenses, track investments and evaluate financial plans etc. It can also generate different reports for the user to show financial transactions in different styles. Many personal finance software also provide online services. The user can transfer money and pay bills using online banking. The user can also analyze home and personal loans, prepare income taxes and manage savings. iBank and Quicken are examples of personal finance software.

3.Legal Software:
Legal software is used to prepare legal documents. It provides legal assistance to users. It guides the user in legal matters like standard contracts and documents for buying, selling and renting property, marriage and divorce etc. Legal software also provides the facility to create customized documents. It asks important questions from the user and prepares the document according to the exact requirements of user. Quicken Legal Business and Perfect Attorney are examples of legal software.

4. Tax Preparation Software:
Tax preparation software is used to assist the user in tax matters. This software provides many tips to save or decrease the amount of tax. It asks important questions from the user and then analyzes the answers carefully. It points out important errors and guides the user to remove them. Quicken Turbo Tax is an example of tax preparation software.

5.Clip Art / Image Gallery:
Clip art is a collection of photographs on different topics. Many applications provide clip art that can be used in documents. They also provide links to different websites that provide images.Some image galleries also contain sound, video and animations that can be used in different types of documents. Corel Gallery is an example of clip art.

6.Home Design / Landscape Software:
Home design / Landscape software helps the user in designing home or landscape. It provides many predefined designs that can also be customized to a design a home. It can also provide information about the material and cost for the home. BroaderBund 3D Home Design Suite and Instant Architect are examples of home design software.

7. Educational Software:
Educational software is used in education field to learn different skills. Many software packages are available on different subjects. Students and comman people can learn foreign languages and use of application software through educational software. It is also used to educate basic skills of math, reading and writing to the students of preliminary classes.

1.Computer-Assisted Instruction ( CAI )
Computer- assisted instruction (CAI) has been used in education for more than two decades. Computer- assisted instruction software helps in teaching the facts, information and skills associated with subject- related materials. The  computer- assisted instruction is also called computer based instruction (CBI ) computer based learning (CBL) and computer aided learning (CAL).

2. Drill-and-Practice Software:
Drill-and-practice software provides factual information. It allows the students to work on specific materials to memorize information through repetitive exercises. It is also known as skills-reinforcement software. It is effective for learning basic skills and for remediation. Remediation is a process of reviewing contents many times using alternative ways until a student grasps the concepts. An important feature of drill-and - practice software is that the students receive instant feedback on correct and incorrect answers. It can increase students' performance in areas that are weak. This software moves the student to the next level when he has completed a level.

3.Educational Games:
Many educational games are available on CDs, DVDs and the Internet. Educational games usually include a set of rules.The students can compete against other students or the game itself .These games can be an effective way to teach contents through repetition and practice. It is an interesting way to learn. Various educational games create problem-solving environments and the students use their thinking skills to find the  solutions. These games develop problem solving skills in the students. Many games are freely available for the students and teachers.

 4.Tutorials:
A tutorial is a teaching program that helps individuals to learn the use of  a product or concepts. Many software products contain built-in tutorials to teach the user how to use the software. The developers create computer-based educational tutorials so that the students can learn the contents without any additional help.The tutorials provide different types of teaching solutions.Some solutions use the structured linear approach with specific content objectives.Some solutions use a non-linear approach that offers alternative paths based on the students' responses called branching. Branching reflects classroom learning and allows the students to improve at their own pace. It provides feedback and remediation when needed.

5. Educational Simulations:
Educational simulation is a computerized modal of real life. It may represent an event, reality or phenomenon. The use of simulation is not a new teaching strategy. The business and industry have been using simulation for many years. Many educational simulations are available for students to interact with the examples for real life. Some popular simulations are Sim City, Sim Theme Park and Sim Coaster.

6. Integrated Learning Systems:
An integrated learning system (ILS) is usually developed by an educational software corporation as a complete educational software solution in one package. These software solutions provide the following:

• Diagnostic data of  individual student through pretests
• Continuous monitoring  of student performance with automatic adjustments in instruction when needed
• A variety of formats for teaching contents

7. Curriculum-Specific Educational Software
Many high- quality interactive and digital media educational programs are available for the teachers. Most of these programs are available on CD and DVD . Some programs are installed on school networks and others are available via the web. Many educational software applications are designed fo5r curriculum- specific teaching and learning.

8. Reference Software:
Reference software contains detailed information on different topics. The users use it to find important references. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, health and travel guides are examples of reference software are. Microsoft Encarta is an example of reference software.

9.Entertainment Software:
Entertainment software is used for recreation and fun. This type of software is used for enjoyment. Some examples of entertainment software are interactive games, videos etc.