CORRECTION: MISSING URL: [Net-Gold] Educational Software for the PC Takes a Nose Dive

[David P. Dillard]

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:00:43 EDT
From: BBr...@aol.com
Reply-To: Net-...@yahoogroups.com
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: [Net-Gold] Educational Software for the PC Takes a Nose Dive

August 22, 2005
Once a Booming Market, Educational Software for the PC Takes a Nose Dive
By MATT RICHTEL
Published: August 22, 2005
New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/22/technology/22soft.html>

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 21 - Edward Vazquez Jr., 6, has numerous educational
tools at his disposal. He learns math from flashcards and the alphabet from a
popular electronic gadget called the LeapPad. But when it comes to instruction,
the family's personal computer sits dormant.

"He has a lot of toys for learning - not the computer," said his father,
Edward Vazquez, 28, a waiter in San Francisco. One reason, Mr. Vazquez said, is
"you don't see a lot of that software."

That statement would have been unthinkable a few years ago. In 2000, sales
of educational software for home computers reached $498 million, and it was
conventional wisdom among investors and educators that learning programs for PC's
would be a booming growth market.

Yet in less than five years, that entire market has come undone. By 2004,
sales of educational software - a category that includes programs teaching math,
reading and other subjects as well as reference works like encyclopedias -
had plummeted to $152 million, according to the NPD Group, a market research
concern.

"Nobody would have thought those were the golden days," Warren Buckleitner,
editor of Children's Technology Review, said of the late 1990's. "Now we're
looking back and we're saying, 'Wow, what happened?' "

What happened was an explosion of new, often free technologies competing to
entertain and teach children. Young children have long been a primary audience
for computer learning games. But with free games and learning sites now
available all over the Internet, parents are finding that they do not need to buy
software that can teach the A B C's. And the spread of broadband connections
has made playing online games far easier.

The preschool and elementary school set is also moving toward portable
gadgets like the LeapPad made by LeapFrog Enterprises, and other electronic toys
from makers like Fisher-Price and VTech. Older students, industry analysts said,
are less likely to buy educational software when reference material and
encyclopedias are free online.

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The complete article may be read at the URL above.


Bonnie Bracey
http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/bbracey
http://www.digitaldivide.net/community/STEM
http://www.digitaldivide.net/community/digitaldivideclass
http://www.digitaldivide.net/blog/bbracey
Edreform.net ( my portal educational technology applications)
applications.edreform.net
Technology Applications for Learning
The Technology Applications for Learning Network is a catalog of
technology
applications for learning.