Software evaluation as a focus for teacher education

In this paper the use of educational software evaluation as an organising theme for IT related teacher education is considered. Effective educational software evaluation involves a high degree of knowledge and understanding of teaching, learning and curriculum design. Developing software evaluation skills can provide rich opportunities for teachers to acquire knowledge and understanding in these areas. The relationship between software evaluation and teacher education is discussed in terms of a novel software evaluation paradigm, the 'Perspectives Interactions Paradigm', which adopts a situated view of teaching and learning. This discussion provides a basis for proposing a strategy for a Software evaluation based school-focused approach to teacher education in the use of IT.