Les logiciels d'apprentissage : panoplie ou éventail ?

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to elaborate a typology in the domain of computer-supported learning. The first problem that has to be addressed concerns the diversity of computer-supported learning programs and the multiple ways in which one could classify them. The proposed typology is based on the pedagogical function aimed at by the teachers or designers. Moreover, we propose a characterisation on three aspects : the tasks proposed to the learners, the theoretical viewpoint underlying the design and the way in which domain knowledge is dealt with. The typology comprises eight pedagogical functions that globally correspond to the types of programs that one can find in the literature on computer-supported learning. We subsequently examine the necessity, exhaustiveness and the exclusiveness of the categories. Finally, the last section presents three alternative approaches to the comparison between computer supported learning programs. An emerging implication is that evaluation of educational computer programs demands an adaptation of performance measures to the pedagogical functions aimed at.