Worldware Explained

Worldware is a term coined in the 1990s to denote software that is created and marketed mainly for purposes other than teaching and learning, but which is also used for teaching and learning.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Educom (a collaboration among universities to explore the use of technology in higher education) launched a "Valuable Viable Software" (VVS) task force in the 1990s, to evaluate the success of different kinds of software being used for teaching in universities. Steve Ehrmann, a member of the task force, is widely credited with coining the term "worldware" to describe multipurpose software already in widespread use outside universities. Writing in 1995, Ehrmann explained the term as follows:^[8]

Worldware is developed for purposes other than instruction but is also used for teaching and learning. Word processors are worldware. So are computer-aided design packages. So are electronic mail and the Internet.

Reporting their findings in 1994, VVS stated that the most successful learning came, not from instructional packages, but from students working with "worldware" or with student editions of worldware.^[9]

When interviewed for a virtual round table in 2009, Ehrmann explained that worldware (and its student editions) had many advantages over typical instructional software:^[10]

It was much more likely to be known in advance to the students and to the teachers. And it was much more likely to be seen as legitimate-- the students and teachers could see that it was valued in the larger world. ... Then, too, there was the amortization of costs. A large market was paying for worldware, so the cost per user to develop, market, support, maintain, and upgrade worldware typically was low while the cost per user for courseware was usually high. Another big advantage: If a vendor went out of business, another vendor might come in and be able to run the files that had run on the previous vendor's software. These were all potentially significant advantages.

References

1. Web site: The Instructional Technology Primer: Worldware . Trinity College . 2007-08-06.
2. Web site: Integrating Worldware in Blended Learning Environments. Deacon. Andrew. Jaftha. Jacob. June 2004. University of Cape Town. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
3. Using the World Wide Web To Enhance Writing Assignments in Introductory Chemistry Courses. McGowan. Cynthia. Sendall. Patricia. Journal of Chemical Education. April 1, 1997. 74. 4. 391. ACS Publications. 10.1021/ed074p391. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
4. Web site: When is Software Both Valuable and Viable?. June 17, 1996. 350–353. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
5. Web site: Technology and Educational Revolution: Ending the Cycle of Failure. Ehrmann. Stephen. January 2000. Liberal Education. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
6. Customising Microsoft Office to develop a tutorial learning environment. Deacon. Andrew. Jaftha. Jacoba. Horwitz. David. March 1, 2004. British Journal of Educational Technology. 35. 2. 223–234. 10.1111/j.0007-1013.2004.00383.x. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
7. Web site: Technology Supported Learning and Teaching within the Context of Higher Education in a 21st Century Society. O'Donoghue. John. 2008. July 4, 2020. Google Scholar.
8. Ehrmann . Stephen C. . Asking the right question: what does research tell us about technology and higher learning? . Change . 27 . 2 . 20–27 . 1995 . 10.1080/00091383.1995.9937734.
9. Telematics for Education and Training . Ehrmann. Stephen C . 'Delivering' Education? Observations on the Economics and Limits of Directed Education and Technology-based Materials. November 24, 1994. IOS Press . Düsseldorf/Neuss . Telematics for Education and Training Conference. When the VVS Project team first convened and began to share examples of valuable viable software, we soon realized that the vast majorities of the successes were pieces of software originally designed for uses other than undergraduate instruction. Because their origins and chief market were in the larger world (outside pure instruction), we called them "worldware." .
10. Web site: To the Cloud and Beyond. Grush. Mary. Campus Technology. January 1, 2019. July 4, 2020.

Further reading

• Paul M. Morris, Stephen C. Ehrmann, Randi B. Goldsmith, Kevin J. Howat, and M.S. Vijay Kumar (eds.) (1994), Valuable, Viable Software in Education: Case Studies and Analysis, New York: Primis Division of McGraw-Hill.
• Andrews Deacon & Jacob Jaftha (2004). Integrating worldware in blended learning environments University of Cape Town, South Africa (Accessed 2007-08-06).