What is ESPG?

The Educational Software Preview Guide (ESPG) Consortium represents computer education organizations throughout North America. Throughout the year members work with educators, library media specialists, professors, and education students as they study the use of educational software in the PreK-12 classroom. Each year the Consortium consolidates their software review information into the ESPG Directory. The Educational Software Preview Guide, now in its 22nd year, is designed especially for educators seeking software for preview and lists over 1,000 titles of favorably reviewed software for PreK-12 classroom use. Information indicated for each title includes platform, grade level, instructional mode, a brief description of each product, and publisher contact information.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) was the publisher of the printed guide. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Education Office now hosts the guide as an open access online searchable directory.

What Does This Guide Contain?

The 2007 Educational Software Preview Guide lists favorably reviewed technology resources for instructional use in preschool through Grade 12. It is NOT a buying guide. It has been developed solely as an aid to educators in locating programs they may want to preview. The Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium's participants recommend that educators determine the suitability of each program based upon direct previewing for their own instructional programs and students.

The Preview Guide has been developed by the Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium, which represents organizations involved in evaluating educational software and other technology resources throughout North America. The products listed in this guide have been favorably reviewed at participating sites by knowledgeable computer-using educators. Placement of a title on a list and into specific subjects, grade levels, and instructional modes reflects the best judgment of the Consortium's participants.

This Preview Guide is not all-inclusive. It includes only commercially available instructional software. Titles not included in the guide fall into the following categories: not yet widely reviewed, not readily available to review, unfavorably reviewed, or outside specified categories. Each edition of the guide is an independent publication and includes titles from earlier editions only if they meet the evaluation criteria established for the current year.

The Consortium also meets at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).

Note to Educators: Contact a member near you to find out how you can become more knowledgeable about the process of evaluating educational software.

Note to Publishers: Contact a member near you or the Consortium Chair to find out how your products can become part of the review process for potential inclusion into this well-respected, well-used guide.

Use of the Preview Guide by Software Developers

The Preview Guide is also useful for developers of educational software. Developers can use the guide to identify curriculum areas, grade levels within curriculum areas, or hardware for which there is little favorably reviewed software, and then direct efforts toward these areas or platforms.

Reprint Permissions and Restrictions

The Educational Software Preview The Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium permits reference to or use of portions of the Preview Guide as long as the following credit is included: "Reproduced with permission from the ESPG Consortium - http://espg.info"