It is very important to realize, however, that reading reviews should not take the place of previewing, described in Step 5. Evaluation services such as EPIE, subscribed to by many school and public libraries, provide a database of selected software evaluations and reviews. A visit to the library is an important part of responsible software selection. It is also important to note the audience upon which the review is based. A software program may have received a poor review because it was tested with a different audience than the one you have in mind.
Reviews are important screening tools when used as part of the entire selection process.
The most effective way to judge whether software is appropriate or not is to observe students as they interact with the program. The responsible teacher should not purchase software without previewing it with his or her own students. Preview as many programs as you can find that appear to meet your selection criteria. Some software vendors will allow free preview of an entire program. Some vendors will provide a free demonstration disk containing a subset of a larger program.