Educational software or digital materials designed for use in academic courses, typically including interactive lessons, assessments, and multimedia content.
Compound word from course + ware (goods/products), modeled after 'software' and 'hardware'. Emerged in the 1970s-80s with the rise of computer-assisted instruction. The '-ware' suffix became popular in computing to denote different categories of computer products.
The '-ware' suffix has spawned dozens of computer-related terms beyond the original hardware and software - we now have firmware, malware, shareware, and even humorous ones like 'wetware' (the human brain). Courseware represents education's embrace of the digital revolution.
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