Many programs for children encourage free exploration; they seek to foster motivation by allowing learners the freedom to discover, to pursue personal interests, inclinations and curiosity. A common way this is achieved is by presenting program structure metaphorically to resemble physical environments that children are familiar with, be they natural (the countryside, the woods, the beach etc.) or man-made (towns, buildings, the home, rooms, etc.). These environments often play a dual function: they provide the setting for the presentation of target vocabulary items, and at the same time represent the means of navigating the program via (disguised) icons that are the gateway to learning activities.

Zak's Word Games (Longman/Pearson): one of several virtual worlds that offer the chance to explore vocabulary (by clicking on objects) as well as the means to access learning activities (by clicking on disguised icons).
	A Scuola con Adibù - Inglese (Coktel): Main menu displaying activity areas and tools. The program is designed for free exploration: no explicit learning itinerary is presented.
Sub-menu. Having chosen a destination to visit, the learner accesses activities by entering one of the platform houses.

By contrast, some programs seek to maximise the effectiveness of interaction by guiding the learner along a specific learning path. In a few cases this guidance is total, i.e. the learner is presented with a single pre-set path to follow, in the manner of a tutorial. More commonly, an "ideal" path is suggested (e.g. an itinerary or a numbered sequence of activities) but the learner is free to choose whether to follow this route or not. 

In some cases, guided learning paths that meet the specific needs of individual learners can be created by the teacher using personalisation tools.

	Let's Go (Dyned): A structured itinerary comprising a numbered sequence of activities that is presented in the familiar style of a board game.
Q Steps (Q Group): The main menu is presented as a path linking different buildings (sub-menus), each corresponding to a different theme/content area. This default learning itinerary is structured but the learner can move freely from one area to another.
	Oxford Reading Tree - Talking Stories (OUP): teacher control panel for creating individual learning paths and activity settings.

The table below shows the different types of learning path proposed by each program.

title	free exploration	Single learning path	Personalised learning path	Suggested learning path
A scuola con Adibù. Imparo l'inglese, 4/7 anni	•
Base L2 Inglese - Corso di base	•
Costruiamo i vocaboli? - Inglese	•
English with Toby 1		.	.	•
English with Toby 2		.	.	•
Fuzzbuzz - level 1: word learning	•
Fuzzbuzz - level 2: books 10, 11 and 12	•
Fuzzbuzz - level 2: books 7, 8 and 9	•
Give me 5	•
Happy English	•
Inglese per le scuole elementari	•
Interactive English Junior 1		•		•
Kiddy English Stage 1	•
Kiddy English Stage 2	•
Kiddy English Stage 3	•
Kiddy English Stage 4	•
Kiddy English Visual Dictionary	•
Kids' Word Bank 1	•
Kids! English. L'inglese per i bambini				•
Le prime mille parole	•
Leonardo's Language Bridge - inglese/italiano	•
Let's go level 1		.	.	•
Let's go level 2		.	.	•
Let's go level 3		.	.	•
Let's go level 4		.	.	•
Let's go level 5		.	.	•
Let's go level 6		.	.	•
Lexia Phonics Based Reading	•		•	.
Magic Spell	•
Muzzy at the disco (Age 6-12)	•
My Oxford Picture Box	•
My Oxford Word Box	•
Oxford Literacy Web - Big ABC 2	•		•
Oxford Literacy Web - Sound Activities 2	•		•
Oxford Literacy Web - Sound Stories 2	•		•
Oxford Reading Tree - Stage 2 Talking Stories CD-ROM	•
Oxford Reading Tree - Stage 3 Talking Stories CD-ROM	•
Oxford Reading Tree - Stage 4 Talking Stories CD-ROM 2	•	.	•	.
Oxford Reading Tree - Stage 5 Talking Stories CD-ROM 2	•	.	•	.
Oxford reading tree - The baby-sitter		•
Picture Dictionary	•
Primavoce inglese	•
Q Steps		.	.	•
Read, Write & Type 3	•	•	v	.
Rhyme and analogy activity software - vol. A 2	•		•
Rhyme and analogy activity software - vol. B 2	•		•
Roddy on the road	•
Tell me more Kids (5-7 anni)	•
Tell me more Kids (8-10 anni)	•
Tell me more Kids (11-13 anni)	•
The Rosetta Stone - American English Level II	•		.	•
The Rosetta Stone American English Level I	•		.	•
The Rosetta Stone - British English Level II	•		.	•
The Rosetta Stone - British English Level I	•		.	•
Word Bird's Word Land	•
You & Me. A children's English course	•
Zak's Wordgames		.	.	•

1- The program proposes a narrative divided into five episodes (units) designed to be tackled consecutively.

2- These programs propose a choice of topics, each of which corresponds to a pre-set leaning path. The choice of topic can also be personalised by the teacher.

3- The program proposes a tutorial-style sequence of learning activities, coupled with some optional games and exercises.