Beyond the BasicsEric Sharp

EDMS 6474

Types of Software Support Tools

Materials generators

Data collection and analysis tools

Testing and grading tools

Graphics tools

Planning and organizing tools

Research and reference tools

Content-area tools

Recent Developments in Software Support

Mobile devices

Web and cloud availability

Software suites

15 Beyond the Basics tools that will be used in my classroom

Web Page Design Software

Can be used to create Web pages for both instructional and productivity purposes.

Uses include

classroom news, activities, and resources

web-based lessons (WebQuests)

Student-produced work

Whiteboard Activity Software

Used to display information for lessons by connecting through the computer and digital projector

Allows information on the screen to be manipulated with special pens or someone’s hands. Some systems allow notes to be saved for later use.

ActivBoard and SMART Board

Worksheet and Puzzle generators

Used to produce worksheets for students to use as practice excercises instead of test exercises.

Allows teachers to enter questions of various kinds, but does not allow options for completing the exercises on-screen or for grading them.

Puzzle generators automatically format and create crosswords, word search puzzles, and similar game-like activity. The teacher enters the content, and the software formats the puzzle.

Common uses: Practice for lower level skills

Cloze exercises (comprehension)

Exercises to review words and definitions

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Generators

Federal legislation requires them for each special needs students.

Serve as blueprints for each special needs student’s instructional activities, and teachers must provide documentation that such a plan is on file and that it governs classroom activities.

IEP generator software assists teachers in preparing IEPs

Online Survey Tools

Allows teachers to design and implement online surveys to collect data for instructional purposes.

Features: Variety of item formats

Instant tracking and visual summaries of results

Data downloads

Integration strategies: Student polling

Generating data for graphic illustrations

Teaching survey design

Teaching data analysis

Student Information Systems

Software tools that help educators keep track of student, class, and school data to maintain records and support decision making.

Systems may do any of the following:

Track and report on attendance

Maintain records on student demographics

Track and report on test scores and achievement by objective

Allows parents to have online access to student grades and attendance

Notifies parents about problems with grades or attendance

Students Response Systems (Clickers)

Allows teacher to display and question or problem and for all students to answer it at the same time, and the systems summarizes the responses immediately.

Can be used to engaged students and check comprehension.

Electronic Gradebooks

Allows teachers to keep track of and calculate students grades by entering their names, test/assignment names, data from tests, and weighting information for specific test scores.

Test Generators and Rubric Generators

Test generators allow teachers to create tests and test item banks, administer tests online.

Features:

Test creation and revision procedures

Random generation of questions

Selection of questions based on criteria

Answer keys

Test item banks

Rubric generators allows teachers to create or adopt rubrics for grading complex products or performances.

Computer-Based Testing Systems

Allows students to take tests on-screen or to put test answers on optically-scanned “bubble sheets”

Provides reports on performance data after the test

Tests can be shorter through computer-based testing

Charting/graphing software

Allows students to create charts and graphs to illustrate and study data summaries.

Used when it may be difficult for students to create charts on their own by hand.

Word Cloud Generators

Allows for creation of a unique graphic display called a “word cloud,” which shows most frequent words from a text passage as larger.

In science, they allow one to create a word cloud to show occurrences of weather or geographic events like magnitudes of earthquakes or locations.

Lesson Planners

Help prepare and document lesson plans

Show documentation to show what teachers are teaching and how they are teaching it

Often called lesson makers

Scheduling, Calendar, and Time Management Tools

Help organize time and plan activities

Schedule makers help formulate plans for daily, weekly, or monthly sequences of appointments or events

Calendar makers print graphic calendars of chosen months or years with planned events in each day

Time management tools help remind us of events and responsibilities

Online Encyclopedias

Help students research any topic

Digital encyclopedias allow users to locate either one specific item or all references on a specific topic

Microcomputer-based labs (MBL)

Allows students to collect and analyze data from experiments

Accompanied by special hardware sensors that can measure light, temperature, voltage, and/or speed

Can replace several types of labs equipment

References

Roblyer, M. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.