Word Processing Software
Word processing software is a great tool for helping teachers organize their ideas into useable, instructional materials. Additionally, word processors allow educators to accomplish paperwork in a timely manner, which can free up time to be productive in other areas. Word processors can also improve the appearance of documents, making them user friendly.
Spreadsheet Software
Spreadsheets are a great tool for educators to use when creating gradebooks. Also, spreadsheets display data in an organized fashion that can be easily read and understood by others. Math teachers can also utilize spreadsheets to introduce and teach a variety of math topics to their students. One issue with using this tool is that there are educators who are not familiar with spreadsheets, therefore they would not be able to produce or perhaps understand a spreadsheet.
Presentation Software
Presentation software is a tool educators can use to organize their ideas about a topic. Educators can also encourage their students to use presentation software to organize their ideas, then allow them to present their ideas to the class. Presentation software can enhance the impact of spoken information, if it is used correctly. Educators can also use presentation software in their classroom and allow groups of students to collaborate together to create a presentation about a particular topic. By doing this students will improve their collaboration skills, and each student will bring different ideas about the topic to the table. One problem educators often encounter when using presentation software is that they don’t understand how to properly use it. Therefore, they create uninteresting presentations that are ineffective in their classroom.
Classroom Use
My favorite tool is presentation software. One way I would use the presentation software in my classroom is to create a visual aid for an introduction to a new book I am planning to read to the entire class. I would create slides that would grab the students’ attention, and include character descriptions and quotes from the book that will interest the students. By doing this, the students will not only hear what I am saying about the book, but they will see it as well. Meaning they are more likely to recall the information.
Amie, like the book states, you mention that many educators do not fully understand spreadsheet software, therefore it would not be a useful tool for their classroom. I think this tool could be an excellent resource for students collecting data, so maybe we, as future educators, should invest some time in learning more about this software. Especially since the book gives us research that shows this tool can be used across multiple subjects.
ReplyDeleteAmie, I feel like using a presentation software to present a book to the class is a great idea. It is nice to have two different ways to present information to students. I agree that word processing helps make the paper or word document look nicer and more presentable. I wish someone would have used Spreadsheet software with my class when I was in elementary school because it seems like it would have gotten me into math at an earlier age. I agree that letting students work together with a presentation software helps improve their collaboration skills.
ReplyDelete