Educational software tools

Module two blog post- educational software tools
 
     There are many types of software tools available to teachers and schools that help with learning, productivity, and provide students with experiences that the school would otherwise be unable to provide. According to Roblyer and Doering, there are six kinds of educational software, three kinds of productivity software, and there are six kinds of software support tools. These programs make up the body of software that schools use today.
     Chapter three in our text talks about instructional software. As I stated earlier, there are six types of this kind of software. These genres can sometimes seem to overlap, but each grouping has it's own specific characteristics (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.79). These types of software all help to teach students in various ways.
      The first type of instructional software is called drill and practice. For this type of software, I researched a program called Quizlet (quizlet.com). It is a website as well as an app, so it's very handy for when you're on the go. Quizlet is mainly about flashcards, but also gives other practice formats like a matching quiz or fill in the blanks section. Drill and practice is all about helping students gain automaticity, or automatic recall of information that they have previously learned (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.84). I find that practice with flashcards is one of the best ways to do this, so Quizlet seems very useful. It is also relatively simple and easy to use.
      The second type of instructional software is tutorial software. Tutorials are meant to teach a subject in its entirety without the aid of other materials (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.86). There are two types of tutorial: linear and branching (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.87). The tutorials that I researched are available at www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line2.htm. This website holds many tutorials that are about learning how to use a mac computer. This is something that I am still learning and the tutorial videos were helpful and easy to follow, so this site is now in my bookmarks.
      Another genre of instructional software is simulation software. This type of software "is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works," say Roblyer and Doering. The simulation software that I found was on this website: digitalfrog.com. This program allows for a more humane experience with animal dissection for science purposes. I had to dissect a rat in tenth grade and I felt deeply for all of the rats, pigs, and even cats that are dissected by the hundreds or thousands every year. This type of program can give students peace of mind AND the scientific instruction that they need.
      Instructional games are another type of instructional software. Many students will be excited about the idea of playing games in class, and these games help ensure that the students are learning. I found a website called www.gamesclassroom.com that offers many different types of instructional games. Roblyer and Doering advise teachers to emphasize the things that students should learn rather than just the rules of a particular game, to include all groups of students in the game, and to use games sparingly so that they do not become stale or take time out of your lessons.
      The next-to-last group of instructional software is problem solving. Problem solving software can be based on a particular content area or can be content free (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.99). Either way, this type of software should help students learn skills like metacognition, analyzing, sequencing, inferring, etc (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.99). The problem solving software that I found is called alien rescue and can be found at this website: www.edb.utexas.edu/alienrescue. It's a free tool that teaches science problem solving skills. 
      The last type of instructional software is integrated learning systems. These programs both instruct students and track their grades (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.102). Programs like these have increased in popularity due to the emphasis put on accountability by the NCLB act (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg. 103). The integrated learning system that I researched is called carnegie 
learning. It is located at carnegielearning.com. In addition to instructional software, there are programs called software tools. These programs include word processors, spreadsheet software, and presentation making software (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.112). These software tools are supported by programs called software support tools. Software support tools are programs that help make other software more efficient or productive, look more attractive, be more accurate and timely, and more accessible to support and sharing (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg. 140-141). I will discuss two types of this kind of software. One type of software support tools are reference and research tools (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg.141). These types of tools provide the information needed to use other programs or perform certain tasks. The program that I researched is an online dictionary. It can be found at merriam-webster.com. It is also available as an app, which is what I use on an almost daily basis with my various readings. Another group of software support tools are data collection and analysis tools (Roblyer and Doering 2013, pg. 141). These tools help teachers collect information about student progress, according to Roblyer and Doering. The program that I looked at is called global scholar and can be found at globalscholar,com. It is an electronic grade book. It is obvious why teachers would want to use a program like this- it would vastly improve organization and save time.