Week 3: Five Types of Instructional Software

Instructional software is a great tool that is available to help teachers teach concepts in their content.  There are many different types of instructional software in education today.  The following are the five types of instructional software that are used the most in classrooms today.  Some parts of the information was gathered for chapter 3 in M.D. Roblyer's and Aaron Doering's book, Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.  I have also included hyperlinks of examples of each type.

The Five Types of Instructional Software used in the Classroom:

(1)  Drill and Practice Software - This type of software provides exercises in which students work examples, and they receive feedback on their correctness.  Drill and Practice involves "Flash Card Activity", "Chart fill-in Activities", "Branching Drills", and "Extensive Feedback Activities".  A couple of positives about "Drill and Practice" software is that it provides immediate feedback.  When students practice skills on paper, they are not immediately informed on how well they did.  "Drill and Practice" software provides that immediate feedback.  It also provides motivation.  A lot of times, students by be concerned about their handwriting. A negative of "drill and practice" would be to use it to introduce new concepts of reinforcing and practicing new ones.

Quizlet provides software that is good for any learner (see link below)

Ex. http://quizlet.com/

(2)  Tutorial Software - This software is an entire instructional sequence on a topic, similar to classroom instruction.  Tutorials are usually geared toward learners who can read well and who are older.  Some tutorials are aimed at younger learners to explain and demonstrate concepts with graphics or audio directions with screen displays.  One huge benefit of using tutorial software is that it is self-contained.  Students sit down in front of a computer, activate the software, and be taught the concepts needed.  One negative of using tutorial software is that it delivers directed instruction, thus taking away the student's ability to create a "hands on" project.

Mathtutor offers great tutorial software for students to learn math concepts in grades 6-12. (see link below)

Ex. http://www.mathtutor.com/

(3)  Simulation Software - A computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works.  There are procedural simulations that teach sequences of steps to perform certain procedures   A flight simulator would be an example.  There are also situational simulations that give students hypothetical situations and expect them to react.  An example would be participating in an stock buying/selling software.  One positive example of simulation software is that it gets the students involved placing them in control of things.  One negative is that simulation software should be used to supplement other "hands on" projects or experiments.

One example of simuation software would be something geared towards the stock market where students could learn to buy and sell stocks.  (see link below)

Ex.  http://www.smg2000.org/

(4)  Instructional Game Software - Software that has game-like rules and implements competition  in learning concepts.  There a numerous benefits of using instructional game software in the classroom. It makes learning  fun, instead of being dry and boring.  It also makes learning more engaging and motivational   Students love to compete and win, and this is why so many love educational games.  One major negative of using gaming software in the classroom is that sometimes it creates chaos.  I'm all for letting students interact with each other, but many times it does more harm than good.  One must gauge the classroom environment before implementing many types of gaming software.

Schoolforge.net offers a wide variety of games in different content areas. (see link below)
Ex. https://schoolforge.net/education-software/educational-games

(5)  Problem Solving Software - This software is designed  practice solving various types of content problems.  One key benefit in using this software is that it provides visualization in math problem solving.  In teaching math concepts, a teacher could implement this software to provide the way to solving the problem.  One downfall of problem solving software mentioned in the text is that a lot of companies who manufacture problem solving software often times mislabel their product.  Basically this means that it was not intended has problem solving software.

An example would be EMsolution Arithmetic which helps students learn problem solving skills and grasping math concepts (see link below)

Ex. http://www.emteachline.com/eng/fc10.htm          

Web 2.0 Resources

I recently completed the Web 2.0 activity for my ED 505 class.  I honestly had an enjoyable time creating activities using these new and interactive resources.  The following are examples of Web 2.0 resources that I used to complete the project.  I will also provide links to the projects for your viewing.  Please copy and paste them into your browser.

(1) Bubbl.us - Bubbl is a tool in which at teacher can create online concept mapping to assist in brainstorming ideas.  I really enjoyed using bubbl.us because I draw terrible circles by hand, but this allows perfect circles to be created with ideas in them.  So this is a easier and "neater"way of concept mapping.

My World War 2 Concept Map - 

(2)  Glogster - This is the first time that I used the resource called Glogster, but it will not be the last.  Glogster allowed me to create a wall with all kinds of resources about World War 2.  I was fun to create, and I can really see me implementing it with my students in the future.

My glogster - http://ktaylor139.edu.glogster.com/kyletaylor-glogster 

(3)  Animoto - I also used the resource Animoto for the very first time.  I made an Animoto on remembering Pearl Harbor.  Animoto was a quick and easy method to make a video.  I have used other movie maker software in the past, but Animoto is probably the easiest that I have ever dealt with.

My animoto -  http://animoto.com/play/DT6Q0Y0KApF1M60U09PRIw

(4) Voki - Voki was my favorite Web 2.0 resource, and it was my free choice.  Voki is where one can create an "avitar" or a character to say things.  I loved it.  I created an "Uncle Sam" character to speak about World War 2.  I also created a girl Voki, and she spoke about being a Holocaust survivor.  It was awesome to use, and I can really see my students using it when they have to research a person or event in history.

 My Voki Links

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=7425767&height=267&width=200
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=7425850&height=267&width=200  

Week 2: Hot Topic Debate: Should Wikipedia Be Forbidden in Students' Social Studies Research?

This "hot topic" is an issue that I am faced with every semester being a high school social studies teacher.  As a matter of fact, I addressed the issue of Wikipedia with my college prep economics class just last week when I assigned a PowerPoint presentation for the them to complete.  The first question that was asked by the students was, "Can we use Wikipedia?"  Whenever I assign research projects, I always stipulate that Wikipedia should only be used when finding photos to use in a project or presentation (I always have them to document where the photo came from).  I do not allow my students(though some might get by with it without me knowing) to use Wikipedia for researching information, simply because anyone and everyone can edit a Wikipedia topic to state anything they would like to say.  For example, if I wanted to edit a Wikipedia post saying that I am on the Supreme Court of the United States, I could do it, and someone out in cyberspace would believe it.  I know that there are a lot of items on Wikipedia that are legitimate, including some great photos, but I do not believe that it is a great tool for students to learn and research information.  There are many websites that have legitimate information, cited by legitimate authors, who have researched the topic in full. When I assign research projects, I try to promote using primary sources, and they too can be found on the internet.  The internet is wonderful, and we use it in my classes a lot, but I have to make sure that  my students are researching and learning legitimate (factual) information about topics that are assigned.  I'm not saying to boycott Wikipedia in the classroom, but as educators, I think we need to double check what is on the Wikipedia site for our sake and our student's sake.      

Week 1: Technology in Education/Introduction

    I would like to welcome you to my blog.  I can honestly say that I have never "blogged" before.  My wife and my sister both have blogs, and I have commented on theirs, but I have never personally "blogged".  I guess that there is a first time for everything :)  I love technology, and I feel like this experience will be very beneficial to me in this class and my classes that I teach.
    I guess I can share with you a little about myself.  I am from a small town in rural northwest Alabama.  The town that I grew up in is called Phil Campbell.   It's really small (I mean about 3 traffic lights and that's all :))  The town stayed out of the limelight until April 27, 2011.  A EF5 tornado centered the town and destroyed over half of it including the school where I finished, and the church where my dad has been the pastor for the past 35 years.  I had never seen so much destruction in all of my life.  It killed over 20 people, including people that I knew personally. It really devastated us, but the town and church is recovering.
   I actually live 15 minutes to the north of Phil Campbell, in the town of Russellville.  This is where I have taught for 8 years.  Russellville High School was my first job, and my only job.  I love it.  I work with really great people, and we have great students.  I currently teach honors 9th grade world history and honors government/economics.  I love what I teach, and I am very passionate about what I do.  I also love implementing different types of technology in my classroom to better equip students for the 21st century.
   I have been married for almost 7 years.  My wife's name is Katie, and she is currently employed at our church as the secretary.  She is currently going back to graduate school to major in secondary education with a concentration in English.  She has a psychology degree, but she feels like education may be a good fit for her.
    I enjoy a lot of things outside of my job.  I love to read, and I love the outdoors.  One of the outdoor things that I do is long distance running.  One unique thing about me is that I ran the Huntsville Marathon in 2011.  Some people think that running is crazy, but I enjoy it.
    It has taken me 8 years to finally go back and work on my master's degree.  This is my third class at UWA, and I have had a great experience so far.  I look forward to this class and interacting with everybody.

Thanks,
Kyle