Artifact # 5
The Software Evaluation provides recommendations for an instructional resource to be purchased by the school. It also explains how this particular software can be used appropriately with students.
Context
The Software Evaluation was created using Microsoft Works during my
block experience at ASU while finishing my final courses for my bachelor’s
degree in Elementary Education. I explored the software by setting
it up on my computer, clicking on all icons to discover how to comfortably
use it. Once I became familiar with the software, I began to reflect
on its strengths and weaknesses, as well as, discovering how to best use
it in the classroom. I also searched the World Wide Web to find other’s
reviews about the software. I wanted to know if anyone had used this
software in their classrooms. The reviews I found were very helpful
by giving ideas about using it in the classroom and proof of how the software
helped develop computer skills and math skills of the students using it.
Impact
The Software Evaluation helps teachers find out about certain software
they can effectively use in their classrooms. This short time of
evaluation becomes beneficial as teachers find out how the software works
and what it focuses on. They discover the curriculum goals that are
of importance in the software tasks, and they discover new and different
assignments that engage students in learning. Not only can new assignments
be found, but new ways of assessing students knowledge will be uncovered
through software evaluations.
Alignment
I located, evaluated, and selected “The Graph Club” software by performing
a software evaluation of it. The evaluation included searching for
other reviews on the WWW, and exploring the software myself. As I worked
with the software on my own, I discovered ways that I could use it in my
classroom to help meet NC Standard Course of Study goals. I prepared
a written document explaining why I felt this to be an appropriate tool
for learning in my classroom (Tech Competency
10.6). I chose to use Microsoft Works to develop my evaluation
findings so that I would be able to share them with others. By typing
the document, more people are capable of reading it. The evaluation
I performed can now be downloaded onto the Web so that it is accessible
to other teachers/professionals who are interested in “The Graph Club”
software (Tech Competency 11.2).
The software I evaluated, “The Graph Club,” is specifically suited to meet
the graphing competency goals of the NC Math Curriculum. It provides
data to be graphed, graphs to be filled with the data, empty graphs that
new data can be entered, and the ability to create your own graph (Tech
Competency 11.3) It has levels of difficulty so that students
of various developmental levels can utilize the software. I realize
that students in my class will have different abilities when it comes to
graphing. I will direct every student to use the level of difficulty
I feel that they are capable of using and completing (Tech
Competency 13.1).