Instructional Software

Drill and Practice
During drill and practice, students work problems one at a time. The student will usually get immediate feedback. Types of drill and practice activities include flash card activities, chart activities, branching drills, and extensive feedback activities (Robyler & Doering, p. 81). Since I teach third grade, students are expected to learn their multiplication and division facts very fluently. We do a lot of drill and practice with this. I like to use my SmartBoard and put problems on the board with a multiple choice answer. The students will then use their total group response cards to answer. I also use drill and practice with vocabulary words. I use www.quizlet.com for vocabulary. During math rotations, I allow students to get on www.multiplication.com and use the flash card option.

Tutorial
This is software that is close to the instruction that was given during class from the teacher. My school has purchased a program called SuccessMaker. This program teaches students concepts. It also tracks their progress. In order for students to move to another concept, they must master the first concept. So the concepts being taught are able to build upon each other. Right now my school only purchased enough spots for a certain amount of students to use SuccessMaker. So, it is usually my intensive students that use it. I love this program because I can tell exactly what my students are consistently struggling with. It is a wonderful resource to have! The web address for it is http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZk99

Simulation
This is a program that demonstrates how things work in real-life. There are two main types of simulations: those that teach about something and those that teach how to do something (Robyler & Doering, p. 90). I’ve used www.scholastic.com a few times because they have virtual field trips. My students really enjoy their virtual field trip of the Mayflower around Thanksgiving. I also found another website that looks really interesting. It seems to be a quick and easy way to incorporate interactive technology into the classroom. I’m going to wait until school starts to try the free 30-day trial. The website is www.explorelearning.com.

Instructional Games
Technology based games bridge the worlds of gaming, entertainment, and education in an attempt to deliver fun and effective learning (Robyler & Doering, p. 94). I use many instructional games within the classroom. My students usually get play instructional games on the computer or iPad during a reading or math rotations. I really like www.multiplication.com and www.spellingcity.com. Spelling City is really great because you can set up your own class and enter your own spelling words. Students can log on to your classroom, and they can play several spelling games. My students absolutely love this!

Problem-Solving
Problem-solving software gives opportunities to allow students to practice solving problems in a specific content area. I use this in my room to reinforce what has been taught. Math requires a lot of practice in order to remember the steps in working out a problem. I like for my students to practice as much as they can in order to master the concepts taught. A good website for mathematics problem-solving is www.mathwire.com. Problem solving software can help students in three ways: promotes visualization in mathematics problem solving, improved interest and motivation, and prevents inert knowledge (Robyler & Doering, p. 101).

Integrated Learning Systems
This type of program gives students teaching instruction. It can also track and record the student’s progress. Again, I really like SuccessMaker. This program gives the student instruction, and it also tracks what they are learning. I am able to log on and see what the student is specifically having difficulty with. The program is expensive. So it wouldn’t be something that a teacher would be able to purchase. My school purchased the program, and I love it! http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZk99

Students hard at work on @pearson's #successmaker during Rossford's Community Learning Center at @GlenwoodElem #REVSD pic.twitter.com/fXMAFUX0hS

— Paul Gibbs (@principalgibbs) June 6, 2013

Article Critique

Check out this website on 1:1 computing http://t.co/wdMaQ9e1wS #ED5059413UWA

— Heather Ingram (@Hingram3) June 18, 2013

1. Provide the complete article title and author.

The title of the article is Laptops and Fourth-Grade Literacy: Assisting the Jump over the Fourth-Grade Slump. The authors are Kurt A. Suhr, David A. Hernandez, Douglas Grimes, and Mark Warschauer.

2. State the intended audience. (What is empirical research and how does it help the classroom?)

 

The intended audience for this article is any professional working within a school system that wants to advance student learning within the classroom. According to Cal State Library, “an empirical article is a research article that reports the results of a study that uses data derived from actual observation or experimentation.” This particular research helps in the classroom because it “suggests that laptop use over multiple years may have a small positive effect on literacy test score outcomes” (Suhr, Hernandenz, Grimes, & Warschauer, 2010).

 3. What is/are the research question/questions or hypothesis/hypotheses? The questions were as follows:

1.       Were there significant differences in the total ELA score changes in the California Standards Test (CST) over the two-year period from third grade to fifth grade between the one-to-one laptop group and the non-laptop group, after controlling for other factors?

 

2.       Were there significant differences in the six subtests used to compute those total ELA scores for the same two groups?

 

3.       Can participation in a one-to-one laptop program be used to predict changes in ELA total and subtest scores over the two year period from third grade to fifth grade?

 

4. Describe the subject (participants) and the procedures (methods) used by the researcher(s)?

The treatment group was made up of 54 fourth-grade students. These students were part of the one-to-one laptop program. The control group was also made up of 54 fourth-grade students. These students did not use laptops.  The same group of students participated in the program during their fifth-grade year as well. The control group of students did have a limited amount of computer access, but they did not receive laptops on a daily basis.

 5. What were the conclusions of the researchers? Do you agree or disagree with the conclusions? Support your position.  

The study was not able to come to a definite conclusion because of the small effect sizes.  The study did find that laptop use over a few years could a positive effect on test scores.  However,a study by Russell and Plati (2002) found that students who were accustomed to writing with computers in the classroom performed lower when they took writing tests by handwriting instead of computer (Suhr et.al., 2010). I agree that students will most likely score higher on standardized tests. Technology is very motivating tool to most students. I would love to have a laptop for every student in my classroom. Students that learn with technology have higher engagement and also get a sense of pride in their achievements (Roblyer & Doering, 2013).

 6. What suggestions for further research do the authors suggest? What other suggestions for future research would you suggest?

The authors suggest that with further research, larger sample sizes should be used, a more diverse group of students, and a broader body of outcome measures should be used. I suggest that a study be conducted on a school that has a low socioeconomic status. I work at school that has 94% free or reduced lunch, and I would be very interested in the results from the study. I also suggest that a study be conducted on more English language learners to see if it would help bridge the speaking gap a little bit more. In this study, there was only 1 English language learner.

Check out this article on 1:1 computing:
http://www.natickps.org/CASTLEBrief01_LaptopPrograms.pdf

Digital Citizenship Project

For my Digital Citizenship Project I focused on three topics that I thought were very importnant. The three topics that I chose are the lack of funding for technology, safety issues on the internet, and the risks of online social networking. According to Roblyer/Doering, (2013), “Recent economic downturns in the U.S. economy have meant decreased education funding, which aslo means fewer funds available for technology hardware, software, and training” (p. 17). Technology is on the rise world-wide. Implementing technology effectively and consistently in a classroom can change the classroom environment drastically for the better. However, more emphasis is placed on doing well on standardized tests than the budgets to fund technology. Along with the need for technology, safety issues on the internet are a major problem and concern. Studies have shown an increasing amount of effort by online predators to have some form of communication with students (Roblyer/Doering, p. 19). There is also a concern with students looking at questionable material and websites. To help with these issues, most schools have a fliter in place to ensure that students do not gain access to these things. Parents should also be aware of what their children are doing and looking at on the internet. For information on internet safety, visit http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html . One last concern with technology is the risks that online social networking present. Social networks can take up so much of a student’s time that it hinders the student from doing well on school work (Roblyer/Doering, p. 16). The social network becomes a constant distraction. Teachers have also been criticized for the material that he/she puts on their social network posts. Another concern that is on the rise in social networking is cyberbullying. Cyberbulling is "online harrassment in social networks" (Robyler/Doering, p. 16). Cyberbullying can lead to the victim experiencing anxiety or depression. In rare cases, it can also lead to suicide. For more information on cyberbullying, visit http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/cyberbullying.html .

References

Doering, H. and Robyler, M.D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.).
     Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Dowshen, Steven. (2011, June). Internet Safety. Retrieved from
     http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html#

Limperis, G. (2011). Funding tehcnology in the 21st century. edtech digest. Retrieved from
     http://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/funding-technology-in-the-21st-century/

New, Michelle. (2012, January). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from
     http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/cyberbullying.html?tracking=P_RelatedArticle#