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
Heather, it sounds as if you have great ways of integrating instructional software into your classroom. I want to personally thank you for teaching your third graders to be fluent in their math facts. Many educators think this is no longer important. I'm speaking as a fifth grade teacher and it is still very necessary. I look forward to using some of your suggested sites.
ReplyDeleteGreat sites! I am excited about using quizlet.com! I just checked it out. The site has a quick tutorial that is helpful. I like how you can make your own cards or choose from the wide variety they have available.
ReplyDeleteI did not know about scholastic.com having virtual fieldtrips! That is really cool about the Mayflower. We always talk about the Mayflower at Thanksgiving, even with Pre-k students. I think that they would really enjoy this. Spellingcity.com is great as well. I have never seen that one. I love that it can fit right into your actual curriculum. Thanks for the great sites!
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