Index of course materials Course designed by Gail Gruber, WNMU,
Silver City, NM
Web
Quest
by Gail
Gruber
Introduction | Task | Resources
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion
Introduction
- "The endless
litany of the ways in which schools are failing,
- recited dutifully
by countless school reformers,
- fail to grasp
this one essential truth:
- If instruction
does not mobilize students' intrinsic will to learn,
- very little will
be learned."
- Jim Cummins and Dennis Sayers
in Brave New Schools
Technology can help to mobilize this
will to learn when used correctly.
Quality software is an essential element.
The Task
How do you know what represents quality? How
do you know it will match your instructional style? How do you
know it will mobilize that will to learn? How do you explain to
your principal that the student learning which is generated is
truly worth the cost of the software? How do you know that software
is free of bias to gender or ethnicity? How do you know that software
meets the needs and interests of ESL, minorities, special education
and handicapped students?
Your task is to design a one-page instrument for software evaluation,
preview software which is available on the World Wide Web, and
make recommendations to your school for five software purchases.
Each software title which is recommended for purchase must be
accompanied by an explanation of its worth to the school's instructional
intent.
Your first mission is to learn about the evaluation
of software. Use the resources below and questions above to develop
the criteria for your evaluation instrument.
Resources
- Online Resources concerning software evaluation:
-
- Children's Software Revue
- Software For Learning, Maricopa Community Colleges
- Evaluating Instructional Computer Courseware
- On-Line Instructional Software Evaluations
- Only the Best Evaluators, ASCD
- Educational Software Information Sites
- Resources for Educational Software, Loyola University
- The latest resources from Apple
- Apple Learning Series
-
- "Captured Wisdom CD-ROM Library" is a collection
of stories about teachers who have integrated technology into
their instruction. These CD-ROMs, which contain video descriptions
& demonstrations of how technology is used in classrooms,
help show what technology can accomplish in schools. (ED)http://www.ncrel.org/cw/
- "Parent Tech" provides resources for families &
educators of middle school children. The site includes interviews
with high-tech professionals, educators, & families about
how they are using technology & a "Discussion Corner"
where visitors can participate in an online forum on technology.
(ED) http://www.parentech.org/
- Offline Resources concerning software evaluation:
-
- Education for an Information Age: Teaching
in the Computerized Classroom, Bernard
J. Poole, pp 165-174; note especially the form on page 168.
-
- Educational Leadership, February, 1999 issue, Integrating Technology
into the Curriculum
The Process
1. Divide into groups of four people without
assuming a role.
2. Study the resources above and follow the
information in the Task to design a one-page evaluation instrument.
3. Choose your role after you have designed
your evaluation instrument.
- Teacher
- Your instructional style and curriculum must be enhanced
by software in order for you to use it in your classroom. When
you are evaluating, remember what and how you teach. You want
to use software that will motivate your students to learn.
|
- Parent
- The most important thing for you is your child's education.
Is he or she going to be ready for the jobs of the future? Are
you sure that your child is getting the basic text, visual, and
numerical literacy skills? Will the software help your child
in these areas? Would you be willing to help the teacher with
the software?
|
- Administrator
- You are in charge of all the technology. Does this software
require extensive training before it would be productive in classes?
What is the cost? How does it fit in the district curriculum
guidelines? What effect would it have on student learning?
|
- Student
- Is is fun? Would you want to use this software to create
a project? What special things can you learn from the software?
Is the software hard to learn? Could you do things with this
software that you cannot do in other ways in your classroom?
|
4. Using your evaluation instrument visit some
of the software sites listed and evaluate the preview software
found there. Remember to stay in your role as you decide on the
most important elements.
- ADAM
- Adobe
- Broderbund
Software
- HyperStudio
- Macromedia
- MECC/The Learning
Company
- Optimum
Resources
- Pierian
Spring Software
- Sanctuary
Woods
- Scholastic
- Sunburst
- Tenth
Planet
- Tom
Snyder Productions
- True
BASIC
-
5. Rate the software according to your evaluation
instrument criteria from your perspective.
6. As a group, decide which five pieces of
software you will recommend for purchase. Write an explanation
which details how these choices meet the varied needs of all four
roles.
Evaluation
Discuss the different perspectives which you
used to evaluate the software. Were there any large differences
in your evaluations? Why? Do you think that the software you have
chosen will meet the challenge in the opening quote? Write a paragraph
about how this process could help schools at times when they are
selecting software.
Conclusion
You have taken on the role of a major stakeholder
in the education of children and made important decisions. For
education to meet the needs of children, processes such as this
must take place for the many curricular decisions to be made.
How many times did you get to help make a decision as a student?
Think about this as you are designing the education of our children.
- Ó1999 Gail Gruber
- Last updated April 21, 1999
- Created using a template from The Webquest
Page and
Carmen Gonzales.
- Index of course materials Course designed by Gail Gruber, WNMU,
Silver City, NM
- Introduction
to the Course and Instructor |
Syllabus
| Competencies | Software Evaluation | Education
Resources | APA Sample
| Ethics | Funding
Ideas | Hardware tutorial
| Index | Web
Resources for Educators | Multimedia
| Networks/Internet | Personal Portfolio | PowerPoint
Tutorial | Presentation
Requirement | Problem Based
Learning | Problem Selection
| Research on the Web | Web Quest | Syllabus
| Internet Use by Teachers | Math teaching on the web