Websites

Sites That can Help Evaluate Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes

Mark Graham

 

• Management of Electronic Materials: Software Evaluation Tools http://eduscapes.com/earth/management/softevaluation.html

This site explains how to manage the programs and how they recommend using them. I liked this site because it seemed like it really could be useful.

• Evaluating Educational Software for school and home http://www1.american.edu/IRVINE/eval.html

This site explains how to evaluate the software between school and home. It also explains how to determine which programs suits your students.

• Educational Software Evaluation for Teachers http://www.ettc.net/resources/evaluation/MyGradebook.pdf

I liked this site because it gave an example of something that could be used for an actual classroom. I also like the product in itself.

As an Educator, How Can You Evaluate Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes?

An educator, you can easily evaluate software tools and hardware for your Instructions. It’s as simple as just having a CD or some type of USB Drive to save work to as complex as something as Photoshop. A USB drive could be used for saving all of your typed work and the Photoshop could be taught as an entire course. By realizing that you would need a USB cord for any type of computer work, and to make things easier you could definitely figure out that it would be a necessity for your classroom. Something as ANGEL is also a software tool. ANGEL is used by thousands of kids around campus’ and is most definitely proven to work as an instructional aid.
Something you might want to consider, however, is being sure it’s not too difficult for your students to figure out. As I said above something like Photoshop could be an entire course. You don’t want to expect a student to learn how to quickly work the program and just be thrown into it with no hope. If it does end up being a tricky program make it a prerequisite for your class. Just don’t complicate things more than they should be.

Evaluate Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes

Evaluate Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes
Amanda Lange

http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/based.htm
-Found this website very useful because it contained a lot of different information on the topic that was easy to read and understand
-It provided and contained many sources in it’s text which increases its validity and accuracy.


http://eduscapes.com/earth/management/softevaluation.html
-includes guidelines to content considerations that should be made before using different hardwares or softwares.
-includes areas of evaluation and software evaluation considerations, however doesn’t get into detail but list them all out
-helpful but lacking detail and description

http://www.project2061.org/publications/bfr/online/Material/text.htm
-a lot of back gound information of technology in education and it’s significance
-small portion of a lengthy article regarding evaluation of software and hardware technology
-did not like this website because not much detail of actually evaluating the software and hardware and it only briefly and vaguely discuses it.

Evaluating Technology-Based Curriculum Materials

Evaluating Technology- Based Curriculum Materials.

This article breaks down evaluating technology-based curriculum materials into various separate categories. Some of these categories include authenticity, evaluation framework, content, technology and instructional tools, assessment, and teacher support. Authenticity discusses how when evaluating the technology, important questions such as “Is the technology used to bring real-world examples into the classroom” should be addressed. It suggest that technology should assist students with learning by enabling them to interact and engage on their own rather than listening or observing. It also touches upon how using some of these technologies can help develop skills which are used in society today in the work world, and these technologies should be taken advantage of in the classroom to not only further engage students in learning but develop them with skills they will later need in life that will help them succeed as employees.
Evaluating framework, discusses that the framework of evaluating curriculum material is that curriculum evaluators “prepare their own assessment criteria tailored to the instructional context in which the curriculum materials will be used (comer and Geissler, 1998).” In other words, teachers and evaluators should take into account who the learners are (age, level, ability), the learning environment and limitations of the technology being used. In the technology and instructional tools section, the type of hardware and software and availability of these technologies are addressed as a concern to take into account when evaluating. This includes assessing how much time a teacher spent in learning to use these technologies as well as the engagement of students in these activities and how long they used the technologies for. It suggest that evaluations should assess software with the children’s learning as their main concern. The overall goal of technology assessment should be to measure student engagement and learning which is exemplified thought the student’s performances. Software and hardware realism can further engage students into learning and further stimulate their behavior towards the learning. Overall, engagement through technology appears to be the strongest aspect in improving learning, and thus the type of engagement that software and hardware provide and how the students perform through that technology are significant to evaluating technology-based curriculum materials.

http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/based.htm
ERIC Identifier: ED449118
Publication Date: 2000-10-00
Author: Reed, Diane S. - McNergney, Robert F.
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education Washington DC.

Emma Heinlen References for Evaluating Software and Hardware Tools Used for In

References for Evaluating Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes

Emma Heinlen

• http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech009.shtml
• This article discusses the emphasis of properly teaching teachers about how to use technology and how time should not be an issue because technology can facilitate learning instead of interrupting it as long as the teachers are aware of what they are doing.
• The article seemed informative and had strong opinions as to why technology should be used within the classroom.
• http://fie-conference.org/fie2000/papers/1462.pdf
• This paper discusses the use of an online or CD-Rom for use in Engineering Programs. It discusses many different views that are also seen within the textbook and discusses how the software is beneficial to the laboratory.
• The article was a little heavy to read but had a lot of information.

• http://learning.sec.hccs.edu/members/.../ECIS-Presentation-Sandra5-2007.ppt
• This is a powerpoint that discusses the different types of software that is out there’re that instructors are using in order to contribute to the learning process. It discusses different programs such as mymathlab, virtual laboratories, and blackboard.
• The powerpoint contained information in an easy-to-read format and showed many of the benefits that technology can contribute to our learning processes.

Emma Heinlen: Evaluating Software and Hardware Tools Used for Instructional Purposes

There are many things to be aware of when picking out appropriate software for educational purposes. First, it is important to not be distracted by things such as flashy colors and animations since they may, in fact, distract the learner. Many software creators have information on their website which can be used in order to make judgments about whether or not the software is appropriate for the instruction. In order to start evaluating software, an educator should first see whether he or she already has materials that will already sufficiently teach the information, or whether additional software materials are necessary. It is also important to compare different types of software to see if there are other similar software programs which can teach the information the same if not better than an expensive type of software.

Many software producers allow you to download a free sample of their software, and there are many important and familiar software creators which are important to be familiar with, such as The Learning Company or Scholastic. It is also important to become familiar with the quality of the software and the reading level and set-up of the software in order to see how well the students of the classroom would adapt and be able to learn something from the software. It is important to consider all the ways that an educator could use the software and how much time it would take in the classroom. Also, there are many web games that are on the internet that could be used for teaching such as Web Physics. Or it is often possible to get special education purchases with bundles of software. There are many options when looking at and evaluating software. The key is to think of the ways that it can be included in learning and if it will be a successful tool. It is important to do the research and be aware of the products before using them in instruction.

Lamb, Annette, and Larry Johnson. "Electronic Materials for Children and Young Adults." EduScapes: A Site for Life-long Learners. Web. 25 Sept. 2009. http://eduscapes.com/earth/management/selection.html

Amanda Lange- Plagiarism and the Internet

"Plagiarism and the Internet"

This article illustrates that with the increasing use of the Internet along with the growth and advancement of technology, plagiarism in schools appears to positively correlate with that increasing as well. In other words, the more technologically advanced students become, the more the easier it becomes for students to plagiarize another person's work. For instance, the article touches upon how easy it is for a student to simply copy words, sentences, and/or whole paragraphs from an online source and paste it directly into their own paper they are typing. This results in completed papers and assignments with minimal effort and thus minimal learning. Additionally, as other students and people in general become more technologically advanced, the creation of websites and web links where entire essays can be downloaded sometimes for a small fee but mostly for no coast at all increase plagiarism as students can now take entire essays and use them as their own. The ethical issues arise as the student is not putting their own efforts and originality into their work and “stealing” another person’s original hard work. Legally, plagiarism is considered a crime and taken very seriously as it is against the law. With the availability of the Internet and technologies such as “copy-and-paste” features, plagiarism seems to be highly increasing among students as it provides an “easy way out” to getting done assignments and papers completed.
The article also discusses how the Internet can be used to counteract these crimes and “combat” plagiarism through different website technologies. Many teachers are now using Internet plagiarism prevention sites, such as “turnitin.com.” Teachers have their students submit their assignments in these web pages and through these sites, the papers are reviewed, searched, and compared to numerous online sources finding and displaying any similarities which can than be further reviewed for plagiarism. Overall, while there are ways to counteract classroom plagiarism using technology, for the most part, the increase of technology has increased student plagiarism which is both ethically and legally an issue.

source: http://www.k12academics.com/education-assessment-evaluation/plagiarism/plagiarism-internet (2004-2009)

Emma Heinlen - Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom, an article by Gilbert Valdez, Ph.D discusses the ideas of the utilization of technology in the classroom and both the positive and negative views dealing with technology. The author starts with a brief overview of how teaching has adapted into a very confusing task, dealing with ’numerous contradictory expectations’. He shows an argument stating that, “schools should not use technology for a variety of reasons ranging from creating social isolation to preventing students from learning critical basic skills”. Also students state that the activities were not helpful and the root of this is that teachers or whoever designs the use of technology expects very little for student’s decision making. Teachers don’t create complex tasks that would fully help students. Much of the reasons why teachers and administrators do not implement technology in the school system is because the purpose is not clear, participants are not involved in planning, communication is poor, cost is high, or teaching in itself is satisfactory. There is also analysis as to when it is appropriate for this use of technology to be placed in the learning environment. Many people argue that before 3rd grade would not be beneficial.

He discusses that technology can help teachers do everything which is required of them to do since they have to create an optimal learning environment. Technology is a tool He then goes on to discuss the availability of internet and how there are now very few differences in internet access between poor and wealthy schools. However although that technology can help students observe and “create multiple representations of mathematical ideas”. Valdez says that a key part in whether technology works in schools or not is how well the teachers implement the technology and mentions this throughout the article. Technology helps as a “personal tutor and information source to data organizer and communication tool”. It opens a wide range of assistant games and services to communication between different students in different cities to professionals. Overall, proper planning and utilization seems to be the largest problem when it comes to technology. The better implemented the technology, the better results with the students. Although there are some more administrative issues such as funding that would need discussion, our technology-based generation should also have educational technology in the educational setting.

Valdez, Gilbert. "Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom." Learning Point Associates. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005. Web. 10 Sept. 2009. .

Legal and Ethical Issues for Using Technology in the Classroom

Before you start teaching students with any type of technology it is important that you begin to learn the laws and other ethical issues of them. A big topic would be the copyright laws in which we all are aware of, but few actually have taken the time to get to know and learn. According to Dictionary.com and “Education World” Copyright is "the legal right granted to an author, a composer, a playwright, a publisher, or a distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work." A copyright law basically makes it to where nobody can use his/her exact work, but they can change it into their own words and make beneficial use out of it to educate others or to make more ‘creative’ use of it. No fact is copyrightable, so you will never have to worry about that while teaching anything like that. A good example would be a research paper. Summarize what is in the article you read and if you use any exact quotes from it give credit where it is due.
“Education World” says that “not every Internet resource can be related to a corresponding print resource. Erroneously posting copyrighted material to your own Web site carries even greater risks than innocently using copyrighted material in your classroom.” That means don’t just go through websites and clicking copy and paste. You should always remember that just because its online doesn’t mean that is there legally and it also may not even be the original copyrighter’s webpage. Even though you may not get into any trouble because of any of this, you may just be accused of ‘bad manners’ as “Education World” says. Copyright laws are about money for the most part and this means that something as minor as you copy and pasting a link or using a graphic from their page wouldn’t be worth any bother for them, for they would most likely has no financial gain from that. Another good thing to keep in mind is that you cannot copy any type of discs or types of programs. This is illegal and you may only use one disc per computer normally.


Starr, Linda. "The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use." www.education-world.com. 17/12/2004. 7 Sep 2009

voki introduction

Voki Intro