Three Basic Software Tools: Word processing, Spreadsheet, and Presentation
Word Processing
Software
“Word processing programs essentially produce documents as a
stream of text, whereas desktop publishing software produces them as individual
pages.” (Roblyer pg. 112) As an educator, I would use the word processing
software to help save time when making corrections or modifying any documents
instead of creating new ones and it also will help enhance the appearance of
the students’ documents. Although Word Processing is a very useful tool it also
has some issues that educators often face. One of the issues is the effects of
word processing on handwriting. “No researchers have conducted a formal study
of the impact of frequent word processing use on handwriting legibility,
computer users commonly complain that their handwriting isn’t what it used to
be, ostensibly because of infrequent opportunities to use their handwriting
skills.” (Roblyer pg. 116) “Although educators face many issues with this
software, word processing continues to grow and educators find new ways to deal
with the issues.” (Roblyer pg. 117)
Spreadsheet Software
“Spreadsheets are programs designed to organize and
manipulate numerical data.” (Roblyer pg. 121) As an educator, I would use
Spreadsheet Software to keep book of my students’ grades, attendance records, classroom
budgets, and personal contact information. Although this tool may be beneficial
to me as an educator, it may raise issues with my students. For example;
students may begin to rely on spreadsheet to manually work out mathematical
equations instead of properly learning the steps necessary to answer the
questions by hand. Also if not properly input, the values in the spreadsheet
can change the sum of the equations. This issue will cause the equation to be
incorrect. “Just as with word processing, students new to spreadsheets must
have time to develop skills in using the software before teachers can begin to
grade their work.” (Roblyer pg. 125)
Presentation Software
“Presentation software is designed to display information,
including text, images, audio, and video, in a slideshow format.” (Roblyer pg.
125) As an educator, I would use Presentation software to help grab the attention
of my students so that he or she will be more willing to engage in classroom
discussions. I was once a student in high school and teachers who bored me to
death with reading the text from the books.
With a slideshow presentation I can gain my students’ attention with
simple information and quick videos. Although presentations can be helpful it
can also have issues along with it. "In a 2003 article entitled “PowerPoint is
Evil,” Edward Tufte said that “the PowerPoint style routinely disrupts,
dominates, and trivializes content. There are also complaints about the effects
that using slide-based software has on teaching style and impact. Adams (2006)
said that using PowerPoint makes educators reshape what they present in a way
that is inconsistent with developing higher-level skills."(Roblyer pg. 129)
Classroom Use---Chosen
Software: Presentation Software
I chose to use the Presentation Software in my classroom to keep my students engaged. As teenagers it can be hard to focus when there is not an interest in the subject presented. With the Presentation software I can deliver my student’s information with a visual concept, delivering simple context and quick videos. This allows information to be retained easier than to have a board full of irrelevant information that will soon be forgotten. Technology… The new norm of education.
Reference:
Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th ed).
YouTube Video (2015). Technology in Education
Sanquenetta,
ReplyDeleteI think we both agree that word processing can have a negative effect on writing and specifically handwriting. The only time people hand-write anymore is when they are writing a check and that is not very often! As I type this I realize word processing also has a negative effect on spelling as everything is constantly auto-corrected. I recall you mentioning the problems associated with spreadsheets when one square has an incorrect formula or number it can throw the whole things out of whack. This can definitely be a problem when your not experienced enough using spreadsheets. You made some solid points about teachers boring students to death reading out of a book and how presentation software can be used to gain students attention through simple context and quick videos. "Elliot and Gordon (2016) said that proper use of presentation software can support constructivist activities and promote higher-level thinking and "deep understanding" (p.34) Blog looks good Sanquenetta!
San,
ReplyDeleteI think, from our blog group, that the prevailing sentiment is a positive attitude toward presentation software. I think it can be such a positive when utilized correctly. I think it's a great way to keep students engaged, and I also would add that using it to make game-based reviews is a cool idea. "Interactive presentations based on popular games like Jeopardy," (Robyler, 2016, p.131) can add another dimension to the classroom, and from personal experience, they are pretty fun as well. I also wanted to comment on Jeremy's above comment. While I certainly think that word processors can have negative impacts, I disagree with the spelling aspect. Auto correct has its pros and cons, but people can still be strong spellers by reading. In fact, many nuances about spelling are lost with auto correct and must be proofread. I think it can lead to an over reliance on spell check, but with the Internet, there is an abundance of written content for people to devour. It is becoming harder and harder to cipher through the good and the bad, and I do agree that quality writing is harder to come by. It seems to be about quantity, not quality, and I think that is definitely a negative.
I agree with your assessment of the presentation software. This software help with a number of things: it helps keep the stunt as well as the teacher on track with material taught. It also helps with captivating your audience. Having the ability to “to display information, including text, images, audio, and video, in a slideshow format.” (Roblyer pg. 125) allows the teacher to keep students in tune with the material. This is a tool that can be used in any classroom with a variety of different subjects.
ReplyDelete