Academic Software Evaluation Criteria

The five software evaluation criteria I would pick would be cost, grade level, technical support, active learning, and save features.

First of all, cost is a big issue. A teacher wants the most bang for his/her buck. The cost of the product decides how many other programs can be bought since teachers are usually on a tight budget. Grade level is also important because the wrong grade level can mean to easy or hard for the students. If the software is too hard for the students, then they won’t be able to keep up. If it is too easy , the students won’t be able to learn anything new. Technical support is also important, because if something goes wrong with the software a teacher needs to be able to know it can be fixed by themselves or a professional instead of having to buy new software. Active learning is important because if students are not involved with the program then they will not learn anything. The students need to be involved in active learning because it keeps their interest and allows them to learn more. Save features are also important because it allows the teacher and student to save work and then return to the same work at a different point in time. Without a save feature the software would not help very much. It is easier to learn when you can refer to something you have done before to help as a guide. Also with a save feature you do not have to worry about losing all of your hard work.  I chose Microsoft Word, because it allows students to write papers to get a better understanding of how to write a proper paper. I also chose Microsoft Excel because it allows students to make spreadsheets and helps them with tables and documentations. I also chose Websters dictionary/atlas, because it allows students to lookup meaning of words, synonyms and antonyms of words online.

Digital Technology

While reading chapter 6 I was thinking of how I could use or incorporate each item into my teaching. I realized that I can use most of these items, but not all of them. The five pieces of digital technology I would want most would include, mini laptops, projector, tablet PCs such as ipads, touchscreens, and headphones. Mini laptops are important to me because it would allow the students to be able to expand their knowledge and work at different paces. I would use mini laptops by giving one to every student. I would also use a projector. This would be important to me because it allows me to project an image so that all the students can see it which also saves time and would allow me to teach more in a day. I would use this by mounting a projector and projecting images, slide shows, and more to teach the students in a faster and more effective way. Tablets are important because for one ipads are really cool but they also allow students to have a multipurpose device. It also allows books to be downloaded on the tablet so the students would always have their books. I would use this pretty much the same way as the laptop. Touchscreen computers are also important because the student physically interacts with the screen. I would use a touchscreen to do lessons like pointing at places on a map for example.  Headphones are also important because students can listen to music while doing work which keeps them from talking and distracting other students. I would use these by allowing students to listen to music at appropriate times or when doing a lesson on the computer involving a video. This would allow students to be able to hear the lesson without distractions from outside noises.