1. Beyond the Basics Eric Sharp EDMS 6474

2. Types of Software Support Tools  Materials generators  Data collection and analysis tools  Testing and grading tools  Graphics tools  Planning and organizing tools  Research and reference tools  Content-area tools

3. Recent Developments in Software Support  Mobile devices  Web and cloud availability  Software suites

4. 15 Beyond the Basics tools that will be used in my classroom

5. Web Page Design Software  Can be used to create Web pages for both instructional and productivity purposes.  Uses include  classroom news, activities, and resources  web-based lessons (WebQuests)  Student-produced work

6. Whiteboard Activity Software  Used to display information for lessons by connecting through the computer and digital projector  Allows information on the screen to be manipulated with special pens or someone’s hands. Some systems allow notes to be saved for later use.  ActivBoard and SMART Board

7. Worksheet and Puzzle generators  Used to produce worksheets for students to use as practice excercises instead of test exercises.  Allows teachers to enter questions of various kinds, but does not allow options for completing the exercises on-screen or for grading them.  Puzzle generators automatically format and create crosswords, word search puzzles, and similar game-like activity. The teacher enters the content, and the software formats the puzzle.  Common uses:  Practice for lower level skills  Cloze exercises (comprehension)  Exercises to review words and definitions

8. Individualized Education Program (IEP) Generators  Federal legislation requires them for each special needs students.  Serve as blueprints for each special needs student’s instructional activities, and teachers must provide documentation that such a plan is on file and that it governs classroom activities.  IEP generator software assists teachers in preparing IEPs

9. Online Survey Tools  Allows teachers to design and implement online surveys to collect data for instructional purposes.  Features:  Variety of item formats  Instant tracking and visual summaries of results  Data downloads  Integration strategies:  Student polling  Generating data for graphic illustrations  Teaching survey design  Teaching data analysis

10. Student Information Systems  Software tools that help educators keep track of student, class, and school data to maintain records and support decision making.  Systems may do any of the following:  Track and report on attendance  Maintain records on student demographics  Track and report on test scores and achievement by objective  Allows parents to have online access to student grades and attendance  Notifies parents about problems with grades or attendance

11. Students Response Systems (Clickers)  Allows teacher to display and question or problem and for all students to answer it at the same time, and the systems summarizes the responses immediately.  Can be used to engaged students and check comprehension.

12. Electronic Gradebooks  Allows teachers to keep track of and calculate students grades by entering their names, test/assignment names, data from tests, and weighting information for specific test scores.

13. Test Generators and Rubric Generators  Test generators allow teachers to create tests and test item banks, administer tests online.  Features:  Test creation and revision procedures  Random generation of questions  Selection of questions based on criteria  Answer keys  Test item banks  Rubric generators allows teachers to create or adopt rubrics for grading complex products or performances.

14. Computer-Based Testing Systems  Allows students to take tests on-screen or to put test answers on optically- scanned “bubble sheets”  Provides reports on performance data after the test  Tests can be shorter through computer-based testing

15. Charting/graphing software  Allows students to create charts and graphs to illustrate and study data summaries.  Used when it may be difficult for students to create charts on their own by hand.

16. Word Cloud Generators  Allows for creation of a unique graphic display called a “word cloud,” which shows most frequent words from a text passage as larger.  In science, they allow one to create a word cloud to show occurrences of weather or geographic events like magnitudes of earthquakes or locations.

17. Lesson Planners  Help prepare and document lesson plans  Show documentation to show what teachers are teaching and how they are teaching it  Often called lesson makers

18. Scheduling, Calendar, and Time Management Tools  Help organize time and plan activities  Schedule makers help formulate plans for daily, weekly, or monthly sequences of appointments or events  Calendar makers print graphic calendars of chosen months or years with planned events in each day  Time management tools help remind us of events and responsibilities

19. Online Encyclopedias  Help students research any topic  Digital encyclopedias allow users to locate either one specific item or all references on a specific topic

20. Microcomputer-based labs (MBL)  Allows students to collect and analyze data from experiments  Accompanied by special hardware sensors that can measure light, temperature, voltage, and/or speed  Can replace several types of labs equipment

21. References  Roblyer, M. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.