Out of the listed criteria listed, I
would have to say the following are most important; STANDARDS, GRADE LEVEL,
ACTIVE LEARNING, HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY, and COST.
STANDARDS- The point of learning software is to help teach or
reinforce a lesson being taught to a student. If the program says it helps
teach a specific lesson, it should do just that, while also slightly preparing
students for the next step of understanding.
GRADE LEVEL- This is one of the most important issues I feel
personally. Students collectively learn as a group, by grade
level. If a program is too advanced, a child will feel discouraged
because they can't work it properly. If a program is not challenging enough for
a child, they will get bored and not want to use the program. It is a delicate
balance that must be made.
ACTIVE LEARNING- If a program is interactive, a child's attention
and focus will be thoroughly engaged. If the program does not let the
child be the engineer and steer the program to their own viewpoints, the
program is nothing more than an E-Book. This is nice, but not what it
is intended to do.
HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY- It doesn't' matter if a program is the
best there is. If it doesn't work on the classroom computers, it's not good for
the classroom.
COST- Classrooms are run on a budget. If a program
is excessively expensive, it isn't right for a classroom. If it is
not available for abundant use, it's not right for a classroom.
As for the software selections I made, I chose four instead of
three. I couldn't choose just three.
OREGON TRAIL-This is a very interactive way
to inspire students to want to learn about the history of the
trail west.
INTERACTIVE ATLAS- A student can click on a certain country and
learn more about that country.
MICROSOFT PUBLISHER- Gives students the skills to create a mass
amount of products.
PHOTOSHOP- Gives students the ability to *perfect* an image for a
project.
