Content Area Software Evaluation Project

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Content Area Software Evaluation Project Software Evaluation Scenario: You a teacher in the Baltimore County Public Schools who feels like technology might help you meet your instructional goal. You have identified a piece of instructional software that you feel aligns with your instructional goals, and you would like the school system to purchase the software to make available to students in your classroom and your school’s computer lab. 1. Identify an instructional objective in your content area (http://mdk12.org/mspp/vsc/index.html) 2. Identify a piece of instructional software that you feel might support your instructional goal. See the Blog for suggested software publishers and sites. *Where possible, I prefer that you select a piece of software for which a demonstration copy is available, so that you can spend some time getting to know the software hands-on. 3. Spend some time getting to know the software and its various features. 4. Complete the Request for Evaluation of Instructional Software and Web-Based Resources Form 5. Fill out the Instructional Software Evaluation Form to review the software.

Presentation Scenario: Having completed your review of the instructional software, you have been given 6 minutes during a school-wide meeting to share your findings with your school’s administration, and your fellow teachers. Your presentation should address the following: - familiarize the audience with the software: o name, o features o instructional use(s) of the software (drill & practice, simulation, tutorial, etc.) o Include screenshots or a live demo (preferred). - explain why you chose to evaluate the particular software, and how the software supports your instructional goals - your decision to recommend/not recommend it for use by the school system, based on the BCPS evaluation rubric

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Overall Summary and Reflection Summary a) For each major area of the Instructional Software Evaluation Form, write a paragraph describing the thinking behind your scoring decisions. Why did you assign the software a high, low, or missing score in these areas? - Instructional Quality The software did not take responses thus did not provide motivation, track scores or give feedback. All those areas received a score of NA. As the program only stimulated visual learning it received a low score for appealing to multiple styles. The website is open to all thus the teacher could not regulate access and this also received a low score. The program did not have instructions but was presented with appropriate labels and was very easy to navigate. The vocabulary and spelling were appropriate for the terms and locations discussed. - Content The map was accurate for the time period and as is free of bias in its construction. The area of study meets the curriculum for the 8th grade. It is appropriate for the VSC but is more of a stretch. It meets the goal of understanding the geography of the United States, relating to how the natural resources and the physical environment on the development of the nation. It only deals with a small window of this goal though. It does not differentiate for groups or discuss diverse groups, thus the scoring of NA. - Support Materials The website has nice resources for teachers and students. There are various other non-interactive maps, and a complete archive of John Smith’s writing. There are no instructions, directions, troubleshooting information, statement of skills or statement of objectives. - Technical Quality The map operates smoothly and without error through repeated usages. This criteria was given top marks. The next criteria was given a 2 because the graphics are a bit rudimentary but still appropriate. There is no documentation, thus a score of NA.

b) Strengths and Weaknesses of the Software The software is easy to use and informative. Unfortunately it does not provide directions or documentation so the teacher will need to know how to use it well in order to assist the class.

c) Recommended/Not Recommended (Why/Why not? Be precise and thoughtful in your explanation!) I would recommend the software. It offers a good illustration of the region while showing the students the development to that point. From the information presented to them in the map they will be able to draw accurate conclusions about the early colonist’s lives; specifically, conclusions regarding the extent of their knowledge about their surroundings. Reflection: a) As we worked on the project, we did well with... We shared the workload very well. Everything was split roughly down the middle, each of us responsible for half of the project. This allowed us to complete it together while not having conflicts over specific details.

3 b) As we worked on the project, we had difficulties with… We initially had difficulty finding a program to use. The first programs we found were either for elementary students or too advanced for a middle or high school class. We also found some programs that were for reinforcement which was disallowed for this project. Once we were directed to the Virginia Center for Digital History we were able to find an appropriate activity.

c) To improve the next time we need to identify and evaluate software, we need to… We should be more flexible with our search and look more places. We initially were set on trying to find a program from “Click and Learn” and looked at several programs there before eventually trying another site. Once we started looking other places the search went much better and we were able to find a good program.