1. What is productivity software? How can it be adapted to benefit teaching and learning? What are the advantages and features of electronic spreadsheets? How do you see them as a benefit in an educational environment?
There are a variety of administrative educational tasks that teachers and educators are required to perform on a daily basis. Record keeping tasks such as attendance and grading can become extremely tedious and repetitive. It is necessary that these tasks are performed properly within a timely manner in order for an effective learning environment to exist. To avoid wasting valuable time, which could have possibly led to a teachable moment, teachers and educators should take advantage of the various forms of productivity software. Productivity software is a form of administrative software, which helps educators do their jobs effectively. According to Duffy and McDonald productivity software is “a typically generic business application software that educators can use and adapt for the administrative and professional tasks they may address.”
A variety of types of productivity software are available. There are four major types of productivity software, which include word processors, electronic spreadsheets, database management and presentation software. This software can generally be purchased individually or in application suites, which would include all four types of software. Teachers and educators can use productivity software to aid in administrative educational tasks. Due to the similarity of the software computer using educators won’t have a problem learning to use the software.
There are several ways in which each form of the software can be adapted to benefit teaching and learning. This software has created a revolution in the way classrooms are run. Since I graduated from high school everything has changed drastically. Teachers don’t have to spend unlimited amounts of time grading and correcting assignments. Researching an assignment has also become much easier for students. The following will cover examples of ways to effectively use each form of software to aid in administrative and professional task and application to teaching and learning task.
• Word Processing can be used by educators to prepare letters, memos, reports, flyers; rubrics lesson plans, newsletters, activity sheets, posters, study guides, and class notes. It can also help students prepare stories, essays, and group reports.
• Electronic Spreadsheets can be used by educators to prepare budgets, grade and attendance rosters and to compute grades. It provides students with a method for tracking and analyzing data and creating charts and supports student research such as tracking stock market data
• Data base management systems can be used by educators to organize and track student and professional data. It provides support for students’ tracking data, extract and report targeted summaries of content or resources to address student needs.
• Presentation software can be used to create presentations for workshops and meetings and to create classroom lecture support that features text, audio, and visual elements with special effects. It can also produce transparency masters and create students worksheets to accompany class lectures.
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ReplyDeleteGood overview of productivity software, an indispensable tool for today's teachers. Nine years ago in my first year as a K-12 teacher, I created my own spreadsheets for recording and calculating all grades in my classes. I also used Word's mail/merge feature to automatically pull grades and student information for parent letters and progress reports. Today, in adult education we don't have grades, but I use Word to make handouts and worksheets, and I use Excel to keep track of my work hours and student placement. I used PowerPoint to make a Jeopardy game to use for reviews in class. It is adaptable to any subject matter. These tools allow me to do more in less time and with greater accuracy. Hooray for productivity software!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection and comments.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent overview! It is important to note that vendors do design these types of software together. Many times people are afraid of software they have never used before, but if they have used a sister application it is easier for them to learn the functions of a related piece of software.
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