All Shall be Equal

Technology in classrooms can lead to games in the classroom.  These games are beneficial because they teach the skills that help the children later in life.  Also it gives the student the ability to concentrate on multiple items of the game at once.  This ability will help the student multitask in later careers.  Also problem solving software inspire the children to learn the content by giving them incentive to learn.  This incentive is to win the activity and gain the satisfaction that they won.  The problem solving software may allow them to look at pictures from different angles so they can learn to manipulate the items that they are using.  The educational software at is being used in today's classrooms are also yielding similar results.  According to Morrison and Lowther (2010) they are using animations with tutorials to engage the students.  Some drill and practice software uses bright images to catch the students attention.  A benefit from drill and practice software is that when used repetitively it can lead to memorization, helping the student to retain information.  The problem is is that some teachers only use the software once or twice; this will not be helpful to the student. Keys to choosing the correct software is highlighted in Figure 11.1 in our book.  First you should make sure that the content the program is using is correct.  Otherwise your students are learning the wrong information.  Next you should test the program to see how easy it is to use.  If it's difficult to use the students might get so caught up in the program that they never learn the content.  Research based instructional activities are necessary to see if the program gives incentive to the learning and has done specific research to make the program interesting and engaging for the students.  Next you should make sure that the program follows the objectives you want to comply with.  If the program is for algebra but you are teaching a geometry class, then maybe it would be best to find another program to use in your classroom.  Finally you should make sure that the program gives students an assessment that they can clearly understand and link to their stage of learning.  As usual you need to make sure the program fits within the objectives.  You will need to make sure that the computer functions follow along with the lesson.  The software should give information on the content that is to be practiced within the program.  Also it should provide feedback to the student.  The feedback could be a review if the student cannot figure out the answer or a prize at the end for doing well in the software practice, such as a new level.  Also the feedback should be able to tell you whether the answer is right or wrong.  There may not be a results presentation since the student is just practicing information and not really trying to answer a question.  You should examine what to do during the computer use before deciding what is needed to be done before computer use and after computer use.

There is much preparation that is needed before a computer lesson can begin.  The teacher will have to prepare any information that is to be given during the lesson.  Handouts will have to be made, and proper examples on how to use the technology should be made before the first lesson using this sort of technology.  If your students will be saving their projects you should make a folder for them to easily save.  Also it would help the time problem if everything was open and ready for them to use on the computer and information was easily accessibly through documents or bookmarks.  It is best to evaluate your lesson plan to best decide where the computer comes in.  For instance, you should not start off with no information and go directly to the computers without preparation.  Sometimes the best place for the computer will come in the middle so that you can properly prepare the students for computer use in the beginning and then assess the computer use at the end of the lesson.  It is possible for students to have equal access to technology with only three computers in the classroom.  These lessons should be group lessons so that the students will gather around the computers together instead of individual lessons that will lead to some students getting more computer time than others.  After you separate the students into groups, you can have them rotate to and from the computers for a set amount of time.  Some students will gather the information needed to work on the computer and then will rotate to the computer to do the work.  These students should be supplied with the information or another part of the lesson to compensate for the what the students on the computer are using.