Advantages and Uses of the Basic Suite Software
The Basic Suite consists of Word Processing, Excel Spreadsheet, Presentation. The basic suite is used to help teachers and learners achieve goals that normally would take more time. The biggest relative advantage of the basic suite is the fact that technology is faster than paper and pencil. “Getting organized, producing instructional materials, and accomplishing paperwork tasks all go much faster when software tools are used” (Roblyer, 2013, p. 109).
Word Processing/Google Documents
Word Processing and Google Documents help teachers and students produce professional looking work. Relative advantage of both is that they have built in spell checkers and grammar checks. The use of word processing software includes the options of page layouts, inserting images, charts, etc. All of these can help individuals create flyers, brochure, professional papers, and articles.
Excel/Google Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet software makes for data collection and representation a breeze. It's easy to sort out data and build graphs, charts, and other visual representations of your data collected. The advantage of this software is that it's quick and easy to use.
Powerpoint/Google Presentation
Presentation software is a great tool that can be used to organize content and ideas. This is possible since you are creating slides and organizing the content to share with students. Presentation also allows users to import/embed graphics and videos. Teachers and students can also use the animation feature in this software to animate their graphics to help present their points.
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction, 2nd edition. Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA.
Roblyer, M.D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching, San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteA clear and well-thought out post. I like that you've included two references and particularly the first direct quote. Time is always the one the comes to mind as a key benefit but oddly from a teacher's point of view I don't think we ever "get back" or "see" that time. Sure we can make things faster, or better, or more professionally in less time than before but the time we saved just gets eaten up making more learning materials, don't you think? I blogged about this last week over at http://dougvass.wordpress.com. Just reading your post now made me think it is almost like buying something on sale that we didn't really need, you can go home and say to yourself or your partner, but I saved $50! And they can say to you, alright show me the $50? We haven't really saved it have we, we've just allocated it elsewhere, a lot like our time. The issue though for employers, schools and the individual is to to make sure we allocate that time that we've "saved" to ourselves. I know I'm ranting here but I'm finally becoming conscious of my own poor choices in using my own "saved" time to "do more work" rather than "switch off". Sorry to hijack your comments!
Thanks for sharing, Doug
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI like the addition of the pictures on this blog. It helps give a nice visual of the subject. When you stated, "You'll never have a full class of students that know how to use word, excel, or presentation to their fullest potential. In addition to just being able to use the programs, students and educators alike need to learn the best practices for design and layout," It really got me thinking. Since I'm in a 1:1 laptop school, I too often assume that my students understand all of the tools within these programs. Especially since I've been using them for so long. This is such a bad assumption to make; I'm sure I'm doing a disservice to some of the kids. Especially the new students (depending where they are coming from). I also like that you mentioned the need to teach best practices. Even after being taught, students often put far too many words on slides and don't utilize the notes sections enough. I have to remember to continually reinforce these practices to help the students become better presentation creators.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI like the addition of the pictures on this blog. It helps give a nice visual of the subject. When you stated, "You'll never have a full class of students that know how to use word, excel, or presentation to their fullest potential. In addition to just being able to use the programs, students and educators alike need to learn the best practices for design and layout," It really got me thinking. Since I'm in a 1:1 laptop school, I too often assume that my students understand all of the tools within these programs. Especially since I've been using them for so long. This is such a bad assumption to make; I'm sure I'm doing a disservice to some of the kids. Especially the new students (depending where they are coming from). I also like that you mentioned the need to teach best practices. Even after being taught, students often put far too many words on slides and don't utilize the notes sections enough. I have to remember to continually reinforce these practices to help the students become better presentation creators.
James, one of the struggles I've encountered in my 1:1 school is the range of comfort within a class that students have using these commonly used software. One way that my co-teacher and I teach our students how to use presentation software is through basic scaffolding. In the weeks prior to a big presentation, for example, we'll have students formatively present a metaphorical image that connects to their content for about 30 seconds. They'll stand in front of the class with the image only projected and speak their ideas. It gets them in the habit of speaking but also in developing the best-practice presentation habits that we want from our students. It also touches on your final point, that the graphic has to contribute to the presentation. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJames, one of the struggles I've encountered in my 1:1 school is the range of comfort within a class that students have using these commonly used software. One way that my co-teacher and I teach our students how to use presentation software is through basic scaffolding. In the weeks prior to a big presentation, for example, we'll have students formatively present a metaphorical image that connects to their content for about 30 seconds. They'll stand in front of the class with the image only projected and speak their ideas. It gets them in the habit of speaking but also in developing the best-practice presentation habits that we want from our students. It also touches on your final point, that the graphic has to contribute to the presentation. Thanks.
ReplyDelete