Instructional Software

One type of software I would use in my classroom would be drill and practice. The drill and practice types of software provide immediate feedback for the students as they work through the problems. In addition, this feedback is quick and to the point.  A good drill and practice software would be Success Maker. The student can use Success Maker for state testing practice, and overall skill maintenance. In addition, Success Maker has sessions that are about 15 minutes long and are individualized to each student. The software recognizes patterns in the student’s answers and knows what level of information the students needs to be presented with. This software is a great way to save teachers time throughout the day and it is definitely motivating to students.

In addition to drill and practice software, I would most definitely use simulation software in my classroom. The students get more involved in their learning and they are better able to understand what it is they are doing. These programs give the students the resources to create, explore and learn on their own. The teachers save money by using this software instead of going out and buying resources for every child. Students can complete activities on this software as a group, or individually. I would most likely use some type of science simulation software for the students to dissect and experiment with things we cannot do in the classroom. A lot of great software can be found at www.educationalsimulations.com.

 Lastly, I would use instructional games as a reward in my classroom. I like to use games on Brain Pop, Spelling City, and AAA Math. All students can get involved in the instructional games and all content areas can be addressed in various activities. These games are fun for the students. They are learning, and they don’t even know it. Overall, any type of software could be used in the classroom, it just depends on the types of learners in each class and how the teacher integrates the software.