That dominance was disrupted in 2007 when Google Apps were made available. Google Apps were made available for free, and that was hard to understand after having to pay so much for the Office products over the years. However, more than the $0 price tag, it was the ease of collaboration that made the Google tools so attractive for the classroom. Having students be able to collaborate in real time on a spreadsheet, or a word processing document, or on the slides of a presentation really changed the way a teacher could use this "basic suite" in the classroom.
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Writers write. We know that the more often students write, the better they become at writing. Among the advantages to using a word processing application is that students write more often, they will edit and revise more often, and they can more easily share what they have written with authentic audiences.
For me, the biggest advantage of spreadsheets is that they allow students to manipulate data. For example, a teacher could tell students to look at a chart of data about the solar system - size, distance from the sun, rotation, revolution, etc. Or that teacher could have students go online to research each of those data points and put them into a spreadsheet. Once the spreadsheet is compiled, the students could then sort by each of the fields. Doing this will foster making connections that they might otherwise have missed by just reading a chart.
The power of presentation slides comes from learning to use the combination of text and graphics, along with your voice, to convey meaning beyond what could just be written. When students start using presentation applications as more than just a projection of their written report, they will be communicating in ways that could not be done without the presentation application.
Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th Ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
2 comments:
Dennis, I have to agree with you. Personally, I've seen both sides of just having students look at charts and having student's compile the data and generate the charts. One one hand, having the students look at the chart was a quick and easy method for point of discussion, however just like everything else, the students became quickly disengaged in the discussion. However, on the other hand, having the students compile the data and make the analysis, their engagement was so much more and the discussion of the analysis piece was so much richer in context.
Dennis, I like how you incorporated you personal, historical perspective on the use of technology in education. It is crazy how much has changed in the course of a few decades. Basic suite programs are great tools for students and teachers alike. Great post. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
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