Productivity Software Applications

Productivity Software Applications/Tools
for Teaching and Learning
Software for Educators and Students
Productivity software has the potential to significantly minimize the amount of

time teachers spend on repetitive and tedious tasks. Furthermore, productivity software
can be integrated into the curriculum and impact the learning of all students. There are
many different types of software, and equally as many uses. Remember, it is the effective
integration of quality software that makes a difference in teacher effectiveness and
student learning. In order to make wise choices about software implementation, it is
helpful to understand the range of software options available to schools today. Further,
to remain skillful technology-using educators, it behooves us to understand the
processes that software is "automating" for us and to practice strategies for staying
current with new software tasks.
Software
Software n. Date: 1960: something used or associated with and usually

contrasted with hardware as: a: the entire set of programs, procedures, and related
documentation associated with a system and especially a computer system; specifically:
computer programs b: materials for use with audiovisual equipment Source: Merriam-
Webster Online (Links to an external site.)
Software 2012: "The instructions telling a computer what to do and how to do

it.... The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware (meaning physical
devices)."
Software applications have become the paints and pencils of many of today's
students. They are also the graph paper, sheet music, canvas, and notebook. Many of
today's students are more comfortable drawing with a mouse than drawing with a pencil.
Some prefer to type over handwriting a letter or paper. Many people actually think better
at a keyboard than when staring at a blank piece of paper. All types of software
applications are being utilized to improve and enhance everyday activities including
learning activities.
Software applications also have made a dramatic difference in the lives of

students with special needs. Students learn best when they are able to use their
dominant learning style. Multimedia and digital media software applications appeal to
more than one learning modality and can therefore improve a student's chance for
success in mastering concepts. Whether a visual learner, auditory, or kinesthetic
learner, multimedia and digital software applications allow students to interact with
information in a manner most comfortable for them. By setting up learning activities
using these types of software applications, students can also visit and revisit the
activities as often as they need to reinforce the concepts.
Instructional Software for Classroom Use
Instructional software for classroom used to be easy to designate a software

package by the type of teaching function it served. It was a drill-and-practice, tutorial,
simulation, instructional game, or problem solving program. (See descriptions in Table
below) These terms originated because each package had clearly different
characteristics and served a different instructional purpose. In contrast, much of today’s
software defies easy classification because many software packages contain several
different activities, each of which may perform a different function. For example,
language-learning software may have a number of straight drill activities along with
activities that fulfil problem solving and game functions.
Table 1. Five Instructional Software Functions
Function/Examples Description
Allows learners to work problems or answer questions
Drill and Practice
and get feedback on correctness
Acts like a human tutor by providing all the information
Tutorial and instructional activities a learner needs to master a
topic: information summaries, explanation, practice
routines, feedback, and assessment.
Simulation Models real or Imaginary systems to show how those
systems or similar one’s work.
Increases motivation by adding game rules to drills or
Instructional Game
simulations
(a) Teachers directly (through explanation and/or
practice) the steps involved in solving
Problem Solving problems or
(b) helps learners acquire problem-solving skills by
giving them opportunities to
solve problems.

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Productivity Software Applications

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Productivity Software Applications/Tools

for Teaching and Learning

Software for Educators and Students

Productivity software has the potential to significantly minimize the amount of

Software n. Date: 1960: something used or associated with and usually

Software 2012: "The instructions telling a computer what to do and how to do

Software applications also have made a dramatic difference in the lives of

Instructional Software for Classroom Use

Instructional software for classroom used to be easy to designate a software

Table 1. Five Instructional Software Functions

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