Important Software

I think that most important types of software are:
1.) Microsoft Word- all students need to know how to use this program for typing papers. It has so many great features such as AutoCorrect for misspelled words, Grammar Checker that proofreads documents. There is Mail Merge which creates tools used for letters. Also, Smart Tags which are very useful for web addresses because if you click the smart tag it will take you from the word document to the web address.

2.) Excel- After learning about excel in class the other day I realized that this program is very useful for students. The assignments that you can make for them participate on are very useful. Also, for older students, learning how to put in information into a spreadsheet is also very important. I remember learning about the excel program in middle school and then using it again in high school for computer class. In most professions after school you will need to know how to use a spreadsheet to input information into a database.

3.) PowerPoint and other presentation software- this type of software is so frequently used in the classroom as a technique for presenting material in a more aesthetically appealing way. Students must also present their own material in this way for research projects and presentations to their classmates. I remember using PowerPoint as early as the sixth grade to do a presentation on a research project we did about a decade in the past fifty years. It was a lot of fun and I learned a great deal while doing it. It allows kids to show off their creativity on the computer.

4.) Desktop Publishing Software would definitely be important because it helps students understand how to create and deliver sophisticated documents that contain text, graphics, and brilliant colors. This could be important for high school students to understand because they may have to create things like this depending on what profession they go into or what they want to do in college. It is a very useful tool to create newsletters, brochures, postcards, greeting cards, business cards, banners, calendars, logos, etc.

5.) Graphics and Multimedia Software- For students that want be graphic artists, engineers, publishers, architects, to name a few, will need to know how to operate this software. Also the video and audio editing software is a really cool piece of technology that I wish I had learned about before college. It makes presentations so much cooler and interactive when you make a movie out of clips. Also, it is can really handy to understand Photoshop and image editing because this can come in handy if you are going into advertising or similar careers. It is also a money saver to be able to edit and print your own pictures at home which can be done with these programs.

To teach my students to use new software I would first learn the ins and outs of it myself to where I could be competent and familiar enough with the material to know how explain how it works. I then would figure out which of the new software’s features would be most beneficial to the students. I would make a lesson plan on how to teach these specific features in an interactive.
Another idea that would be really successful is to ask the computer teacher or technician to come to my classroom or for me to bring my class to her and have her teach the lesson. This way, she and I could both walk around and help students understand better and she could also answer any questions about the software since she would obviously be more familiar with it.