Chapter 3 Software and its Best Use in Education

Learning software is nothing new. I remember playing math based games on school computers in early grade school, and to the credit of this software's developers, it makes a great difference for many students.

THE CHANGE

I distinctly recall my feelings changing about such games as I grew up, finding them less appealing and more childish, but this is perhaps where other software steps in to take its place. I have found through experience in the teaching position, that simulators and the like are wonderful tools for aiding in teaching high school physics and chemistry. This sort of software can really help students to visualize what might otherwise be too abstract a concept for them to completely understand.

VR and How it Would be Great

This is a very interesting topic that is much more on the new side of things than the former. With more advancement in this technology (preferably to make it more affordable if nothing else), students could be presented with numerous scenarios in which the material they are learning can be of use. This could all be done safely within the classroom, and could be infinitely more immersive than anything we currently have at our disposal, save for hands on experimentation!

Now and Yet to Come

Currently, there is a lot to look into as far as educational software goes. We are lucky to have been born into a generation that, as teachers, have so much at our disposal to aid us in our endeavors to educate students. Even more importantly, this is just the beginning! Technological advancement over the years has proven to make drastic improvement at a rate several orders of magnitude higher than that of any other example (political, cultural, etc.) in our world today. In short, not only can we be grateful for what we have now, but we can look forward to many more wonderful improvements and inventions in the future! As was mentioned earlier in the book, this is a field that just keeps on growing, so it is important that we keep up to date, and always have an eye out for what may be useful in our endeavors.


References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.