Software in the Classroom

It was rare to have a day in my classroom where software was not used by myself or my students. The most commonly used software was word processing. I am most comfortable with Microsoft Word and that is what the students are taught in technology class. I used Word for parent interactions such as monthly newsletters and classroom assignment updates. It improved the appearance and organization of the information I wanted to relay. I also used Word for corresponding activity guides, graphic organizers, and classroom visuals. This saved time because I could save the documents and easily retrieve them and adapt them if necessary.
Students used Word frequently to publish language arts pieces. They were able to take pride in their polished pieces. For example, we published grandparent biographies, poetry, and research reports. Word processing was used as an excellent alternative for language arts assessments. Students were able to create playing cards, time lines, newsletters, postcards, etc. They also used Power Point and Kidspiration to present social studies and science content As opposed the typical pencil and paper test, I feel this type of interaction made the learning more authentic and memorable.
Beyond word processing, I also used spreadsheets and databases. Excel spreadsheets were used to organize my classroom schedule and record keeping. Our entire district recently began using Filemaker Pro for progress reports. It took some time to adjust to at first, but ultimately, the time that was saved each trimester was significant. I never used web development software, but would love to have a classroom web page in the future, or even have students create content web pages.
Overall, the use of software in my third grade classroom increased productivity, motivation, authenticity, and accuracy.