Basic Information of the Technology Items Jump Start Advances for 1st Grade (Software Program) Jump Start Advances is a great software program for only $20 that I found at Office Max. Jump Start is a 4 disk CD-ROM set suggested for ages 5-7. This program uses prior Jump Start characters, and introduces new ones for students that have used the Jump Start series before. This software teaches many skills, but focuses on the common core math and language arts. Using Jump Start, children learn and develop skills in phonics, spelling, punctuation, sentence building, addition, subtraction, fractions, money counting, life sciences, memory and more. There are also 7 different characters that are assigned a learning style they carry out for the whole program. For example, if a child has an issue reading or understanding something, the ‘reader’ character would intervene and give the child a little fun tutoring session, helping them understand the material. Features include:
- Focuses on math and language arts
- Familiar characters
- 7 different learning styles
- Creative thinking skills
- #1 Education software
Time, Money & Fractions Grades 1-2 (Software Program) I have done a lot of my focus on 2nd grade study and lessons in the classroom. One of the big focuses in math is for children to learn how to tell time and how to count money. This CD-ROM set does a great job at just that, and only cost me $15 on eBay. Time, Money and Fractions comes with a set of workbook pages that are also in print when you purchase the CD-ROM. The children have to score 100% on all of the levels in order to get a certificate of completion. If the students get an answer right, they receive a star and can continue on. When they get the answer wrong, they can continue on, always returning to the questions they answered incorrectly. The games are fun, colorful and the best thing, there is no time limit, so children are not pressured to hurry. Not only are these worksheet games, but there are also some fun arcade games included as well, so the child can ‘take a break’ from the learning and enjoy a quick game. Features include:
- Focuses on math
- Tutorials
- Includes a worksheet guide
- Colorful
- Narrated instructions
Interactive Telling Time Lite (iPad App) I think young children really enjoy the Interactive Telling Time app because it encourages children to do well and the best part for us is that it’s FREE. Players can select different clocks, earning stars towards a prize to fill their fish tank with as many colorful fish as they’d like. The time is displayed digitally, the clock is set for another time, and students are asked to match the digital clock with the auditory clock. Any time the child moves the hands on the clock, it repeats the current time. Once the child gets the time correct, they hear “excellent or brilliant,” and they move onto the next time. There is also an option with the use of a stopwatch. The child is given a specific time to stop the stopwatch at; once this is achieved, they earn stars. When they gather enough stars, they gain their prize of adding another fish to their aquarium. Features include:
- Multiple clock faces
- The use of digital, auditory and analog clocks
- The use of a stopwatch.
- Friendly and encouraging narration
- Bright colors
iSort Words (iPad App) The iSort Words app does a great job focusing on language arts and is reasonably priced at $1.99. iSort Words gives children practice at quick recognition of words, letter groupings, beginnings and endings. This app will provide a fun way to build skills with words, rimes and rhymes. There are three different game activities that get a little harder as you go along. Not only does this game encourage students to be concise, but in doing so quickly. This app also includes an “exploration mode,” where students can build new words by choosing a word and blending other letters together to create rhyming words. This app is also secured which is a great feature. Before picking this app, it stated on the summary that there are no links to advertisements or social media networks, which is important, especially when dealing with children at a young age. Features include:
- Three games
- Three levels of difficulty
- Exploration mode
- Records kept for multiple players
- Secure
PBSKids.org (Website) PBS Kids is a great website geared towards children of early childhood age which is fun and safe. When visiting schools and observing, I have noticed many children are encouraged to use PBSKids to play during ‘free time’ at the computer lab or in the classroom. There is a range in games with familiar characters such as those from Sesame Street, Roly Poly or Clifford, but also games ranging in different categories. I chose Wonder Red’s Rhyming game, but the website also gave me other game options that focused on rhyming as well. Features include:
- Familiar characters
- Multiple games for the same subject area
- Videos
- Printable Worksheets
- Narrated Words/Games
- Easy to navigate
- Safe and fun
ABCya.com (Website) ABCya is a free educational computer game website in which all the games have been approved or certified by teachers. All games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn. This website focuses on math and language arts skills for grades K-5. One thing I noticed while playing on the website is that some of the games are offered in an app for iPods, iPads and iPhones. Features include:
- Games with a focus on letters, number, typing, holidays and more
- Games created by certified teachers
- Focus in common core subjects
- Bright colors
- Interactive narration
Why I Selected These Six Items I have completed some field experience while in undergrad and graduate school, and I realized that a majority of my focus is on 1st/2nd grade learning. While picking my programs, apps and websites, I decided to focus on what the common core reflects; math and language arts. When I went shopping and looked for computer software, I found it hard to find programs for 1st and 2nd grade because a majority of learning games/software are found in the app or website form. When picking Jump Start, I was familiar with the games, as I had played them once with my best friends son, Jayden (pseudonym), who I decided to use as my focus child. I knew that he would like the game because he had played the series before at home and at school. I really liked how they had 7 different characters that were assigned 7 different learning styles throughout the game. I think my favorite part was how they taught fractions by cooking a pizza in the kitchen. Many children have the urge to cook in the kitchen like their parents, and to put fun things on a pizza like gummy bears makes it even better. Fun and interesting things make students want to learn. The back of the box was also very helpful because it give you a long list of over 60 skills that children learn while playing this program. I think this is a great idea because it helps parents or teachers filter out what their child already knows from what they want their children to learn. I also thought the colors, pictures and games on the box and in the program made it very appealing to students to want to learn, which is our goal as future teachers. One unit I focused my lesson plans on last semester was time and money in a 2nd grade classroom. When I saw Time, Money and Fractions online, I knew what I was specifically looking for the students to learn and what I wanted the program to teach. The program did just that, it teaches students how to tell time with the use of different types of clocks, how to count, deposit and disperse money using a ‘bank,’ and how to learn fractions by putting shapes together or becoming familiar with numerators and denominators. I think this program does an excellent job helping to boost children’s math skills as well as their views on math. Many students see math as something they can’t succeed at, and this program helps them practice these essential math skills at home or in the classroom. One thing I really liked about this program is that it is prized based. In order for the students to complete the program and earn a certificate, they have to score 100% on every worksheet. I believe this encourages the students to get the problems correct, without being timed, which I feel is important. The students walk away with a sense of accomplishment in the end, which is what we are looking for. While selecting the iPad apps, I wanted to keep within the theme of math and language arts. It was hard to pick only 2 apps because there are so many apps available. I selected these 2 apps because I knew that Jayden was learning about time in his classroom and I knew he was a great reader, but I wanted to see how he was when it came to rhyming and riming different words. One reason I picked the Interactive Telling Time Lite game was because it was free. I also liked the option of using different types of clocks like analog or digital. I liked how they incorporated a stopwatch into the app, because not only do you tell time on clocks, but on a stopwatch as well. I also liked that there were different speeds for the stopwatch when it came to counting time backwards. As we have learned, not every child is at the same learning level. The speed button allows you to adjust how fast the stopwatch goes depending on the child using the app. The iSort game allows you to make new words by putting endings, letters and consonance in order to form a word. I knew Jayden would really like that because he really enjoys reading and spelling words. I also liked that there were 3 different levels of difficulty because not every student is on the same level when it comes to reading. I knew that Jayden was an advanced reader for his age, but the game in itself had some challenges, which I think are important. There were also 3 different games in this app, which is important because you don’t want a child to get bored once they have mastered all 3 levels of one game. While selecting websites, I wanted to have a choice; one I was familiar with, and one I had never used before. As I mentioned earlier, when observing classrooms, I had seen many teachers encouraging students to play on PBSKids. I believe this is a great website with so many different educational games and resources. One reason I decided to use PBSKids was because I knew Jayden was familiar with the website in general. Another reason was because I knew he was familiar with some of the characters. I figured he would be comfortable with the website enough to show me things that I had not discovered on my own when trying it out for myself. I decided to stick with the theme of rhyming and started off with Wonder Red’s rhyming game, which in turn gave me more options of rhyming games to choose from. ABCya was a website I was unfamiliar with. I wanted to pick something that would be new to Jayden to see how he reacted. There were new games and characters that were introduced and a new layout as well. These games were a little different, but were similar to the iSort app game. The game I chose was to test out his spelling skills. The narrator gave him a word to spell with different letters jumbled, and he had to sort through them to make the word they were looking for. I also liked how there weren’t just word games on the website. There was a combination of math, language arts, holiday, arts and more. Observation of Child’s Reaction to The 6 Items I introduced the software, apps and websites to Jayden over a 2-day period. I told him what each program was about so he had insight going into it, but I didn’t help him play any of the games unless he asked me for help. A majority of the time I just sat back and observed him play. Jump Start Advanced 1st Grade (Software) When I introduced Jayden to the Jump Start software he was already used to it. He had played with this software in school and at home prior to me observing him. This software was something new to him though. It introduced new characters and learning levels, which he adjusted to quickly. He pointed out the characters he knew, but that was the extent of our conversation. He was excited when he got a math or spelling question correct, and navigated through the levels quite easily. He thought it was fun and asked me if he could keep the software so he could try out all the levels and skills at a later date. He asked me for help three times in the 45 minutes he played the game. Time, Money and Fractions (Software) This program was a little different for Jayden, because it was something he was not used to. Again, I let him navigate through the pages trying one activity from each subject area. He was able to tell time pretty well, the digital clock and narration helped him get the correct answers although it took him a little longer. He didn’t have a problem with the money portion of the software because he gets an allowance and understood how to add the money together. However, once it started asking for too many coins, Jayden asked for my help. The fractions portion was the hardest for him. He understood what half meant, but the rest of the learning was a little over his level. I believe if he had a lesson on fractions, he would have more background information on it and would do better the second time working with the software. Interactive Telling Time Lite (iPad App) This app was a great tool to use after Jayden experimented with the Jump Start software. Since he was already used to practicing telling time, this app was just a review for him. This app wasn’t as much of a ‘teaching’ game than a review game. I was happy it was a free app because once he played for 15 minutes he didn’t want to play with it anymore because he was bored. He also liked that there were 2 options for testing his time using a clock and a stopwatch, however I believe there should be more options to keep a child’s attention (although I’m sure there is more in the payable app for $2.99). iSort Words (iPad app) When I opened this app and gave it to Jayden, he was hooked! As I mentioned before, he is a great reader and advanced for his age group. He did come in contact with a few words he didn’t know though, and even though at one point he was a little frustrated, I could tell he was enjoying every moment of it because he was learning something new. Seeing some of the trouble that Jayden was having did make me sit back and think about how hard the words were. I think that some of the words used in this app are a little advanced for 2nd graders. All of the words given were easy to sound out, but some of them he didn’t know the meanings to. This might be a little frustrating for a child if they are not used to the words. The directions were clear and there were 4 different games; he enjoyed the different game options available. Not for all, but for Jayden, I believe this is a useful app and one that might be used every day to build new vocabulary. PBSKids (Website) Before I pulled up the PBSKids website, I opened up Internet Explorer and asked Jayden to go to his favorite website. He chose PBSKids.org. I told him that we would be working on this website and he was so excited. He asked me if he could go to his favorite game, but I told him we were going to try something different. I told him I wanted to test his rhyming skills again and I pulled up Wonder Red’s Rhyming game. He played the game with no questions at all. The directions and words were fairly easy for him. Once you completed one set of rhyming words, the game stopped. He continued on a few more times but the words didn’t get any harder. He wanted to move on so I gave him the option to pick another rhyming game of his choice and he did well on that one as well. After about 15 minutes of playing with the rhyming games he was ready to move on. I am not sure if it’s because he’s an advanced reader and got ‘bored’ quickly or if it was because the words were difficult for his age range. ABCya (Website) ABCya was the second website that I allowed Jayden to visit. This website he had not been familiar with. He liked how many different games he could to choose from. He chose a lot of the word games, that he was good at, like crosswords or word bingo, but I also had him try some of the math games like connect the dots or money counting. He enjoyed all of these games. I asked him in the end why he enjoyed them so much and his response was, “Because I never knew there were cool games on another website!” It brought a smile to my face because I would rather see him playing educational online games or apps rather than video games. He is always eager to learn and all of these programs give him a multitude of opportunities to do so. Ways to Integrate the 6 Items Into The Classroom I believe that each of these programs could be used in my classroom or at home to further student’s education. During free time, if students want to work on the computers, I would encourage them to use one of the websites or computer software games. I would assign them certain games to complete depending on our unit of study. I would have to be careful when assigning these programs to make sure they meet all state standards and requirements. Using Jump Start, there are so many skills that can be learned while completing over 100 activities that the software offers. The students can relate to the different characters and relate to their learning styles. It might be like having another peer in the classroom because they continue to see the different characters daily that are helping them complete their assignments or activities. The software program Time, Money and Fractions, is just that, only used for teaching/learning time, money and fractions. The learning involved in this software will never get old, because they make it fun and it’s effective. However, I would only introduce this software when we are learning about time, money or fractions. Once that specific unit is done, I would not use the software again unless there was a child that needed more assistance in these areas. I don’t think I would use the Interactive Telling Time Lite app in my classroom unless it was for review. It wasn’t as much as a learning app as it was a review app on how to tell time. I did like the stopwatch portion and could integrate that portion into my lesson on how to count time backwards because it gave you different speeds to choose from. So, as the students get better counting backwards, you can make the tick sound faster to test their speed and skills. I would recommend this app to a parent just to continue assessment at home. I believe the iSort Words app is a great app to test students understanding of words, rhyme, rime and word building skills. You can use this app to test your students during or after language arts time, or you can put this app on an iPad in the literacy center in your classroom. I could use this to help emergent English language learners or gifted learners. This is one app that I would encourage parents to purchase for their smart device at home to ‘bring the learning home.’ Lastly, for PBSKids and ABCya, I would allow my students to access these websites during ‘free time’ or even during a lesson as a whole class. I believe these websites are both important because they give a plethora of information whether it be for math, science, social studies or language arts. They also have different learning styles and levels for the different subject area allowing you to assign different games depending on the student. Technology in the classroom has really advanced since I’ve been in school, and it’s been for the better. Students can use their phones or iPads, and teachers can connect their smart devices to the whiteboard to share with the entire class. Lets hope that we can further education with the use of new technologies to come! Evaluation of The Technology Items (Using the Rubrics) Software Programs
| FINAL Software Program Eval. Tool (revised by Dr. Wang) | Rating |
| Type of Software Program (e.g., game, drill-practice, content specific or multiple content areas etc) | Jump Start– game with multiple content areas.______________________________Time, Money and Fractions– math game and drill practice |
| Summary of the software Program (purpose, intended age group, stated goal/purpose etc.) | Jump Start teaches over 60 skills to students in multiple subject areas with the use of fun, interactive games for ages 5-7/ first graders______________________________Time, Money and Fractions teaches students how to count money, tell time and become familiar with fractions for children in 1st/ 2nd grade. |
| #1 Technical/Format/Usability Considerations | |
| The program is easy to install and use. | 5 / 5 |
| The program contains quality animation, graphics, sound, and color etc. | 5 / 5 |
| The program incorporates principles of effective screen design including readability, legibility, consistency, and use of functional areas. | 5 / 5 |
| The program provides flexible means to navigate, search, save, print or download. | 4 / 4 |
| The program allows adaption for students with special needs (e.g., audio/visual impaired). | 4 / 4 |
| Other comments on the program’s technical/format/usability considerations: | I thought both of these programs did a great job at keeping a child’s attention. |
| #2 Content Considerations | |
| The content is developmentally appropriate for the targeted age group(s). | 5 / 4 |
| The program stimulates a child’s interest and active involvement. | 5 / 5 |
| The program is open-ended and provides problem-solving opportunities (high-order thinking). | 5 / 5 |
| The directions and instructions are clear and easy to follow for children. | 5 / 5 |
| The feedback is timely and effective. | 5 / 5 |
| Content reflects a diverse society and is free of gender, ethnic, and/or racial biases | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s content: | I felt as though the fraction portion may be a little hard for students just starting out in 1st /2nd grade. |
| #3 Educational Considerations | |
| The program allows adaption for use in whole class, group or individual activity | 5 / 5 |
| The program encourages social interaction and collaboration with peers or/and with adults. | 5 / 5 |
| The program accommodates various learning styles and ability levels | 5 / 5 |
| Teachers/parents and students can easily track a student’s progress through feedback or other documentation | 5 / 5 |
| Learners can save at regular intervals and re-enter the instruction at any point | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s instructional considerations: | n.a |
iPad Apps
| FINAL Software Program Eval. Tool (revised by Dr. Wang) | Rating |
| Type of Software Program (e.g., game, drill-practice, content specific or multiple content areas etc) | Interactive Telling Time Lite– game with that only focuses on telling time.______________________________iSort Words- game that specifically covers vocabulary, words, rhyming, riming, and making new words. |
| Summary of the software Program (purpose, intended age group, stated goal/purpose etc.) | Interactive Telling Time Lite helps students learn how to tell time with the use of different types of clocks and how to count time backwards with the use of a stopwatch. This game is for 1st/2nd grades.______________________________iSort Words teaches children how to rhyme words, make new words, and explore vocabulary with their 3 different game options. This is for 2nd grade. |
| #1 Technical/Format/Usability Considerations | |
| The program is easy to install and use. | 5 / 5 |
| The program contains quality animation, graphics, sound, and color etc. | 5 / 5 |
| The program incorporates principles of effective screen design including readability, legibility, consistency, and use of functional areas. | 5 / 5 |
| The program provides flexible means to navigate, search, save, print or download. | 1 / 5 |
| The program allows adaption for students with special needs (e.g., audio/visual impaired). | 4 / 4 |
| Other comments on the program’s technical/format/usability considerations: | Telling Time app did not keep scores saved. |
| #2 Content Considerations | |
| The content is developmentally appropriate for the targeted age group(s). | 5 / 4 |
| The program stimulates a child’s interest and active involvement. | 5 / 5 |
| The program is open-ended and provides problem-solving opportunities (high-order thinking). | 5 / 5 |
| The directions and instructions are clear and easy to follow for children. | 5 / 5 |
| The feedback is timely and effective. | 5 / 5 |
| Content reflects a diverse society and is free of gender, ethnic, and/or racial biases | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s content: | I felt as though some of iSort’s vocabulary was a little advanced for 2nd grade. |
| #3 Educational Considerations | |
| The program allows adaption for use in whole class, group or individual activity | 5 / 5 |
| The program encourages social interaction and collaboration with peers or/and with adults. | 5 / 5 |
| The program accommodates various learning styles and ability levels | 5 / 5 |
| Teachers/parents and students can easily track a student’s progress through feedback or other documentation | 5 / 5 |
| Learners can save at regular intervals and re-enter the instruction at any point | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s instructional considerations: | n.a |
Websites
| FINAL Software Program Eval. Tool (revised by Dr. Wang) | Rating |
| Type of Software Program (e.g., game, drill-practice, content specific or multiple content areas etc) | PBSKids– games and drill practices with multiple content/subject areas.______________________________ABCya– games and drill practices with multiple content/subject areas. |
| Summary of the software Program (purpose, intended age group, stated goal/purpose etc.) | PBSKids is an interactive website that offers a multitude of different games for Early childhood/Childhood students.______________________________ABCya is an interactive website that offers a multitude of different games for Early childhood/ Childhood students. |
| #1 Technical/Format/Usability Considerations | |
| The program is easy to install and use. | 5 / 5 |
| The program contains quality animation, graphics, sound, and color etc. | 5 / 5 |
| The program incorporates principles of effective screen design including readability, legibility, consistency, and use of functional areas. | 5 / 5 |
| The program provides flexible means to navigate, search, save, print or download. | 5 / 5 |
| The program allows adaption for students with special needs (e.g., audio/visual imparied). | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s technical/format/usability considerations: | I thought both websites did a great job at keeping a child’s attention, they were fun and had many game options. |
| #2 Content Considerations | |
| The content is developmentally appropriate for the targeted age group(s). | 5 / 5 |
| The program stimulates a child’s interest and active involvement. | 5 / 5 |
| The program is open-ended and provides problem-solving opportunities (high-order thinking). | 5 / 5 |
| The directions and instructions are clear and easy to follow for children. | 5 / 5 |
| The feedback is timely and effective. | 5 / 5 |
| Content reflects a diverse society and is free of gender, ethnic, and/or racial biases | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s content: | I felt that both websites did a great job with content areas and keeping a child’s interest. |
| #3 Educational Considerations | |
| The program allows adaption for use in whole class, group or individual activity | 5 / 5 |
| The program encourages social interaction and collaboration with peers or/and with adults. | 5 / 5 |
| The program accommodates various learning styles and ability levels | 5 / 5 |
| Teachers/parents and students can easily track a student’s progress through feedback or other documentation | 5 / 5 |
| Learners can save at regular intervals and re-enter the instruction at any point | 5 / 5 |
| Other comments on the program’s instructional considerations: | n.a |
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