Michaela

Here are my five software evaluations:

This software is designed to develop and advance students’ critical thinking ability through reading improvement strategies. The program assesses students and places them in appropriate units of reading levels from which they excel through their readiness, meaning that the reading text becomes more challenging for advanced readers. The software is aimed toward grades 8 to 11, or 13 years and older, as well as for English language learners and adults. The program can be used in reading comprehension classes, college preparation classes, and all other English classes to improve awareness while reading. As students will, according to the developer website: All these skills are beneficial in the above named classes. The software categories include: drill and practice, tutorial, instructional game, and problem solving. After the initial testing, the student is placed in his/her competence level to practice his reading ability. After reading a section, the student is first asked to replace words from the text with other words, then give information regarding text understanding, and last play a crossword puzzle game. In the end, students are provided feedback and are given a tutorial on the aspects in which he/she needs to improve. The program could be useful in a 9th grade reading comprehension class. The program has an initial assessment to determine each student’s individual standing regarding reading comprehension, and the teacher has access to this information. Based on each student’s performance, I can develop a more personalized curriculum to nurture each student’s needs. Further, while I work with a small group on their progress, other students can use the program to work on their progress individually. The program is fun and easy to understand, and students design their own rewards. Further, the program provides instant feedback on the student’s performance, monitors progress over time and allows teacher access to this info. Since I was only able to try the demo, and did not have full access to the software, it is hard to make comments about the weaknesses. The price of the program ranges from $79 for the home edition to $2125 for up to 10 computers, and the software can be purchased on Merit’s website: [] The program requirements are: 8 MB RAM and 32 MB hard disk space, a screen resolution of 800 by 600 pixels, and Windows XP. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users may run this program in Windows XP mode. This program is designed to teach struggling reading students the basics of reading and phonics to build a strong foundation. The software is interactive and is designed to reach older student’s needs. Horizon uses interactive software (HorizonV5) and a direct teaching approach that is directed to secondary grade levels, but is also available for elementary, ESL, and adult learners. This program helps struggling readers, or students that never learned to read, and, therefore, is useful in all English classes offered in secondary education and tutoring. The software categories included are drill and practice and tutorial. The program provides diverse lessons that the student needs to pass before he/she can move on to the next lesson. Students are shown what is expected and are instructed and guided throughout the program. There are many students struggling with reading in today’s schools, and I would use this particular program to help students improve their reading level. While some students never mastered the basics, others may just need a push to bring their reading level up one or two grade levels. This program teaches the basics of reading and builds reading competency on the learned knowledge. As teacher, I would not use this program with the whole class, but rather with struggling readers to give them extra time to work on their weaknesses. The program seems very interactive, for example, the student is able to choose different voices as narrator. Diverse success stories narrate that the program nurtured their learning needs through personalized progress. The program is available for school and home use. I was not able to detect weaknesses in the software; however, the website does not give all the information on the product. Horizon does not give information on their price or software requirements, yet they provide contact info to get a catalog or receive an individualized quote. [] **Quick Study English Spelling (also available for Grammar, Vocabulary, Composition, etc.)** The software category included is the instructional game. The material is learned through interactive games such as Spell Disaster and Mark My Words. The student learns to spell vocabulary from over 100 vocabulary lists while he/she plays games including the words. In Middle School, the software can be imbedded into the curriculum as an extra time activity. If students finish their work, they have the opportunity to improve their spelling in a fun way. The class could also have a competition to see who plays the most games in given period of times to encourage students to spend time on their spelling. Learning occurs while playing games, which usually catches the interest of students. Unfortunately, the program does not have an online tutorial, a demo, or student success stories to see how the program is perceived by others or structured. The program is available through the software creator; however, Amazon has a better deal. For $10 and less one can purchase the software under []. The system requirements are Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, or Windows 2000. Further, CD-ROM capability is required.
 * Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Upper Grades by Merit**
 * 1) Explain the purpose of the software program. What are the appropriate grade levels and subject areas for this software?
 * Determine main idea of a text and select a logical sentence to introduce or complete it, or choose an appropriate title to identify it.
 * Identify the sequence of details in a text and select an additional supporting sentence that would logically fit in.
 * Draw an inference by recognizing information learned from the text that is not actually stated.
 * Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using other words or phrases in the text as clues.
 * 1) List and explain what software categories this software program falls into.
 * 1) Describe a scenario where you would be able to integrate the use of this software program into your curriculum. What grade level? What subject area? How would the software integrate into the other classroom activities?
 * 1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program?
 * 1) What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?
 * Reading HorizonV5**
 * 1) Explain the purpose of the software program. What are the appropriate grade levels and subject areas for this software?
 * 1) List and explain what software categories this software program falls into.
 * 1) Describe a scenario where you would be able to integrate the use of this software program into your curriculum. What grade level? What subject area? How would the software integrate into the other classroom activities?
 * 1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program?
 * 1) What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?
 * 1) Explain the purpose of the software program. What are the appropriate grade levels and subject areas for this software? The objective of the software is to improve spelling, and the software is available for high and middle school students. Spelling is important in all English classes, and the program can be used as a supplement to help students to be better spellers.
 * 2) List and explain what software categories this software program falls into.
 * 1) Describe a scenario where you would be able to integrate the use of this software program into your curriculum. What grade level? What subject area? How would the software integrate into the other classroom activities?
 * 1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program?
 * 1) What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?

The software is used to help people to recognize and pronounce the various sounds in the English language. While the software does not give age or grade clarifications, it would be an appropriate tool for early readers, English as a second language students, and struggling readers. The software categories included are: drill and practice and tutorial. The software teaches students how to pronounce the different sounds in the English language and how to recognize when a given sound is most appropriate depending on word. Students are able to record their own pronunciation and compare it to the program's correct pronunciation of any given word which they can practice until they master the skill. This software is an excellent tool in an ESL classroom from middle school on. Students can tape themselves while they speak and self-correct themselves based on the feedback the student gets from the program. The software is beneficial to imbed in curriculum as many ESL students fear to speak in front of the class. Multiple students can simultaneously work on their pronunciation while the teacher works individually with students. This gives an optimum one-on-one time opportunity. There are many benefits to the website, such as a vast data base of words, ability to compare and contrast personal and correct pronunciations, and multiple tools for learning different and appropriate pronunciations for given letters. The program’s weakness is that it does not teach grammar as part of the program and does not take into account regional dialects or accents. The price ranges anywhere from $90-$450 depending on length of subscription (special price available to students through school). It can be purchased online at: pronunciationpatterns.com. The System requirements are Windows 98, XP, Vista, 2000, 95, and CD-ROM capability. **RosettaStone** The software is used to boost vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure. It is structured to be accessible to students at all age and grade levels, and would be especially beneficial to early readers, ESL learners, and students who struggle in public speaking ability. The software category included is drill and practice. Students use talking and writing vocabulary exercises to develop language skills needed to communicate efficiently in a foreign language. RosettaStone English is useful in an ESL classroom of all ages. In the 9th grade classroom, RosetttaStone can be used to boost student’s understanding of the English language. The program combines vocabulary and grammar lessons in a way that makes it easy to understand for students. Therefore, the program could be used as a lesson starter. The first 10-15 min of each unit, students work on their own level of comprehension, before they start the daily lecture. The software is designed in an easy to understand way and provides many features that help build vocabulary and become familiar with the given language without using scripts that lay out a conversation. The software is very expensive. The software can be purchased from Amazon for $479 under [] The software requirements are: Windows Vista, 7,XP, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with CD-ROM capability.
 * Pronunciation Patterns**
 * 1) Explain the purpose of the software program. What are the appropriate grade levels and subject areas for this software?
 * 1) List and explain what software categories this software program falls into.
 * 1) Describe a scenario where you would be able to integrate the use of this software program into your curriculum. What grade level? What subject area? How would the software integrate into the other classroom activities?
 * 1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program?
 * 1) What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?
 * 1) Explain the purpose of the software program. What are the appropriate grade levels and subject areas for this software?
 * 1) List and explain what software categories this software program falls into.
 * 1) Describe a scenario where you would be able to integrate the use of this software program into your curriculum. What grade level? What subject area? How would the software integrate into the other classroom activities?
 * 1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program?
 * 1) What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?