Lesson Seven: Educational Software

This week, the lesson was about education software. Although I am not yet a teacher, I have been fortunate enough to see a variety of educational software being used where I observed.

One of the programs used was Lexia, a tutorial program. With Lexia, each of the students is completing the program at their own pace. The software teaches them material, then they play mini-games to quiz themselves on it. As they progress, the students earn certificates as they move up in levels. The students I observed really enjoyed this part since all of the certificates were posted outside of the classrooms.

Screen shot from Lexia. Image Source.

What I liked most about the Lexia program was the fact that on each “level” there were indicators to show the students what their score were in comparison to what they needed to advance.  It was in a format similar to a thermometer that would “fill up” as they got the scores they needed on each assignment. As they got a high enough score, the indicator would fill up, and once it was full, they could work on filling up another.

This helped them to feel more responsible versus just doing the same part over and over until it was complete. They could redo the activities in any order. If they needed a break from one activity, they could focus on another aspect of that level. Every class goes to the library computer lab four days per week to work in Lexia.

The software covers whatever material is on each individual student’s level. The teacher I observed who was using Lexia said that she could identify improvement in her students overall. When I asked about how well the students were able to catch on and use the software, she said that it was extremely fast. According to her, most of the students had figured out how to use the software before she and the librarian had time to show them.
           

All of the students really seemed to enjoy the software, and getting certificates for each level that they completed. All of the certificates were displayed outside of the classrooms, and the students were extremely proud of their work.