Re: Best Lab Software for K-6?

Fred Schouten (fschoute@mail.isbe.state.il.us)
Tue, 13 Aug 1996 01:22:51 EDT

Sarah Rolle wrote:
>I am about to
>begin a new job as the computer coordinator/teacher at a K-8 (one site)
>district. I will mostly work with K-6 and have a newly equipped PC lab as a
>classroom.[...] I am about to purchase software (some of it before
>I even meet teachers) and want the districts money to go as far as
>possible. Therefore, the more versitle the piece the better.

Sarah--

In my opinion, there is not a more versatile piece of software than
ClarisWorks. It is a word processor, database, spreadsheet, draw and paint
program, that also includes the feature of turning any document into an
onscreen slide show. It comes with a large collection of clip art.

If you truly want to stretch your district dollars as far as possible, that
means you won't want to be buying software that teachers won't use. It
seems mission-critical to me that you meet with the teachers to get an idea
of what they are trying to teach (their outcomes, the curriculum) and how
they are trying to teach it (instructional strategies currently used). Then
you will be better able to make informed purchasing decisions. Up until
that point, you'll just be tossing $$$ into a dark hole...

Fred

===========================================================================
| J. Fred Schouten, Ed.D. |http://web.isbe.state.il.us/peohs|
| Director of Curriculum and Technology | fschoute@mail.isbe.state.il.us |
| Peotone Unit District #207U |---------------------------------|
| Peotone, Illinois, USA 60468 | Phone: 708-258-3236 |
===========================================================================