Microsoft Office 2007

Although, I had gotten very used to the older versions of Microsoft Office and those programs, I think Microsoft Office 2007 is a change for the better. The newest version has many new features and even different programs that I have never used before. For example, one of the new programs is called OneNote which is a digital notebook that lets people have place to gather notes and information and share that information, which enables people to work together with more efficiency. Even the basic programs like Word and Excel have gotten updated and are easier to use. Word now features a "quick print" button which directly prints to the default printer which saves time in printing, All the programs also has a "ribbon" layout at the top of the page, which groups tools by task making it much easier to edit, design, or insert things into your document. I think Office 2007 is a great tool to use in the classroom. Although it does take a little time getting used to, once you become adjusted it is a lot easier to use than the older versions. I think that schools should update their software to 2007, so that the students will be able to use the latest versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and the other programs. Each program has new features which makes projects easier to create and look more professional. There are endless possibilities of activities teachers can create using Microsoft Office and children in schools should have access to the latest software and technology so that they can learn most effectively. I feel within a few years, most classrooms will have upgraded to Microsoft Office and many homes will have made the upgrade as well.

PDAs in the classroom

PDAs or Personal Digital Assistants could be a very useful tool in the classroom for some grades, but not all. After reading the article http://campustechnology.com/articles/39225_2/, I think that PDAs would be of better us for children in the upper middle school grades like 7th or 8th because I think they would be too hard for younger children to operate. Basically PDAs are little tiny computers that are used to help manage calendars and address books, but can also run certain applications. Newer PDAs run using the Microsoft CE operating system and contain the familiar Microsoft Word and Excel programs. PDAs can be useful in the classroom because they are much smaller compared to regular computer and can perform many of the same functions. PDAs can be used to record data, make calculations or graphs, and even take notes (when paired up with a keyboard). PDAs are also good for classroom use because they can't perform non-educational actions like downloading/listening to music or instant messaging like some other tech tools like the iPod touch can do. The only problems with PDAs are that they can be difficult to use sometimes. For example the Palm PDA has its own language called Graffiti that is difficult for many to understand. The screen is also very tiny so using a PDA could be hard when you are used to programs like Microsoft Word on a full computer screen. Some PDAs also don't even have a print option. I feel like PDAs can be useful for certain tasks in the classroom. They are good for interactive exercises, but I feel that a regular computer would be more useful in general. Since PDAs also can be tricky to use, I don't think they would be of much use for elementary students, but they would work well with middle school students who are more tech savvy.