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Software Review, Adoption, and Acquisition Plan

William Warrick, Coordinator of Technology
Stafford County Public Schools

Certain types of software packages for use in the school division will be adopted. Staff will provide technical support and training on this software. Teachers and staff will be free to purchase software which is not on the adopted list but it will be with the understanding that training and support will likely not be available for it.

Software to be used in the following areas would be reviewed on a regular basis and specific titles will be adopted by the county. The following packages the ‘core’ list of software that should be common to all schools:
Class Example
Productivity Tools Word processing, database, Works pkg., etc.
Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) Josten’s, Cornerstone, CCC
Hypermedia Authoring HyperStudio
Presentation Powerpoint
Image Processing Graphics Workshop, LView
Drawing/Painting Color It!, Paint Shop, Kid Pix
Keyboarding All the Right Type, Mavis Beacon

The process for evaluation and adoption of software will mirror, to the degree possible, the process and timeline for adopting textbooks. A committee of staff, teachers, and instructional coordinators will convene on a regular basis to review available titles and make recommendations to the Assistant Superintendent forInstruction and the Director of Curriculum and Staff Development.

For some software needs, specifically Instructional Support software, no division-wide adoption will be made. The choice of software for a specific subject area or grade level will be made by the teacher with the assistance of the Coordinators of Instructional Technology and Coordinators, in accordance with the Guidelines for Selecting and Acquiring Instructional Software. To facilitate the selection of software by the teachers, a database of recommended software will be made available to teachers in each school.


Types of Software Defined

Two general categories of software are used in the schools. Instructional support software, which is designed to be used by the students or by the teacher in the instruction of the students to support instructional goals, and productivity software, which is used by the teacher and students to accomplish other tasks such as communication (word processing, e-mail, database, etc.), grade reporting, graphics manipulation, etc.
The category of Instructional Support Software includes the following types:


Integrated Learning Systems (ILS)- Josten's Learning System, SkillsBank, CornerStone, CCC, etc.

This is software that covers a number of curricular areas such as reading or math. This software typically can be used to test, instruct, reinforce and track student work over time. This software is often used by students in a number of different grade levels.

Support Software - Number Munchers, Fraction Munchers, Reader Rabbit, etc.

This is software that is used by the teacher to support his/her instructional program. It is designed and used to instruct or reinforce one or two specific content areas. In order to reinforce the concept of fractions, or specifically reducing fractions to lowest terms, a teacher might choose to use Fraction Munchers. This type of software can be used for instruction, reinforcement, remediation and extension of lessons.

Within the category of Productivity software, the titles available can further be broken down into various subgroups:

Productivity Tools - Word processing, spreadsheet, database, “Works” packages, etc.

In this category are those programs which can be used by the student to achieve other goals or to produce work for any subject area This software is used by students at any grade level. Very often these productivity tools will come packaged in an integrated ‘works’ type package (ClarisWorks, Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office, etc.)

Hypermedia Authoring - HyperStudio, Author ware, HTML, etc.

Using Hypermedia, students and teachers can create presentation and learning ‘stacks’. This tool allows for ‘nonlinear’ presentations and has a variety of applications.

Presentation - Powerpoint, Persuasion, ClarisWorks, etc.

Software such as Microsoft’s PowerPoint or Adobe’s Persuasion allow students and staff to create multimedia presentations.

Image Processing - PaintShop Pro. LView, Graphic Converter, JPEG View, etc.

This software allows the user to import and modify graphics and images.

Drawing/Painting - Paintbrush. MacDraw, MacPaint, etc.

This allows the user to draw and paint images on the screen. Note that this category is intended for a general purpose drawing/painting program, not for art classes.

Keyboarding - Mavis Beacon, Typing Tutor, Mario Teaches Typing, etc.

This software provides instruction in the skill of keyboarding.

Gradebook - Excelsior, Making the Grade, etc.

This software will allow the teacher to keep grades electronically. This is beneficial in reporting grades to the students and parents as well as to the central office for record keeping.

Core Software - Review and Selection Procedures

There are several types of software packages available and necessary for schools which will be reviewed and selected for purchase division-wide. The rationale for this standardization decision include:

  • core software that should be available
  • reduced cost for district wide orders due to larger volume purchases
  • Integrated Learning Systems consistency throughout the division
  • Lower training and support costs

Software that falls into the following categories represents a core list of software that all schools should posses as a minimum. (Titles shown are examples only)
Class Example
Productivity Tools Word processing, database, Works pkg., etc.
Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) Josten’s, Cornerstone, CCC
Hypermedia Authoring HyperStudio
Presentation Powerpoint
Image Processing Graphics Workshop, LView
Drawing/Painting Color It!, Paint Shop, Kid Pix
Keyboarding All the Right Type, Mavis Beacon


Staff will identify one title (per operating system) in each of the above categories for selection. When appropriate, different titles may be selected at elementary, middle and/or high school levels. The software that is selected will be supported by central office staff for training and technical advice.

Process

  • Core software will be selected by central office staff based on the recommendation of the Software Selection Committee(s).
  • Software selection committees will be formed by the Coordinators of Instructional Technology and will consist of a building administrator, a parent, two teacher representatives each from elementary, middle, and high school levels, one computer technician/trainer (CT/T) each from elementary, middle, and high school levels, and an instructional coordinator. The Coordinator of Instructional Technology will chair the committee.
  • The software selection committee will solicit copies of software titles from the publishers of the software.
  • The Software Selection Committee’s recommendation of a software title will be based upon the committee’s review and evaluation of the available titles.
  • Criteria for software selection will be developed at the initial meetings of each committee.
  • Selected titles will be reevaluated using this process every six (6) years, or when deemed appropriate for other reasons
  • Periodic upgrades to selected titles may be purchased on the recommendation of the Coordinators of Instructional Technology without the input of the Software Selection Committee prior to the end of the 6 year selection cycle. (i. e., an upgrade from HyperStudio 3.0 to version 3.5). Major revisions to the software (HyperStudio 3.0 to HyperStudio 4.0, for example) must be evaluated at the end of the six year cycle.
  • Software selections made by the committee will be given to the Department of Technology for input on installation and/or equipment concerns.

 

Guidelines for Selecting and Acquiring Instructional Support Software

Responsibility for Selection

Responsibility for actual selection of Instructional Support Software will rest with teachers, resource personnel, and principals who shall discharge this obligation consistent with the selection criteria and procedures. Teacher-selected software is that software used with large- or small-group instruction to support and enhance the curriculum.

Procedure for Selection

  1. Recommendations for purchase may involve administrators, teachers, students, subject area coordinators, instructional supervisors and directors.
  2. In selecting instructional software, professional personnel will evaluate curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection and other appropriate sources recognized for their objectivity and wide experience. Gift materials will be judged by the criteria outlined and accepted or rejected by those criteria. All software will be selected for its strengths, rather than rejected for its weaknesses.
  3. Professional personnel will complete an established rationale form requesting consideration of a software title not already in the school’s software inventory. After the selection has been approved by the department chairperson and principal, the rationale will be filed with the department chair, the principal, and the Coordinators of Instructional Technology.

Criteria for Selection

Staff members involved in the selection of instructional software will use the following criteria as a guide:

  • Contribution the instructional software makes to the curriculum
  • Contribution the instructional software makes to the interests of the students
  • Favorable reviews found in standard selection sources
  • Favorable recommendation from teachers and resource personnel
  • Professional repute and significance of the author or publisher
  • Quality of content and presentation
  • Cost commensurate with need and usage
  • Timeliness or permanence
  • Accuracy and validity
  • Ease of use
  • Appropriateness for the type of hardware, system, and network on which it is to be
    used
  • Quality of user documentation