Using a Database in the Classroom:
A Reflection
Database software allows users to store, organize, and manipulate information such as text and numerical data. Databases are designed to work like electronic rolodexes, allowing quick and easy access to important information. Teachers can use databases to keep track of information that can change often, such as student information, schedule changes, and curriculum modifications. It also can help them send personalized letters to all students without having to memorize all the different addresses. Databases can help students learn how to research information quickly and properly using such search techniques as Boolean logic. Also, by having students develop their own databases, they learn organizational skills as well as how to differentiate between essential and non-essential information.
Databases will be used in my class for organizing information that students will be using throughout the year. Since mathematics is always building on itself and reusing concepts in new ways, databases will provide students with an efficient means of organizing and retrieving lessons that are being modified or applied in a different context. Also, databases can be used to help students organize the mathematics they learn into categories such as algebra, geometry, homework, and test results. If I were to give a test in algebra based on homework questions, the students would be able to access the information quickly using a database. Finally, by updating a database over their time in school, students will never lose older information and will have it available throughout the rest of their educational and professional lives.
The following is a table of five images from MS Access that I created in a database.
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Maryland
Teacher Technology Standards
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Outcomes |
Indicators |
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Information
Access, Evaluation, Processing, and Application Access, evaluate, and process information efficiently and effectively. |
1. Evaluate
information critically and competently for a specific purpose. 2. Organize, categorize, and store information for efficient retrieval. |
| Communication
B.
Use
technology
to
communicate
information
in
a
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1.
Select appropriate technologies for a particular communication goal |
Integrating
Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction
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2.
Evaluate technology materials and media to determine their most appropriate instructional use. |