I teach business and there are not many times that I expect my students to generate and test hypotheses. In some of my classes students will predict what will happen, but it is difficult to test theories when business is pretty black and white. So, I guess since I find it difficult to hypothesize in my classroom it is difficult to think about what technologies could be used.
What kind of technologies can I use to help students identify similarities and differences?
I do this often in my Personal Finance class. Just recently we compared banks and credit unions, debit cards and credit cards. In the past we have compared saving and investing. When doing this I encourage the students to use a graphic organizer to sort out their thoughts. It is very easy to use Microsoft Word to create a Venn Diagram to use.
What kind of technologies can I use to help students with homework and practice?
I have had students use many different technologies for homework and practice. Often I use spreadsheets in accounting for financial statements, journalizing, posting, and creating a worksheet. I also use spreadsheets in Personal Finance when the students are creating a budget. First, we create a budget together in class and then they are expected to create a similar budget for themselves. Currently, in my Entrepreneurship class, students are creating a new cereal. They create a new box and design a magazine ad and television commercial. The students are using goanimate or xtranormal for their television commercials and Microsoft Publisher for their magazine ads. The Entrepreneurship students are also using Google docs for many of their assignments.
