technology in my life

Monthly archives for September, 2011

Laptop Management in Second Grade

Sep30
2011 Leave a Comment Avatar of Steve Collins Written by Steve Collins
Working with second grade students is fun, I love it.  I’ve been teaching 7 and 8 year olds for ten years and don’t want to move.  Some facts about second graders: they are curious, they, for the most part, enjoy being in school, they are easily excitable and unfortunately are easily distracted too.  Roll in a set of laptops and there is an audible gasp of excitement. Classroom management skills are put to the test with each lesson that involves a laptop.

 

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Two heads are better than one:  This year I’ve started having the students partner up on the laptops.  We have enough for each student to have one, but having them work in pairs has proven to be a good management technique.  Usually, between the two of them they’ll be able to put together all of the pieces of the lesson.  Although it is not as efficient as each student working on their own laptop they are able to keep each other on task and they usually complete the assignment more accurately.

Slow, deliberate directions: It doesn’t matter if the students each have their own laptop in front of them or if they are working in pairs it’s crucial that the directions are given bit-by-bit and there are clear stopping points to make sure everyone is looking at the same screen.  Check in with them frequently.

Have a table captain:  You can only spread yourself so thin.  One teacher, 21 students and 21 laptops can be a frustrating scenario.  One technique that has worked is finding a student that demonstrates higher than average computer knowledge and make them your frontline of defense from the barrage of, “What?”  ”What am I supposed to do?”  ”Where’s that folder?”  ”Click where?”

Plan ahead:  Anticipate problems, because there will be.  I have yet to simply take out the laptops and turn them on without problems.  Some laptops don’t connect to the network right away, some have extra windows popping up with dialog boxes the students don’t understand, sometimes programs need to be registered before starting, etc…  Of course there are times when a laptop won’t even start, because the last person that used it didn’t plug it in to be recharged.  Be ready for the laptops to fail.

Pre-teach the lesson:  Before getting out the laptops, tell the students what you expect from them at the end of the lesson.  If it involves writing have them pre-write what they will be typing on the compter.  Having a student compose a piece of work from scratch on the laptop can be difficult because of all the distractions.  It is a bit like me right now.  I have a window with iTunes running, my email is pinging in the background, Facebook is updating in my browser window all while I compose this post, I’m too distracted.

Posted in Course 4

We are Working with an Old Model

Sep27
2011 Leave a Comment Avatar of Steve Collins Written by Steve Collins

Why do you think we still have technology classes especially in the primary grades?

This is a really good question, and I can only guess why it’s the case.  It’s easier to say how they originated, so I’ll start there.  Back in the dawn of computers becoming part of a school’s landscape it was cost prohibitive to provide enough computers for students to have frequent access to them.  A 1:1 program wasn’t even a consideration.  It’s taken quite some time for the computer:student ratio come down to where it is today, and it is still not ideal.

Old Computer and Desk

We are working with an old model

 

Besides the original cost concerns, there were relatively few teachers qualified to lead students through a quality lesson using a computer.  I clearly remember when I learned what a bookmark was. Putting me in front of a classroom with $30,000 worth of computers and eagerly waiting students at that time wouldn’t have been a good choice.  I guess what I’m getting at is there was a time when the computer:student ratio was too high and there were relatively few teachers to provide effective instruction using the computers.  We didn’t have any other choice than to have pull-out technology classes.

My short answer to the question above is that we are working with an old model.

At one time we taught them how to save files, use a mouse, and “work” the computer….I know I use to teach those classes. Has the purpose of those classes changed?

I remember teaching students how to ‘work’ the machine and it was much like you mentioned above:  ”Here is the mouse and keyboard, they are input devices.”  ”Here is the monitor and printer, they are output devices…”

At that time we were teaching students how to ride a bike, not how a bike can open up the world to you.  The bike/computer is simply the tool to getting things done.  It’s a means to an end.

Having pull-out technology lessons isn’t an efficient way to ‘teach’ technology.  Yes, there are some basic operating skills that need to be accomplished, but I would like to see computers used like a pencil, a simple tool that can be taken for granted and used for enhancing the creativity of our students.

 

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Seven Year Olds Are Impatient

Sep27
2011 Leave a Comment Avatar of Steve Collins Written by Steve Collins

A while ago I wrote about the great benefits for teachers using iPads in the classroom. Clearly there are benefits for students too. One of them being that the iPad is quick to boot, rarely has network issues, and doesn’t lock up (knocking on wood).

It is that time of year again when we need to plan for next year’s technology needs. Our laptops carts have served us for few years, but are now at the end of their usable life. Yes, they still function, but the amount of time needed to maintain them is starting to tip in the wrong direction.  Our fingers are crossed that the funding will come through for a cart of iPads.

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In the case of a seven year old, we can get rid of the monster in the back for the tiny thing in front.

Seven year olds don’t have much time to wait around for broken things to start working. They need whatever it is they need right now, not in 2 minutes, not in 30 seconds, but now. The laptops we’ve been using have proven that a 2 minute delay leads to management issues that detract from the lesson.  I think there’s a solution. Drop the laptop carts for iPads.  There are countless articles about the benefits of the little tablet and I hope to be blogging about the benefits at this time next year.  We’ll see.

Posted in Course 4

What is Technology Integration?

Sep18
2011 1 Comment Avatar of Steve Collins Written by Steve Collins

I’ve been thinking about this question the last couple weeks, because I see a system that needs repair.  Having our students go to a technology class once every two weeks doesn’t seem to be the most effective way to meet my definition of technology integration.

no denialIn an ideal world technology integration would not be a scheduled lesson, it wouldn’t even have a special name it would just be a natural part of the classroom landscape, like paper and pencils.

Technology has been, for the most part, integrated into the daily lives of teachers quite well.  We have computers, projectors, document cameras, etc… that are used on a daily basis as part of the normal operating day.  The same isn’t true for the students.

In short, my definition of technology integration is when students and teachers seamlessly use technology as a tool to deepen knowledge and share ideas.

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