Reflections:  Chapter 12


What can I do to "get ready" for a lesson in which my students use computers?

Our text lists several steps to take.  Begin by preparing handouts.  These include the following:

• Technical step by step guides that could be made for inserting and formatting tables, creating spreadsheets charts, inserting hyperlinks to an organizer, or adding custom animation to presentation.
• Resource guides to help students use time wisely.  
• Assessment tools such as a rubric or a task list. 

Preparing Technology is also important:

• create digital folders
• design templates
• load specialized software
• Bookmark Internet sites
• Turn on computers and open applications (p 308).

Where does the "computer part" come when I am teaching a lesson?

If I were describing the "during computer use" section to a friend I would say that it is all about classroom management.  According to our text, teachers "must manage the movement of students to and from various activities, manage students while they are engaged in activities and oversee the management of extra resources that are used in these activities.  If Internet assess is available, the teacher must also manage student use of these web-based resources" (p 316).

How do you ensure equal access for all students with only three computers?

According to our text, group projects would be best.  This type of cooperative learning is really effective for students.  The examples the text gives include "groups collecting and entering information for a designated section of a class database".  Other examples include groups "collecting and entering information for one state from each region, five presidents, endangered species from one country or real-world examples of a particular shape" (p 319).