Welcoming laptops into the classroom- Some tips and strategies

- Claire Amos- Director of e-learning

- Epsom Girls Grammar School- am@eggs.school.nz

The initial thing to consider is your own feelings towards ICT.

Are you comfortable with laptops coming into the classroom?

What are the perceived issues and how might we overcome them?

Successful introduction of laptops into the classroom hinges on our attitude.

How can we make laptops welcome?

Making them welcome

Talking to our students about laptops being welcome

Discussing with students potential ways they might use them

Encouraging students to get them out of their bags

Having some ideas and strategies for making the most of laptop use

Not being afraid to trial laptop use in different ways

We can welcome them by:

Using the laptop for class notes (where appropriate).

Students can save notes to ‘My Documents’ or even better write notes on ‘Google Docs’ (they can share these with you, which would allow you to check them remotely).

They can always back up ‘Google Docs’ to ‘My Documents’ or vice versa.

Strategies for student use

Set up a class protocol e.g. Each student sets up a single Document for your subject using the Document Title

‘Year 9 Science XX(your code) xxxxx (their last name) xxxxx (first name)’.

This would allow you to file all class notes in alphabetical order on Google Docs.

You could create a separate folder for each class.

Tips for teachers

Even with just 2-3 laptops in class you could start using them for online collaboration.

Have students taking turns as “e-scribes” recording each part of a jigsaw activity on a single class Google Document.

Use laptops instead of paper at each “station” of a “bus stop” activity

Strategies for collaboration

Start the move towards being paperless by putting all handouts on Moodle and getting laptop students to access their handouts electronically.

Check out Teach Paperless for ideas

Access to class resources

Even better – look at using eager laptop users as your “tech angel” – they could upload documents and links on to the Moodle page for you, or

Create a Google site which is completely run by students for students.

Establishing “tech angels”

You are still the teacher You can determine when laptops are and

are not to be used. Establish clear codes of behaviour such as

closing laptops when you are speaking (or turning them around)

Similarly, you hold the power to make laptop use a success in your class

Look at ways it can enrich the great learning that is already happening!

Behavioural Management

“[It] destroys memory [and] weakens the mind, relieving it of…work that makes it strong. [It] is an inhuman thing.”

The sentiment above is from Phaedrus - Plato quoting Socrates in 500 B.C. Greece. The “it” in the quote is writing.

Socrates was nervous since his information technology of the day, memorization, was about to be aced out by a new information technology, the stylus.

Don’t worry - even Socrates was nervous about Technology!

Use Term 4 as a period of trial (and error – always a learning opportunity to be had!)

Consider having some strategies ready for making use of laptops in the new year

Establish some classroom, subject and/or learning area protocols for making the most of the laptops!

Come along to some “Learning over Lunch sessions

Where to from here?