How to Organize Trips to the Computer Lab
by Karyn Zoldan

(This article was published on ZDTV.com (now TechTV.com) in November 1999. Some of the links may no longer be relevant.)

Some classrooms have no books while others have two dozen PowerBooks. School districts across the land run the gamut as far as funds for computers, teacher expertise, and lab curriculum. There is no consensus but here's a sampling of what works for some teachers most of the time.

Planning
One thing all the teachers agree about is planning.  Good planning saves time in the classroom. Teachers shall adhere to the Boy Scout motto and be prepared. Preparedness invites confidence and clarity. If research is not part of a particular lesson but still necessary to the plan, the teacher should do it in advance, have it readily available, and easy to understand. Well-organized instructions will ebb and flow into the scheduled time limit. Is the project doable in one class or will it be continued? The goal of finishing a project must be attainable or children will feel they have failed.

Solo or Pairs?
Assuming that there are enough computers for everyone to have their own, should students work solely, in pairs, or groups? Depends. Some activities do not lend themselves to pairs such as learning to type or writing sentences with correct punctuation and structure. More than half the teachers interviewed wanted younger students to work individually because pairs working together tend to lose focus. Attention spans fluctuate and if one child is distracted, it is more likely his partner will follow suit vs. staying focused.

When there is no option and children must work in pairs, the computer-less child should be actively involved on a pre-computer prep sheet or post-computer follow up. They should be engaged in hands-on complimentary activities or storyboarding. Other opinions include that students learn to collaborate and take turns when they work in pairs. And then there is the wise old adage--two sets of ears are better than one.

Teams of three
Alan Sills teaches Earth Science and Chemistry at West Essex Regional High School in North Caldwell, New Jersey. In his classroom, there are no more than 18 students and six PowerMac 6100/60 computers connected to the school's LAN and T1 line to the Internet. He arranges students in teams of three as they conduct research requiring the computers and online resources. Learning is divided among teacher centered instruction, students working at desks, and online research.

Structure + Accountability = Best Behavior
Instructors must demonstrate what needs to happen by using an overhead projector or monitor. No droning allowed. From the very brightest to the educationally challenged, the computer lab experience is inherently motivational. Jeff Moreton teaches remedial math lab at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. His students know that they are held accountable and will be graded by their achievements. Upon entering the lab, assigned seating is important. Computers are numbered and already turned on. Students have a clipboard waiting with a form to be completed with their name, date, software program information, and score.

Primary and intermediary students need more structure than upper grades. Experience shows that students need a purpose, rules, routines, and procedures before entering the computer lab.

Computers address learning modalities of reading, listening, and hand/eye coordination. The hands-on, interactive, and challenging lessons add exciting options to traditional subjects. Discipline problem-prone students are more focused and captivated while using a computer.

Tools
Marc Alter, Instructional Technology Consultant at ITSCO www.itsco.org, advises teachers to plug technology into their favorite lesson. He teaches teachers how to incorporate technology into the classroom by overcoming their fears and make learning fun. The computer is another tool in the learning process. Studying butterflies present opportunities for earth science, biology, art, language arts, and literature. Alter suggests using simple spreadsheets to track migration.

The Basics
Marjan Glavac, teacher at West Sherwood Fox Public School in London, Ontario,

Canada and author of The Busy Educator's Guide to the World Wide Web www.glavac.com uses 'All The Right Type' software to teach typing to grades 3^rd through 8^th in the first few months of the school year. Each lesson is followed by speed and accuracy lessons. Students were tracked and each grade given a minimum words per minute to attain before going to the next level. Younger students worked on computer programs that taught shapes, numbers, time, making changes, words, and drawing programs.

Students learned how to log onto the computer system. They were asked to pick a password with at least eight letters, two of which had to be numbers. Younger students would receive a generic password like a fruit or color. He told them not to tell anyone their password, including their best friend, and to keep a copy of it in their underwear drawer at home. A representative from our local ISP (Internet Service Provider) gave a PowerPoint presentation summing up Internet safety employing the acronym NASTE--do not give your name, address, school, telephone, or e-mail to anyone you meet on the Internet.

Forget Disneyland. Take the class on a virtual field trip www.field-guides.com to volcanoes, oceans, deserts, and the natural wonders of the world. Offline explore

related science projects, write reports, create maps and postcards.

Problem Based Learning
Alan Sills gets his class involved in real science. It involves the use of probe-ware in the field as they collect data (for example water quality) and then the subsequent analysis of this data in the classroom. He uses Excel and ArcView GIS (geographic information systems) mapping software www.esri.com to work with the data and locate sampling sites with the aid of GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) device. Then the data is plotted onto the student-generated maps.

Sills is a big believer in problem based learning (PBL). He refers to Exploring the

Environment www.cotf.edu/ete to use non-linear, open-ended problems based upon real issues we face as a society. In tracking hurricanes, students work through the PBL process by identifying an issue, researching it, then preparing a written report and oral presentation. Oral presentations can include web sites they build and PowerPoint presentations that are presented to the class using a 32" monitor driven by his Apple PowerBook. These presentations always include an oral defense to probe the students' understanding of what they investigated. Projects take weeks while covering lots of content. Sills would rather take the inch wide, mile deep approach than the inch deep, mile wide approach.

Karyn Zoldan is a content writer and online marketer at www.bridgemarketing.com

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