Chapter 12 Reflections

Reflecting on What I Know:

1.  What can I do to "get ready" for a lesson in which my students use computers?
 There are several things to think about when preparing a technology lesson.  First, you should prepare any necessary handouts that will be helpful to your students such as step-by-step guides, resource guides, and/or assessment tools.  Also, it is important to prepare technology by creating digital folders, designing templates, loading software, bookmarking internet sites, and turning on all computers and opening necessary applications.  Doing these things prior to the technology lesson will help maximize learning time because all other preparations will be taken care of.  It also helps you determine any issues that there may be with the lesson so you can fix these before beginning the lesson.

2.  Where does the "computer part" come when I am teaching a lesson?
The "computer part" can come in many different parts of your lesson, depending on what the computer is being used for.  It is important to decide what students will need the computer for before beginning your lesson planning and then build the lesson plan around the computer activities to ensure students will be prepared.  If the activities being completed need modeling then ensure you have done a substantial amount of modeling and demonstrating so students feel comfortable with the application or software.  Once the teacher and students become more familiar and comfortable with technology then the teaching part can be shorter and the "computer part" can come sooner and last longer.

3.  How do you ensure equal access for all students with only three computers?
 If you only have a limited number of computers then there are a few options to ensure equal access for all students.  One option is grouping students for computer access and having students share different computer tasks and jobs.  Another option is setting up rotation schedules.  You can utilize either the independent rotation schedule or a group rotation schedule.  Either way, you will need to have other meaningful activities prepared for the students who are not currently at the computers.

 References

Lowther, D. & Morrison, G. (2010). Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom: Skills for the 21st Century. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA. USA.