Here are some of my thoughts about teaching with laptops. When I started the Teaching Company back in 1982, I decided that I did not want to be an outsider talking about using computers in schools. I returned to the classroom and to a school (Concord Academy) in 1984 for this exact reason. Similarly, today in 2001 as we push ahead with laptops at Nobles, I have the same strong desire to be involved first hand and partake of the experience and the excitement.
The Fourth Dimension
Laptops enrich the classroom experience so that math time has another dimension. One dimension of teaching math always has been and always will be explaining concepts on the blackboard or whiteboard. A second dimension is of course having students do problem on paper by self or in teams. The ability to have a computer with projector might be called the third dimension and is something I have cherished as a teacher for years. But the laptops in the classroom provide a fourth dimension, allowing me as teacher to have kids try something with their computers either one on one
Rule of Fist
I learned the "rule of fist" from Joe at Cincinnati Country Day School although I use the "bring it on down" expression as often as I say "rule of fist." No matter what the vocabulary, the principle is the same. The teacher needs a way to talk to students or have them listen to each other. Closing the laptops 90% of the way forces them to pay attention.
Extra Time for Setup
The students in my class do not bring their own laptops. Instead, I get about 10 or 12 laptops from computer street and bring them on a cart to my classroom down the hall. Traffic can be fierce during the five minute transitions and nothing is worse than getting stuck in traffic with a cart of laptops. Accordingly, I try my best to get the cart to the classroom before the last period ends
Teamwork
I have a small class (11 students) and can usually have enough laptops for everyone. But I rarely do. The value of having kids work in pairs cannot be overstated. Each student has an instant companion to lean on, since they rarely understand the instructions 100%. Having extra laptops provides an easy PLAN B for any network or tech problems. And the pedagogy is so easy to have student X do the task while student Y observes and then visa versa.
Tests
I still feel like a rookie. I change the seating arrangement to have a perimeter of tables around the room and make it a point to set up all the laptops ahead of time. It is relatively easy to see that each laptop is on the network before the kids walk into class to take the test. The only price is more time, but it really is necessary to be attentive to these details.
Batteries and Recharging
We at Nobles have refined our system and most laptops now get charged during downtime on computer street in the anthrocarts. But the S&M (support and maintenance) of all this stuff does not come without much stress
The Value to the Students
I have never been a strong believer that questionnaires or assessments really prove anything. The Darrell Huff book "How to Lie with Statistics" could have a sequel called "How to Lie with Questionnaires." Nevertheless, both Doug Guy (the other Nobles teacher using laptops) and I feel that our geometry class is much improved by use of laptops and sketchpad. Kids frequent drawings of pictures allows a bit of the Van Hiele philosophy to permeate the pedagogy of the classroom. And though getting aha's from students is not the be-all and end-all of teaching geometry, there is a sense of excitement and energy in the classroom that emanates from the presence of the laptops and the use of sketchpad
From Some Students after An Intense Week of Sketchpad
I liked doing the sketchpad in class. I'm not a fan of it outside of class. The pause made me more comfortable with not only proofs but sketchpad too. It was a challenging assignment but hey I'm always up for a challenge. I like them better if I'm in class when I have you there in case I hit a problem that I need help with
I liked that week a lot. I was able to work at my own pace but it helped me to understand proofs a lot better. I understand how they work and why we need to use them. Sometimes it seems like we rush through new things but when I didn't understand proofs the pause time allowed me a chance to understand them and work with them. I like pausing because it is a time to just relax but do work at the same time. I liked working on proofs during class also because I could ask you for help if I needed it or I could ask another student.
I thought the week went well. it was good because the work was not just busy work like the problems in the book. The week helped me to understand how to do a proof and now I can do them well with little hesitation
I liked the week of proofs because we learned more about proofs on our own and we didn't have a lot of homework. It made me have a greater responsibility for my homework and we were able to pace ourselves
A Few Examples
