Policing Laptops
After watching a series of videos produced by the Irving Independent School Dependent on managing laptops effectively in the classroom that Jeff Utecht, our COETAILinstructor suggested, I
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realized that at Taipei American School, we are doing a lot right. The following is a list of suggested a noted as the teachers from this district spoke about their management strategies:
1. Teacher must be up and moving, circling the room
2. Watch student eyes – they give a lot away
3. Walk around with gradebook giving on-task or participation grades
4. Use timers to keep kids on task
5. If a student abuses privleges, take about computer
6. Have all students face one direction
7. Use daily logs so students show what they accomplished that day
They good news is, we talk regularly about most of these items. I do feel we do a great job watching the students and their behaviors on the computers. Are we perfect – of course not. It’s like one teacher said in the video, “Ease up a little bit and don’t run yourself ragged trying to catch them doing something wrong all the time.” It’s so true – just like teachers and adults, students will be off-task from time to time. As long as they are on-task most of the time, then they will be just fine in the end.
Additionally, at TAS, we have a program called DyKnow which allows us to interact with the students, view and project their screens, send panels, collect panels, and much more. It’s a great laptop management tool, but does take a bit of preparation and planning to use to its maximum potential. Again, like the computer, it’s just a tool. The computer cannot totally replace the “human effect.”
As the teachers of Irving concluded, to be effective with or without computers, it good to follow these guidelines:
- Develop a great lesson so students stay on task (high interest)
- Give choices – presentation products
- Be aware of what students are doing
- Be consistent in expectations
- Note that the computer is not the focus of the classroom
- Be flexible – you lose control when technology is involved
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By following these guidelines, teachers can be more effective and successful in 1:1 computing settings. Most of all, I suggest teachers relax and sit back and enjoying watching students work and learn. As a parent of two high school students, I’m amazed and at quickly they learn software and shortcuts. For the digital natives, it’s intuitive. For us digital immigrants, it’s hard to let go of the way we learned.
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