NECC: Bytes for Tykes

At the next session now, entitled Bytes for Tykes: Integration with Limited Elementary Classroom Computers. It’s all about maximizing the limited resources that you have and presented by Alma Row from Lincoln Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania.

I do have new batteries in the iPod battery pack, so hopefully this entire session will be recorded. I may or may not have wireless (I have a signal at least), and I’m typing this using the WordPress Dashboard widget. I haven’t used it yet, so we’ll see how well it works.

I love the first slide. “What ISN’T integration? Dropping a computer in a classroom. Substituting a curriculum lesson for a tech lesson. It’s not a vehicle for driving curriculum. Not a system for reward.”

Integration is all aobut students obtaining, analyzing, and synthesizing information. They are the active users of technology.

Bah, wireless is only available for presenters and exhibitors right here. What a tease! I have a rock solid signal. I guess I do understand. You’d hate for a presenter to have issues just because some yahoo in the back is downloading a movie.

Re-emphasized, integration is the STUDENTS using the technology, not the teacher. You have to look at your curriculum, look at technology and see if there’s a place where there’s an overlap where technology will let you do it better. Not as good, not in a similar way, but better. Won’t be a total overlap though. Will still be times where you do have to isolate specific tech skills and teach them. Just being realistic.

Decide what you want your students to do. Access information, process information, produce/present information.

Six scenarios: Group, jigsaw, individual, pairs, reference, learning station.

Group setting: Teachers or students modeling, perhaps use it to introduce a lesson or a skill. Internet ‘must see’, something you don’t want to wait for a lab setting to show to your students. She’s really emphasizing the need for additional projectors. I really do agree, that’s one thing I wish I’d done at my last school, introduce more projectors and scan converters. A few activity ideas for group settings: L.A. ‘keypal’ with another class (pen pal). They used the teachers email address to communicate with a school in New Zealand. Showing us froguts.com, a plase where you can virtually disect a frog. Gross, but very cool. Jigsawing is where you teach one group something and they become the experts on it. Then they go back to their desks and collaborate with the other students. Basically, kids teaching other kids.

Just did something dumb. I thought I had a brilliant thought. Figured why waste batteries on the iPod when I could just plug it into the laptop? So I unplugged the battery pack, plugged it into the PowerBook, whereupon it promptly stopped recording and starting syncing up to iTunes. Whoops! Just switched it back and I don’t think I missed anything significant.
Individual computer use: Perhaps using it for attendance/graphing, remediation, enrichment, rotation. When you use it for inidividual use, you have to make sure you build in a system to ensure that every student gets to use it for a reasonable amount of time. She suggests a pocket chart system or a tag system. She mentioned having a student be a daily reporter, typing up a brief paragraph about the day’s events. She’s also showing us how to use Excel to do a daily ‘survey’ with the kids that you can instantly convert into a graph. That way you can teach graphing with real world data, not articifcial. She said it’s on the CD that she passed out at the beginning. I didn’t get one, but she did say she’d mail them around if you email her. I’ll have to drop her line and see if I can get a copy.

After so many mediocre or bad presentations, this is a perfect example of what a presenatation should look like. She’s affable, organized, and has a very well structured PowerPoint that accentuates what she’s talking about without being her actual lecture notes. She has very structured ways to allow for audience participation and is showing real examples throughout the presentation. The theory is always tied directly back into practice. She’s relaxed, comfortable and in complete control of her presenation. Being a good presenter does not mean you’ll have a good presenation, the content must be there. But a bad presentation can make good content completely inaccessible to the audience.

Using computers in pairs now. Computers can be very isolating, she’s a big believer that two kids on a computer is better than one most of the time. Computer buddies. Don’t randomly assign them or let them pick their own, assign them deliberately. Match weak to strong in variable subject areas (low computer, high reading with high computer, low reading) so long as social issues don’t get in the way. Use these buddies for ongoing projects. Can be good for penpal type projects, morning reports.

Ooo…. I dig this one big time. She has a Word template for the morning news. In it, she has hyperlinks. For example it will say “The Weather” and have a blank area below it. When you click on the words “My Weather”, it takes you to Weather.com for their area so they can see the weather report for the day. Then they fill in the blank area. Same thing for headlines, sports, joke of the day, math problem of the day, etc… Students fill it all in and then you can print it out and deliver the morning news to the class! That is an incredible idea. I may have to steal that one! She also re-emphasized that pairing them up relieves some of the anxiety as well.

Refence: Make a kiosk where the computer is set up ready to go for a specific task. Thesaurus during L.A., help site for math, glossary for science. Neat idea for using the computer during other lessons. Something they approach, use for a minute or two and then return to task. Quick reference tool.

Management Tips: Location is critical. Make sure that the computer is off your desk. Model projects and have samples prepared. Create a rotation plan for students to ensure time on for every student. Create student experts to encourage them teaching each other. Team up with another teacher in another classroom. Note: while it would be helpful for your mentor to be in the same building, you COULD have a mentor elsewhere in the country or world!

Looks like it’s winding down. Great presentation. I definitely got some very practical ideas out of it.

Good news, not only did I get permission to post the audio file online, but her only requirement was that I email her when I do! I love people who are willing to share.

1 Comment(s)

kate quinn
7/9/2005

Hi,

Went to same workshop. Kept some handwritten notes which later I could not read so I was hooping to find a resource. Thanks. I did not get handouts or CD, hope I can get them to help me present to teachers, she did have great ideas.

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