Though I began teaching
high school history in 1985, I had never used a computer in the classroom
before arriving at the Noble and Greenough
School (Nobles) in the fall of 1998. Thanks to the training I received
from the Nobles' computer department, as well as the financial support I received
from school administrators, I have been teaching in a wireless laptop-based
environment for four years. In my classes students use computers to take and
store notes, go on virtual trips, do web-based research and assignments, take
tests and quizzes, turn in essays, make graphic-based outlines, produce slide
shows, and even make films. I use computers to formulate web-based assignments,
prepare graphic presentations, present CD-ROMS , grade essays and tests, record
student grades, create and maintain a course web page, send e-mail to students,
and more. In all, I am teaching in ways that I could not have imagined only
a few years ago. The process of incorporating computers effectively into my
classes has been challenging at times, but the result is an enriched learning
environment for my students.
My Early Experiences in a Laptop Classroom
I reacted enthusiastically
when I was first approached in 1999 about the possibility of students using
laptop computers in my classroom. Nobles had purchased fifteen wireless Apple
iBook computers and linked them to the Web and the school's server through
small, mobile "airport" hubs. The laptops were used that year in
two "experimental" laptop-based classes, including my 9th grade
World History class. However, after a few classes with these machines my enthusiasm
dipped considerably! Students were interrupting class to announce (or complain)
that : “I can’t get on the Web!” or “My mouse is stuck”
or “My e-mail won’t work”. Steve Bergen, our computer coordinator
at the time, had wisely decided to sit in on our early classes and was sometimes
forced to scurry from machine to machine to fix problems and to make general
tech announcements. (During one class Steve ended up surrounded by six malfunctioning
machines.) The technical problems and interruptions that first week and a
half were irritating and made me wonder whether I had made the right decision
to allow these machines in my classroom.
Fortunately, most of the
technical glitches were resolved within a week thereafter and Steve soon left
our classroom -- permanently. Many of the tech problems we were having were
fixed quickly and we found common solutions to others. One of the positive
by-products of the first ten days was that the kids developed a collaborative
and non-intrusive approach to solving tech problems. When problems arose the
more tech-savvy kids in the class took charge and helped the less-tech savvy
usually by whispering a few instructions that quickly helped solve the problem.
I also made it clear that I was not going to stop class in order to deal with
individual tech issues. So the kids learned to solve the most common tech
problems on their own quickly --and without disrupting class. Yet, I also
made some adjustments in the early going. I had students work in small groups
quite regularly so that if one machine malfunctioned they would have another
one readily available. As the students became more comfortable and skilled
with the machines that became much less necessary. (Our current ibooks are
quicker and more reliable than the ones we had in 1999, but they are plagued
by mysteriously short battery lives.)
In the first few months
my students used their iBooks to take notes in class, receive homework assignments
and messages via e-mail, and to complete web-based activities in class. The
most obvious early benefit I could see was the general excitement, engagement,
and focused activity that these machines provoked. On several occasions the
bell rang to end class and not a single student stopped working; students
were sometimes oblivious to the fact that I was leaving the room. The machine
just seemed to captivate and motivate them and, on top of it, the kids relished
the fact that they were pioneers at our school in the use of computers in
the classroom.
It also became clear that
the kids were better organized as a result of their iBooks. They weren't losing
assignments since their work was kept in a networked online folder. (The only
exchange of paper usually involved map assignments.) The students themselves
extolled the virtues of taking notes with computers. They commented to me
that since they type faster than they write, they were able to note more of
what was discussed in class, and were able to do so more accurately as well.
(Studies have since shown that students write better on computers because
they are more apt to edit and revise their work.)
I also saw that the computers
helped me promote student-centered and independent learning. I often had my
kids complete e-assignments where small groups of students researched information
from web sites or CD-ROM, analyzed it via my questions and prompts, typed
answers and information in a wordprocessing program, presented the information
to the class with the aid of PowerPoint or Inspiration, and then e-mailed
their work to me and their classmates. (Some kids also devised electronic-based
quizzes to test understanding of their presentations.) Often students came
up with primary and secondary sources themselves and were excited to suggest
a useful site to me. In contrast, it is rare when a student suggests a periodical,
a textbook, or even an article, for me to use in class.
I also came to appreciate
the ability to explore different worlds and cultures via technology. That
first year I took the kids on a virtual tour of ancient Athens and Rome, explored
the pyramids of Egypt with them , and examined medieval military equipment
via a videoconference from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Over the years
I have added a virtual tour of a medieval village, video reports from Mecca
during Ramadan, a study of early hominid fossils, examination of Renaissance
paintings, and more. I have also used the Web to locate many of the primary
sources my students analyze throughout the year.
Yet, early on it was clear
that there were some obvious drawbacks to computer use in the classroom. Not
only were there technical glitches, I was also losing time at the start of
class for the set up machines. It was taking at least a few minutes at the
beginning of each class to circulate the machines, open up the appropriate
file or page, connect my machine to the projector, and begin the daily lesson.
The machines were not housed in my classroom, so I have to retrieve them from
our computer office before each class and wheel them on a cart into my classroom.
I had to wheel them back to computer office and plug them in to a mobile cart
-- a process that sometimes makes me late for the next class.
(Note: since the computers
and projector are now housed in my classroom I am usually able to start class
quickly. Class begins with students grabbing an ibook from a cart in the back
of the room. This locked cart holds twenty machines that are recharged when
not in use. As students file into the room and open up machines they invariably
check their email on NoblesNet and, since I know that, I have an email message
ready for them with the night's homework. They open up my message, I spell
out the assignment, and class is underway.)
A more serious issue,
I feel, is the distraction that these machines represent. It can be disconcerting
to not know exactly what students are doing when they are using computers
in the classroom. The kids are certainly tempted to check their e-mail or
jump on the Web. And unless I stand directly behind I can't be 100% sure of
what they are up to. (I make them sit with their backs to me during tests
so I can see their screens.). I do make sure that I can circle around the
class easily, but kids can hide programs or shift activities rather quickly.
And it’s not unusual for the kids to receive an online invitation to
“chat” in the middle of class.
Fortunately I have small
classes (12-17 students) and hard-working students and I have come to gauge
their focus and activities pretty accurately. With experience I can now recognize
when eyes are darting suspiciously over a screen or when fingers are tying
unnecessarily . I have also handed out detentions to students who have abused
their computer privileges in class and that helps serve as a deterrent. (I
have thought about networking all machines so that I can see what is on their
screens, but a "Big Brother" solution does not sit comfortably with
me.) I rely most often on asking questions and circling the class, are occasionally
I might have them raise both hands, or turn their screens around, if I feel
they are losing proper focus. I sometimes do not use the machines during a
prolonged discussion/debate, or when some difficult abstract concept is at
hand. In all, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well students
can multi-task and focus on both a discussion and their note-taking at the
same time.
It does take a considerable
amount of time to prepare tech-based assignments and lessons. I would estimate
that is at least double the time of a hard-copy lesson. Of course there are
"ready-made" lesson plans on the Web, but finding one that is grade
and content appropriate, and fits into my class-time and goals, can be time-consuming.
Yet, as my tech knowledge and skills have improved so has my ability to find
and integrate web-based materials. I also find researching varied tech options
to be both stimulating and educational. And I know that once I have completed
a PowerPoint presentation, or prepared a web-based activity, I will have it
to use for years to come.
Whatever time sacrifices
or tech frustrations the students and myself have experienced using computers
in the classroom they are easily outweighed by the enhanced learning environment
these tools create. It is clear that the ibooks have transformed the way I
teach and have changed the dynamics of my classroom. While no one can actually
"prove" that computers augment learning, the computers have enabled
my students to assume diverse roles in the learning process and provided them
with many more opportunities to research, organize, and present material.
The machines have helped me put the students at the center of the learning
experience and have encouraged inquiry, initiative and higher-level thinking
in the classroom.
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of page
My Tech Evolution
and Tech Integration
I probably rely on e-mail
more than any other single facet of computer technology. I use it to send
homework assignments, make general announcements to the class, send students
links to web sites, keep contact with parents and other teachers, send and
receive images, and even administer tests. Nobles uses First
Class software, an excellent communication program, to run Nobles Net,
the schools "electronic Bulletin board." If you would like to learn
more about Nobles Net and how it functions I suggest you contact Dan
Weir, Nobles' head of Information Technology Services.
I began my technology
training in the fall of 1998 with once-weekly tech training sessions on First
Class. I learned how to organize my e-mail, create personal e-mailing lists,
attach text and image files to messages, invite someone to "chat"
online, and send files to the school's server. Next, I began to learn PowerPoint,
an easy-to-use presentation program. My students and I use PowerPoint to create
slide-show presentations that feature a mix of text, graphics, hyperlinks,
and sometimes audio and video clips. (Graphics are easy to locate using Google's
"Image" search function.) I have a Lightware digital projector in
my classroom and can project my slide-shows on a screen in the classroom.
To this point I have made PowerPoint presentations on: The Origins of Man,
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greek and Roman Architecture, Religious Art and Architecture,Hinduism
and Buddhism, Maps of the Medieval Period, The Vikings, Religion in 17th and
18th Century America, The Salem Witch Trials, The Civil War, Gilded Age Cartoons,
The American West, The World in 1900, World War I, and other topics. Last
fall my students produced PowerPoints on various aspects of the Middle East
Peace Crisis.
I sometimes attach my
PowerPoint presentations to an e-mail and send them to students. However,
I prefer to store them on Nobles' server and have students access them from
there. (PowerPoint files can be very large and students have a limited amount
of space in their Nobles Net e-mail accounts.) Students may access them anytime
via Nobles Net and can view them on any machine that has PowerPoint software.
(All Nobles machines have PowerPoint installed.) I do not make my PowerPoints
available on the web, as a rule, because some images I use are copyright protected
against dissemination on the Web. Otherwise, I can save my PowerPoint presentations
as QuickTime video, a freely
downloadable Apple software. In this way they can be viewed without the need
of PowerPoint software.
If you would like to see
a PowerPoint overview of my laptop-based "History of the Human Humanity"
class, click on Introduction
to HHC (You will need PowerPoint software, or the PowerPoint Viewer, on
your machine to view it; the file may take a minute to load.)
I also began to experiment
with Inspiration, a graphics-based educational
tool that is helpful for outlining, concept mapping, brainstorming, and visually
organizing information. I use Inspiration to develop textbook and concept
outlines in both diagram and outline modes. I usually include graphics and
links to web sites as part of my Inspiration-based presentations. Furthermore,
students can also take notes in class using the program. (Most take notes
with Word or Appleworks, partly because Inspiration files take up much more
space.) To date I have used Inspiration to present graphic-based outlines
on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Rome, Early American Republic, Jacksonian
Era, Gilded Age, World War II, History Essay Writing, and other topics. You
can download a 30-day free trial from the Inspiration web site.
Of course I also use word
processing programs such as Word and Appleworks to create lengthy text-based
documents or for texts that requires specific formatting. Nobles was a predominantly
Apple environment a few years ago, so Clarisworks (now Appleworks) used to
be my software of choice. But that has changed recently as many more PCs are
on campus and most of my students have PCs at home. Thus, I have been relying
more heavily on Word the last year or so. I like Word's outlining tools and
especially its tracking feature. I find Word to be quite helpful in developing
note-taking skills and and writing/editing skills.
I often have students
work in small groups on activity-oriented educational sites such as a WebQuest
, a ThinkQuest, or a CD-ROM. Often I
cannot allocate enough class time for the students to complete the Web Quest,
or view the entire CD-ROM. So, I usually select specific portions of a web
site or CD-ROM for the students to work on and leave time at the end of class
to discuss their findings. For the most part I have separate groups of students
examine different parts of a Web site and then e-mail their completed assignments
to each other. On other occasions they develop a PowerPoint or deliver a verbal
presentation.See WebQuests Matrix for a listing of approximately 600 preselected
Web Quests, cataloged by grade and subject level.
Often I simply use my
laptop and a projector to show a web site or CD-Rom to the kids. On occasion
Internet access has been interrupted, or just slow, and I have been forced
to gut my intended lesson more than once. Thus, I sometimes download sites
to view offline or either create a PowerPoint presentation instead. Downloading
entire web sites, or even several pages, can chew up a lot of memory on your
machine, but there are programs available, such as Web
Whacker, that can help you do this more efficiently.
Before my first laptop
class I considered using an online textbook, but the school wisely reasoned
that a heavy reliance on the Web for homework assignments might cause difficulties
for some students and their families. So I looked for an online site that
my students could access easily to get course materials and link to relevant
web sites. I turned to Blackboard,
a course-management service that offers these features and more. (Excellent
alternatives are WebCT and BigChalk.) I uploaded course materials to Blackboard
and used their test-creation service to create on-line multiple-choice quizzes.
(Blackboard offers an e-gradebook and essay grading feature as well.) Essentially,
students used Blackboard to access chapter outlines of their textbook, view
sites I linked to the page, and see other course-related materials.
I dropped Blackboard a
couple of years ago when I was given an opportunity to create my own course
web site. I had to learn few basic HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)commands,
but completed a rudimentary design of the site within an hour. Since then
I have also learned Dreamweaver and FrontPage, two powerful HTML Editors that
have improved my web design capabilities. Mind you, the design of my course
site remains purposefully simple. My current course page is unaccessible to
those outside the Nobles community, but I have an older version available
at Mr. Daccord's HHC
Home Page. If you would like to create your own homework page, there are
plenty of sites, such as teacherweb.com
, that can help you.
Another reason that I
did not feel it necessary to continue with Blackboard is because I am using
a Prentice-Hall
interactive world history textbook . Though not an e-book, the Prentice-Hall
site contains chapter outlines, teaching ideas, quizzes, an essay grader,
primary sources, map activities and other features tailored to my course.
(Houghton-Mifflin offers similar interactive features with several of its
textbooks.)And Prentice-Hall has incorporated Blackboard technology into its
site as well. For more information on their interactive textbook supplements
please go to Prentice-Hall School .
To try and keep up with
the latest trends in educational technology I joined H-Net's
H-Net Ed-Tech listserv Everyday I receive information and advice from educational
technology specialists on the latest products, sites, techniques, or issues
in the ed-tech field.
Over the last year I have
experimented with video technology, specifically Apple's
i-movie. Last spring my students created short documentary films on Ancient
Rome, Medieval Europe, Buddhism, Christianity, and other topics. The kids
did a wonderful job planning and editing their work but it was difficult to
organize the sharing of the school's single (at that time) camcorder.
. . Thus, my tech education
continues!
Tom Daccord
