One question I have and am trying within my schedule of teaching is how do we find the time for blogging with our children. I have 40 minutes of computer time where our elementary technology person is teaching his curriculum. At the moment, we have no computers other than mine to work with (until January when our students get their own. How are some of you finding the time to have students blog, get on home web pages etc.
Promethean boards are great. Don't know how we got along before them.
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Hi -
I wish I had an easy answer for you. It sounds like your computer lab is booked. Perhaps you could collaborate with the technology teacher? In my own situation, I have to reserve the computer lab a couple of weeks before I need it. I am also wondering what grade you teach.
-Emily
Great question Ms. T. We have laptop carts at our school and are working to troubleshoot the most effective way to use them (we do not have a technology lab).
I teach first grade and I've already seen a significant increase in student competency when it comes to computers and technology (as compared to last year's first graders at the same time). Prior to students blogging or using computers on their own, I demonstrate logging on, posting an article and playing games by using the SmartBoard.
At this time, I have at least four "experts" who can answer nearly any blogging question for the other students. We have only blogged three times since school began, but I have a philosophy of: slow and steady, stead and slow.
Students are learning to get set up on their own and are close to blogging independently during their writing center time. Although allowed to blog freely, they often choose something they have written about in class.
In summary, we take turns! I hope this helps.
I am having the same problem here in South Carolina. Ways I have worked around it (and this is not a great solution) is to look at the planning schedule of the computer lab and take those spots. I have all her planning spots this week to run my science classes through for a webquest and to run my ELA class for an online thesaurus lesson. It makes working out a schedule for my classes tricky. Last year when I had a major project I just talked to the computer lab specialist and I took over the the computer lab time to allow students to work on their project during that 50 min. block. She didn't seem to mind. We also walked across the street to the middle school and used their lab for the same project. We have 10 laptops we can use and when I had a computer requirement I would split my class time in half and teach one half the science lesson of the day and the other half would be working on the computers. When the timer went off we would switch groups. It is definitely a challenge and I wish it wasn't the case because it becomes exhausting to have to come up with creative ways to get your students on to the computers for something specific.
Eve Heaton
Beaufort, SC
Mossy Oak Elementary School
That is the problem that all of us are facing: time and access. I am reticent to do certain projects such as student blogging because of the time and access to the computers. I think Kelly's idea of getting three or four experts trained on blogging (when you will have time to do this I do not know). Then you can get the laptop cart reserved during your writing block. Let me know how it goes.
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