Diverse Advice

1. Avoid using the computer as an electronic baby-sitter.

 
2. Always have the students go to the computer with a specific, measurable task in mind.

 
3. Don’t be afraid of “failure”; be ready to adapt or change plans even in mid-stream.

 
4. Remember that the textbooks are only a resource; they should not drive the curriculum.

 
5. Take advantage of facets of computer hardware and software that appeal to different learning styles or intelligences.

 
6. As a starting point, look at the objectives in the content areas and begin with an area with which you feel most comfortable. However, do not use the computer to do the “same old thing”; take advantage of the computer’s special capabilities.

 
7. Use someone else’s idea to get started, but adapt it to your own situation; it will never “fit” right otherwise.

 
8. Create, and post next to the computer, a list of software to which students have access.

 
9. If possible, print out the session’s work. It can serve as a backup or fail-safe in case of the accidental deletion or over-writing of a file. Moreover, it helps maintain a link between the computer activity and the rest of the student’s learning and provides a sense of closure. For some students it can also add to a sense of accomplishment.

 
10. Views on keyboarding are mixed:
• Some claim that it is an essential skill while others say that there is less need for speed or accuracy than with the typewriter, for example.
• Some teachers have questions related to the physical development of the younger students and their readiness for this activity.
• One suggestion was to devote 5 or 10 minutes to keyboard practice at the start of each session instead of spending longer, tedious periods at it.
• A beginner activity was suggested for helping young children get used to the keyboard. Photocopy the keyboard layout and tape it on the children’s desks. They can then practice finding keys by spelling out words from the spelling list, etc.

 
11. Display student created work.

 
12. Use the computer yourself.

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Created by: Jane Scaplen

last update January 29, 1999 | dernière mise à jour le 29 janvier 1999
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