Chapter 12 - Teacher, Technology, and the Classroom

After following the 10 steps to create an NTeQ lesson plan, there are still several preparations a teacher must make in order to implement an effective technology integrated lesson. S/he should try to anticipate any questions and technical issues the students may have by preparing handouts and setting up the computers in advance.

Providing them with helpful handouts including step by step instructions, resource guides, and assessment tools will ease students toward independence. Posters illustrating frequent tasks such as saving or printing documents can be displayed so that they are easily accessible to students. Preparing the computers ahead of time will help to prevent certain technological issues. Teachers should turn on the computers, install, and load the required software to save time that is often wasted by slow, antiquated hardware. They can also create folders in which students can save their work, design and provide templates for the activities, and bookmark the Internet sites they want students to use (Morrison & Lowther, 2010, p. 308-314).

After these preparatory steps are taken care of, teachers will be ready for students to begin working on the computers. Teachers should first demonstrate what the students will be doing on the computer and distribute a printed example of the finished product. This will help give students an idea of the computer tasks, while the handouts will guide them along the way. When students have questions, teachers can refer them to the prepared handouts first. They can personally help students with any problems or questions that are not covered by the guides. If several students have questions simultaneously, the teacher can direct them to work together to solve the issue. If many students have the same question, the instructor can go over it as a class and possibly print out an extra handout explaining the resolution (Morrison & Lowther, 2010, p. 322-323).

Teachers must also plan according to the specific ratio of students to computers. For example, in a classroom with only three computers teachers will have to decide ahead of time how to provide equal access for each student. The best way to navigate this situation is to have students work in groups and to designate computer tasks to each student in a group. Scheduling computer time for each group as well as the timing of group rotations is essential (Morrison & Lowther, 2010, p. 318-321). When planned correctly, student collaboration is an effective instructional tool. They enjoy participating in the activities, they think more critically, and they learn from each other ("Promoting student collaboration," 2008). Careful planning of which computer tasks will be performed for how much time is crucial in this type of environment.

References

Morrison, G. R., & Lowther, D. L. (2010). Integrating computer
       technology into the classroom: skills for the 21st century.
       (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Promoting student collaboration. (2008, May 7). Retrieved June
       14, 2011 from http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory
       /Idea/collaboration.html