- If you have access to a projector, use MS Word as the board, typing up discussion answers/brainstorm ideas/etc so they display on the screen. It’s faster than writing and you don’t have to turn your back on the class, and the notes are easily saved and emailed or uploaded.
- Use blogs as notecards for organizing research. The tag system lets you make connections faster and reorganize easily.
- Peer review on Google Docs (specifically with spreadsheets) can be incredibly useful. I have students exchange drafts with a partner. As they read, I write up 2-3 questions (ex: general impressions, intro critique, etc) as the first few headers on the table. As students finish reading, they begin to answer. When my fastest students are starting on the last answer, I put up a few more that focus on the middle of the paper…and so on. This lets me see what kinds of feedback students are giving (I can push them to write more if they’re half-assing answers), and lets me pace it so everyone is actively engaged, rather than having students sitting and doing nothing.
- Have students use the “talk” page of a wiki to discuss content. It documents the conversation (a lot like Moran was talking about) while also helping dissolve the idea that information on the page is set in stone or static.
- Have students create word/phrase collages by going back through their writing (both in and out of class) to pull out things they said that they like. Some of the best class reflections I ever got were after having students do this, because it’s fun but it also requires reading through their old work rather than just skimming it or “doing their best to remember.” They make better connections.
2 thoughts on “Using computers in the classroom”
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I’ve done that with Word before, but I really like using the board for the actual drawing space. Not space to draw (because I can’t), but to draw out connections and relationships. It is a shame we can’t save it, though sometimes students take pictures. I wonder if they ever really go back and look, though. I like your argument that it means you’re not turning your back, though.
Definitely digging on tags as organization for research. That’s interesting. I might try that.
Me too on peer review, not me on Wikis (because it’s never come up but I hope to someday), definitely love word clouds. Used that a lot in teaching CW.
I tend to use both the board and MS Word, depending on what I’m doing, for that exact reason. It’s so hard to use computers for on-the-spot drawing things. …Maybe I should invest in a USB drawing tablet.
I actually used the blog/tag thing with my MA Thesis…not that it’s a stellar example, but I found it super helpful for me: (http://thesisme.dreamwidth.org/)