The Use of Computers by Teachers in the Classroom
Innovative educators are harnessing the power of technology and putting it to good use in their classrooms. Video can be used to help students retain more information. Simple spreadsheet software can be used to automatically calculate grades and attendance. A class website keeps the channels of communication open between teachers, parents, and students. And a game like classroom Jeopardy can be tailored to any grade level, in any subject. With a little time and planning, teachers can integrate technology into their classrooms in meaningful ways.
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Class Website
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One way for teachers to incorporate computers into their classrooms is by creating a class website. There are several companies that host these sites for free, such as Scholastic, TeacherWeb, and EducatorPages. A class website allows teachers to communicate with both students and their parents. Lots of information can be presented in this way: homework, project descriptions and due dates, test and quiz dates, and information about parent-teacher conferences. Teachers can make sure that their students know all about their work before it's due, and parents can help their children manage deadlines, prepare for tests, and contact the teacher with any questions they might have.
Video
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Video is a wonderful resource that can be used to complement textbooks in many different subject areas. A study by the National Teacher Training Institute has shown that using video in the classroom helps students retain more material and challenging concepts. With a computer and projector in the classroom, students studying World War II can view clips from PBS to "bring to life" a time that may seem quite distant to them. With YouTube, art students can take virtual tours of museums that they aren't able to visit in person. And schools that lack the funds for dissection labs can show their students videos of dissection online. There are countless videos available for classroom use.
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Classrom Jeopardy
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One way to improve students' retention rate is to make learning fun. With a computer and software such as PowerPoint, Google Docs, or Keynote, teachers can make a custom, educational version of Jeopardy that is tailored to whatever topic is being taught. Colored text boxes are used to represent both the category and the dollar amount. Adding a link to those text boxes takes the user to the question. Divide the class into teams, and keep track of each team's earnings on the blackboard. The winning team can get a prize, such as a homework pass, or extra time on the class computer.
Gradebook and Attendance
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Teachers can also use a computer to help them organize the administrative aspects of classroom management. With spreadsheet software (such as Excel, Numbers, Google Docs, or Open Office), teachers can keep track of their students' grades and attendance. To manage your gradebook, make a new workbook for every subject you teach. Put students' names in the column on the left and the name of each exam in the top row. Enter the corresponding grades into each cell. You can even use the addition feature to automatically calculate your students' averages. To keep attendance, put students' names in the column on the left and and the dates in the first row. Place an "x" in the cells that correspond to a student's absence.
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