Laptops in the classroom

This week's prompt is, "What are ways you manage the use of laptops in your classroom and what additional best practice ways might you add?"

Laptop (and sometimes desktop) management has been a tricky issue for me, and I know that at times my students have gotten away with all manner of distraction when they were purportedly working for class.

I use laptops for various purposes in biology class. They are used for collecting and analyzing data using data-logging tools and probes. Students rarely get off task during a lab situation. Their time is simply too limited and they won't have access to the data-logging equipment outside of school, so they have a high motivation to finish within the allotted time. Many students are also naturally engaged by the hands-on aspect of experimentation. Of course, I walk through the room to check on student progress, but although they may need assistance they will not be distracted by facebook and so on during a lab.

When the students are working on tutorials or simulations, the temptation to browse other sites is greater. First of all, on numerous occasions the simultaneous loading by 20 students of the same interactive activity has caused slowness either from the school's connection or the server for the site hosting the activity. In either case, the hourglass or spinning wheel will quickly bring many students to open another site. Further, there is less intensity associated with tutorials and simulations - they will almost always be available to the student outside of class (the exception being those that require a log-in and password / paid subscription). In this case, I find that an important management tool is the physical arrangement of the computers. I try to circulate frequently to check on their work and look for extra tabs or minimized screens. I also try to have the students seated in a way that allows me to see most or all screens at a glance.

A third situation that involves laptop use is when a student brings a personal laptop to class for the purposed of note-taking and following along with presentations. At this point, the student must bear much of the burden for appropriate use. Aside from interrupting the class by asking the student to "freeze" or put their "hands up" (as sometimes suggested), it is difficult for me to know what their screen looks like. So far the problem has been small enough that this is almost never necessary. While students may be distracted, they are also able to use the computers in very useful ways. Some annotate powerpoints as we go through them, creating a rich and useful document. Recently we were discussing the benefits and drawbacks of immunizations and one student remembered hearing "something about a cheerleader." Within moments, another student (with a laptop) had accessed the story and was able to provide an excellent example that enlivened and enriched class discussion. (Parenthetically, this story is highly complex and intriguing as is the response to it. Many blogs erroneously state that she had taken the H1N1 shot, when in fact it was for the seasonal flu.) This type of unobtrusive and directed laptop use in the goal, but often I have found it necessary to ask students to keep their screens down (or part way down0 during discussion. It's a hard enough skill to really listen to what someone else is saying without the added distraction of the internet!

One best practice I would like to add is the use of software that monitors active windows for where the student has been throughout class. If this was checked even sometimes, it would be enough for students to change how they consider their screens - from private to public.

Overall, laptops are a tool that should be used when appropriate and put away when not needed.