Classroom Observation 1: Without the Laptop

One of the questions that I am going to ask as I look into classrooms is how would the lesson have been different without the laptops.

• The use of first sources was excellent. This could have been done in a regular classroom with a lot of photocopying ahead of time. It could have been better if the students had had to do more than look over one site of first sources. Given the limited timefram of the less I think it was a lesson where the laptops enhanced the lesson but were not the sole factor in getting the lesson done.
• The less was far more enhanced by the teacher's laptop. I think teachers are far more likely to use a variety of engaging relevant resources when those resources are at their fingertips. Starting with a picture, telling a story based from another place, then handing out the notes digitally all spring from the availability of the computer both in the room and when planning.
• Student themselves seemed (although I did not ask) like their computers were a good place to keep organized notes. I am not sure you can under estimate the power of a searchable notebook to keep several students in the game.

Score: Lesson: 0.5, Teacher 1, Student 0.