b.
Managing Learning in the Classroom
We
have touched on the question of the practicalities of using ICT
in the classroom, and the technical question of whether you will
have everything on the computer you need. The next question is
how to manage the people, the space and the equipment/resources
in a way that maximises learning.
In
this case study the teacher has insufficient access to computers
to enable the students to have one computer each. Since students
will be sharing computers the teacher is keen that students of
similar ability are grouped together. This is to try and ensure
that she is able to support the students who most need it. This
is one for discussion with your mentor - how will you sit students
when you have a space where all students are using ICT, and how
will you arrange them when resources are more limited so that
only some can use ICT.
The next question is how to deal with the peaks and troughs of
intervention, and how to ensure that reasonably equal progress
is being made across the whole class. The teacher can intervene
quickly with students who fail to obtain the 'correct' response
from the spreadsheet in this case study, but you will need to
decide what is best for you - another discussion point with colleagues
and your mentor.
Finally,
you have to face the question of what happens when one, some or
all of your ICT facilities give up the ghost. Here you must imagine
the worst happening and ensure that you are prepared for it, and
you must do this without making so much work for yourself that
the efficiency saving of using ICT is lost.
When
using the spreadsheet templates the teacher monitored each student's
work to ensure that they were entering formulas and not just entering
values. The teacher suggested that students wrote out the formula
prior to entering it into the spreadsheet and expected print outs
of formulae for assessment. Throughout the unit the teacher intervened
to reinforce the strategies for solving multiple operation functions.
In
summary you have four issues to consider in managing learning:
-
The mixing of abilities when you set pair or group work.
- The
arrangement of people in the room, including yourself.
- Keeping
on top of intervention, and ensuring that all students get equal
attention.
- Managing
a room full of students waiting to use ICT when the power fails.
As
you are going through the process of planning and using ICT in
this and the other case studies, your mentor will advise you on
these matters.
 c.
Helping Learners Develop their own IT Capabilities
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