Reading at the Computer

• For non-readers, have several classroom 'experts' available. Select 3-4 students and 'inservice them' during a morning recess. Have them practice the program and/or complete the project during the next couple of recesses. Then intro the computer project & experts to the class and let 'em go!
• Not enough computers for all students in a small group of 4-5 during your Reading Center time? Rename this center as The Technology Center instead and you've opened up a whole new vista. You can have 2 students on each computer, and the 'leftovers' can use a cassette player with headphones & an audio story, the overhead projector to draw a response to their reading on transparencies, or a 'movie theater' by placing 2-3 chairs in front of the tv/vcr and turning the sound low. If you have a tv/vcr on a cart, turn it to face the wall with chairs facing into the room in front of it for less distraction for the rest of the class.

Supervision

• I learned long ago just how important location is to computers. Keep the monitor perpendicular to windows – the sun can wipe out your monitor’s images, or can make your students squint into the light. Of course, water and electronics don’t mix, so keep away from the drinking fountain/sink area, and make sure your students know that magnets are not friends to your computer.
• Keep your computers out of major walkways – the cords have a tendency to jump out and grab passing students. Plan for sufficient space to have a small group of students around the computer for teaching purposes.
• You should be able to see your computer monitors from wherever you happen to be perched for your direct instruction groups. You know how to use your teacher eyes and ears when you are busy with one group and other groups are on their own. Obviously, if the busy buzz of kids on computers suddenly gets loud with laughter or very whispery quiet, it’s a good time to take a peek at the screen.
• For upper grades, having a log (a sheet of lined paper on a clipboard or a small notebook) is a good idea. Students can sign in with name, date, time, and software program, URL, or project title when they sit down to work. They can end with a short sentence or two about what they’ve done during their computer time, something neat they’ve learned, what their plans for their next session are, their problems or successes.
• An extension of the log idea is to have a clipboard/notebook for each computer in your room for reporting tech problems (include the date, time, program/URL, what was done just before the problem occurred, and what the exact problem was). This would easily allow you to look for patterns to computer problems