Comments on: Opportunistic Teaching

By: rebecca

rebecca — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:07:43 +0000

This essay about your kids inspired me. We are all in process — teachers and learners. Seems like the best thing we can do is give each other “opportunities to soar.”

By: Doug Noon

Doug Noon — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:35:04 +0000

Artichoke, I agree with your view, but only if students are indeed using the wordprocessor to write. Poor typing skills, and the distractions afforded by formatting options, plus a myriad of possible file management problems makes the paper and pencil an attractive option for both students and teachers when using the computer is problematic. I’m glad for this comment because it expresses a point of view that I’ve had to rethink to deal with some classroom management problems that have been more common for me this year than they’ve ever been. It’s amazing how much time can be flushed by kids who don’t want to write but are entertained playing with computer features, who can’t find their files, who “accidentally” delete everything they’ve done for an entire class period.

By: Artichoke

Artichoke — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:07:58 +0000

I often think that one of the most compelling reasons for using the wordprocessing facilities of computers with kids is the iterative nature of the text -when they write on paper it is hard to think of what is written in terms other than draft or publishing – but with digital text all is draft – making changes is easy, problems are identified and solved at any stage – student writing is encouraged to evolve.

By: Doug Noon

Doug Noon — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:10:55 +0000

Betty, I’m not “holding back” so much as I’m just too busy to be everywhere at once But it amounts to the same thing, because I have to rely on the kids to make good choices, which, of course, is a good day when it happens.

Hey Paul, You’re another AlphaSmart user! I really like them for simple data entry jobs. They help with writing project management when there’s not a full class set of computers.

By: Paul Schwan

Paul Schwan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:06:36 +0000

I sent my kids off on Spring Break (we have Easter Break at our school) after we spent 2 days this week writing research papers. We scrambled to finish rough drafts on our Alphasmart Neos (alphasmart.com) before we left, so nobody had to work over Break. Alas, many have a bit more to write. Hopefully, they’ll take my advice and finish right away so they can enjoy the rest of their Break without home-work! I share your frustration, trying to squeeze it all into the schedule.