A Classroom Situation Using Technology

One recent classroom situation for me where technology was used to help students learn was in an elementary school library. I’m in a weekly class of 27 third graders, assisting a special needs student. I wasn’t the targeted learner in this situation, but as an aide, I need to pay attention and follow along so I can help any student who has questions.

The librarian assigned partnered students a U.S. state, and the students had to use three different reference sources (also assigned) to answer specific questions about their state. The sources were: a database called “America the Beautiful,” accessed via bcps.org; the World Book Encyclopedia; and their state book in a series called From Sea to Shining Sea. The assignment is actually ongoing. It’s supposed to last three weeks, with students rotating among the three reference sources.

Other than the books, the technologies used were PCs (four for students and one for the librarian) and a LCD projector for the librarian. The technologies were integrated in that they were used to demonstrate how to find the answers to the questions. With student helpers, the librarian briefly showed the class how to find the encyclopedia volume they needed for their state and how to use the contents page of a state book. She spent the most time demonstrating with her PC and the projector how to locate “America the Beautiful” and how she expected the students to navigate the site to find the required information.

Because there were three reference stations and multi-step directions, the students immediately had many questions. For example, they directly recorded their answers on a worksheet and had to cite each source. But the librarian hadn’t given examples of how to cite any of the sources, so there was a lot of calling out like, “Who is the author of an encyclopedia?” and “What’s a copyright date?” and “Do I have to write the whole name of the site?”

Using the available technologies was a worthwhile way to model the type of searches to the entire class at once, particularly on the big screen. But the execution by the students didn’t work so well, especially on the computers. Since there were so few (4) computers, only four pairs of students could use them at a time. Because these were third graders, there was the added problem of who gets to use the keyboard first, and taking turns in general. For third graders, using the computers at school is very exciting except when you have to actually share them. Also, there were six steps to reach the database, and the students don’t recall the steps during a single instruction period, much less over the course of three weeks. I also noticed that students using the computers were finished sooner than students using the print sources, and they started going to other sites and looking for games. (Definitely not part of the directions!) Integrating technology in this situation was a good idea, but the execution is important to get right.

Lastly, while I’m glad the students are learning about various reference sources, the assignment didn’t relate to anything else they’re working on in other subjects. The geography and mapping unit had already come and gone, and I think it would’ve been more meaningful if the state project had been collaborative or timed in some way with the Social Studies unit. In an ideal world…