International+Baccalaureate

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Working with the laptops in the classroom last year (2010-2011) was rewarding but I can agree with many Åva teachers that it is also a distraction for some students. Below I am going to summarize briefly a cross disciplinary teaching year with IB10, and then conclude with the positive/negative aspects of in-class laptop use.

For IB10, Eng A+B and History were cross-taught: that is, topics within the two subjects were interwoven in a manner that allowed us to do much more. We also had a fairly decent schedule, so that on Wednesdays we had what was essentially intensive learning (block läsning). The objectives for English in this class were to do not merely the required EngA np, but also to offer the possibility to do the Eng B np as well. Early in the course, even those students with lesser skills and understanding of the course were eager to attempt this extra challenge. In the end, all students took both np. In History, the goal was to cover the past 500 years of world history (Europe and Americas focus) in overview. In combination with one textbook (seldom opened) and a wide range of websites, news sources, and library work, the students opened new doors to their own learning.

Students in this class carried out a number of media projects, and also, history panel discussions and presentations. Two of particular note were a storyboarding project, pitching their ideas for a new reality TV program, and the completion of their first history research project, very like the History Internal Assessment that is required in IB1. Each of these projects took about 6 weeks to complete, and in the meantime, the more day to day homework in history, language acquisition, writing skills, and np preparation continued apace. In other words, these students became very good multitaskers!

I think that the laptops have had a positive effect on how students integrate knowledge and move it forward to experience. The daily question from my students became not "do I have to do that?" but, instead - "Where will we go today?"

Another benefit, which can be contentious, is that every student has the possibility to produce a nice text´, unimpeded by poor handwriting style. This also translates into an easier time marking for the teacher. On the other hand, using the laptop for all written assignments has a negative effect on the small motor skills needed for writing the IB exams by hand, at the end of year 3 (IB2). This is an open pedagogical issue that will become greater over time, as more and more elementary schools initiate laptop use as earlier as year 1. Will handwriting become a lost art?
 * Pros:** Both teacher and students are active learners, and have the possibility to build new ways and means of teaching and learning. See below about DropBox and other assignment submission ideas.

At the start of the Uno y Unos program, a lack of consideration for how many extension cords would be needed and how irritating it would be with them strung all over the place caused a great deal of irritation to everyone trying to walk along the corridor on floor 2. This was fixed a bit in the corridors, with the addition of extra electrical outlets, but remains a problem in the classroom. It can be tricky not to trip over them, and one extension cord per classroom is insufficient. Weneed "power banks" in the classroom, not jump ropes!
 * Cons:**

Some students, of course, go to gaming sites or social networking sites instead of focussing. But I think that it is getting better with time, and also, if the students and teacher make active deadlines for their work, the students do get the idea that "a deadline is a deadline." Amazing as it might seem, this year the IB10 have become really good with this aspect, and on occasion have asked to shorten the deadline because they can actually work faster with the laptops than they did in the past, working with pen and paper.

Using the computers has also resulted in more lively, and even better informed, discussion about validity of sources, bias in language, history, and politics, and what is acceptable social networking. We cannot roll back time. As teachers, we need to constantly move forward. With the current generation of students, however, they are already a generation ahead of us, because their entire life has been within the postmodern computerized world.

The greatest difficulty with the use of laptops, as I see it, is that the administrative aspects are overwhelming. To cinc use with service in an efficient manner means better on-site service, and that we do not have today. There is an effort toward that aspect, but it is insufficient in a school as large as ours. In addition: teachers must have on-site service! We have no time to walk over to the municipal house with our laptops for service: our schedules don´t allow for it, and we experience substantial down time from our real job: TEACHING.

This year (VT 2012) I started to use Dropbox intensively with my IB10 students, as well as in a limited function with the IB09 (year 3) students. For the IB10, I have initiated shared folders for English LangLit, History, and CAS. For IB09, I set up shared folders for them to deposit their final CAS books and essays; some students have also been asked to put their Extended Essays, World Lit, or Lang A1 self taught material there. The shared files are between me, as the teacher, and the individual student. Within this frame the student can deposit their assignments, and I can comment on them from home or school. I have also found it helpful to have an open Word document in the folders, where I can write comments to the student, and they can pose questions. In this way we have reduced the flood of e mails to less than a third; all documentation stays in a secure location; and there is active learning going on about how to handle files and share information. Dropbox is a "no-brainer" for students. It is easier for them (most of them!) than the alternative of e-mail. And we rarely deal with paper copies of anything.
 * On the use of DropBox**

Cöurse pages found within Portalen have their uses. I place support material there, weblinks, assignments, group lists that the students create in class......photos.....documents.......etc. The limitation of the course pages is linked to the limitations of SchoolPortalen, which is technologically "flat" and not a good creative tool. it will be interesting to see what it is replaced with. In the meantime, the use of an external storage destination (DropBox) is highly necessary, due to space constraints in Portalen.
 * On the use of course pages**

Students will use course pages if they see that they are up to date and that they can influence their appearance. gain - that is not at its peak now, and hopefully a new system will be more hands-on than "hands-off".

Not every student is an adept user of their laptop. As computer studies has now disappeared from the curriculum, I do take the necessary "teachable moments" with my students when it comes to a wider expertise with their laptops. Curriculum design is the most obvious hands-on method of increasing computing skills: build into each assignment a skill set that they can practice in an integrated manner. How a document looks when they are finished is, in today´s world, almost of equal importance with what the content tells the reader/observer.
 * On the range of learners using laptops**

To this end, I rarely accept an assignment that is lacking in at least good finesse: no more unformatted and lonely looking sentences; encourage the creativity necessary to fill at least a page with their ideas......and it remains, that the best way to keep and refine a skill is to teach it to someone else. So I try to get the students to help each other as much as possible.

Obversely, few students feel alienated by the laptop. If they are, it is usually linked to the school e mail or logon logistics.