Effective use of Instructional Computer Programs

Let’s face it; there are more computers in schools today than at any point in history. Each year, schools find more money to put more computers in classrooms. Now, it would be an ideal situation for each student to have access to a personal computer for each class. However, very few schools can afford this option. This means that other schools must have teachers share the computers among themselves.

Using computers for individualized instruction is very powerful. Our district has purchased several different programs over the years to help students get that individual attention they need to succeed in school. Our district recently purchased Destination Math for use in the Math Support classes. This program is designed to get students engaged while providing them with additional instruction to fill in weak areas.

In my experience, students love the computer program at first, but after a while, it starts to get boring. Some of the features of the program get repetitive. Students get tired of hearing the same voice over and over again. Eventually, if the students are exposed to a computer program too much, then they start to lose interest and eventually become disengaged. This is why teachers must not rely solely on computer programs to provide instruction.

While students are working on the computer, I walk around the room to monitor where they are in the lesson. I could do this by sitting at a desk and pulling regular reports or use live monitoring software. However, I choose to walk around the classroom. The students need to see me walk around so that they feel they can ask me questions. If I see a student struggling with a concept, I will go that student and provide direct instruction. I would also pull a group of students having the same issue and go over that concept with them so that they can get it. This prevents them from having to repeat the same skill over and over again on the computer just because they don’t understand the concept.

After the students become accustomed to the computer program, the teacher can allow them to use other Math resources to provide additional help or enrichment. For example, a teacher could allow a student to access a math video to better understand centers of triangles. A teacher could have some students work on a real world situation using Geometer’s Sketchpad. Having computers in the classroom naturally opens the door to differentiated instruction. The students are learning, and they are engaged in their tasks.

In conclusion, computers are a great tool in the 21st century classroom, but computers cannot be used as the sole source of instruction.

Resources

Destination Math: http://www.hmlt.hmco.com/DM.php

Impero: http://imperosoftware.com/

Geometer’s Sketchpad: http://www.dynamicgeometry.com/