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on computers in the classroom



Last week there was a discussion going briefly about the use of computers in
the physics classroom (not just laboratory use, that is). That discussion
ended with a question directed to me about the fraction of time I used
computers in class, and whether the computer use could just as easily be move
to time outside of class. I did not have time to write a complete answer until
now.

First, let me call everyone's attention to several sections in last Monday's
Wall Street Journal (3/12) about the wired campus and wired classroom. While
many of the stories are about distance learning (not relevant to this
discussion) there is a good story on how some schools are using the wired
classroom with universally available laptops. See page R-25.

I was asked to estimate what fraction of the time I had students using
computers during class. That's a hard number to come up with, but I'll hazard
a guess at about 25%, possibly more. The reason it is hard to estimate is that
I don't think we're really aware of how much the computer is used. What
fraction of time in class are you using a pencil? Once a computer becomes
another tool used in class, you don't really think of it as special.

Could the computer exercises be moved to homework time, thus rendering it
unnecessary to have computers in the classroom? No. I used the computers
during collaborative learning activities, so by definition the computers must
be present in the classroom. For example, when I introduced the idea of least
squares fitting (this was in an integrated physics/calculus/engineering
course) I made an Excel spreadsheet available to students. The created a data
set that was more or less linear--all used that data set. The spreadsheet
allowed them to type in the data and see a graph. They could then enter the
slope and intercept of a line, which would be plotted with the data. The
spreadsheet also calculated the residual. (Note that the meaning of the
residual is immediately obvious to students--a line not passing very closely
to the points generates a large residual, while a better fit generates a
smaller residual.) The students worked in groups to adjust the slope and
intercept to get the smallest possible residual. In doing so they quickly
learned what it meant to get a good fit; the group work made sure that
everyone participated. A competition quickly developed, and groups wrote their
best residual on the whiteboards the surrounded the room. I then did a least
squares fit, and wrote down my fit parameters and residual, which was of
course better than anything that they got. THAT got their attention! At that
point the calculus instructor jumped in to talk about minimization and
developing a least-squares fitting routine.

The point of this wordy description is to show that using the computer IN
class you can motivate and involve students in ways that are difficult to
match without computers. Having the computers networked is a necessary part of
things so that information can be shared.

Types of in-class activities include simulations, spreadsheet calculations,
Maple (I did teach with a mathematician, remember), MBL (microcomputer based
labs--my classroom was also a laboratory), video analysis. The network can
also be used to deliver classroom materials. Once I had a wired classroom, I
stopped Xeroxing entirely. I placed all materials on a course web site, so
that materials were available not only in class, but everywhere and any time.

Of course, not all things that go on in class require a computer, and so you
need to be prepared to direct student attention away from the computers when
appropriate. That is easily done by using closing the laptops, or turning off
monitors. If that seems too drastic, you can do a lot to keep students from
non-class related surfing or emailing by arranging the physical space
properly. You (the instructor) should be able to see most of the computer
screens while standing near a whiteboard to speak. If all you see is the backs
of the computer screens or monitors, you can't see what the student is doing.
Simply knowing that the instructor can see the screen will discourage most
inappropriate activities. Note that a standard lecture-hall layout, with seats
facing a lectern, is the worst possible layout for a classroom with computers.

Speaking of networking, several of you talk of plans to wire classrooms,
providing a network connection at each seat. Don't do it. Go wireless. The
model of a classroom with network outlets at each seat is already obsolete. In
the last month I've done MBL workshops at several different schools with
wireless networking for their laptops. It was wonderful to be able to move
around without trailing wires. In one case, a scheduling conflict made it
necessary to work on tables in the library, which is usually a rotten
environment for doing science labs. No electrical outlets, no network wiring,
but no problem. We ran on batteries and still had full network access.

In fact, wireless networking has gotten so cheap that I recently choose to use
it at home in order to share an internet connection from my computer to my
wife's computer. Running cables several floors was going to be a hassle, so we
went wireless. Slick.

--JEG
__________________________________

John E. Gastineau john@gastineau.org
USA http://gastineau.org