This is a very recent and "in-progress" topic for me. How to help students see their devices as learning tools is something I am still working on. I am currently teaching 6th grade and this is my first year and the students' first year in using netbooks. We started off just using email and using office to turn in work. Most students were very capable of using the netbook in those 2 capacities. I did however, have several students who did not know how to bookmark sites, download, upload, compose emails, or even to find programs. It took a lot of patience and some peer help for those students. We are still working on a few students whose only exposure to technology is at school.
I try to give students many resources to help them research, show their learning, and practice skills. I will confess that I am still learning. I tell the students everyday that we are learning together. I find programs and they help me try them out and show me things. I let them know that it is okay to try and fail because we learn through those failures...which makes them a success instead.
I do have students who will still turn on their netbooks and go straight to games or social networking. They have to be redirected and we now turn so that I can see all netbooks at all times. I must walk around the room and closely monitor the students. I also found I had to push some of them into it. I signed them up for My Big Campus and just started putting assignments on there and not passing assignments out. It worked with a few and they even keep me trying new things. I wish I had started things differently, but hind sight......
I tried giving explicit instructions for my first project and I discovered that it didn't work for everyone. I am always looking for ways to engage students and help them discover their own ways to present their learning. I find that they love helping each other and can learn a lot from each other. I think that I will probably change the way I use technology 100 more times before the school year is over. I also feel that using technology in any way is better than no way. I am teaching students that we are all always learning and growing and letting them help me!
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