Foreign body or motivator?
First encounters with a Computer in the classroom
by Veronica Crowley,
Coolderry Central N.S., Birr, Co. Otfaly
On beginning work with First and Second class in Coolderry Central N.S. in January 1992, my initial fears and inhibitions were not the usual ones at the thought of facing a new class, but rather at the thought of a certain foreign body lurking at the back of the classroom; the computer! The pupils previous experience of, and eagerness to resume work with the computer only heightened my trepidation. With absolutely no background or experience with computers, I had led myself to believe that computer-based work was beyond my capabilities.
Enthusiasm
However, the pupils' enthusiasm soon led me to grapple with the foreign
body (an Apple Macintosh). With help from the principal and some pupils
from the senior classes, I quickly acquired the basic operating skills.
We decided to produce a Peoples Of The World book, which would incorporate
some of our work in Social and Environmental Studies. All the research,
writing, and correcting, was done in class time. Pupils wrote their own
stories (with occasional help) and each pupil then printed out hislher
own favourite. The red indian was by far the most popular!
Motivator
The ease with which the computer fitted into the work surprised me. In
particular I found that:
¥ A computer like the Apple Macintosh does not take up hours of valuable teaching time; once pupils have acquired the basic keyboard/mouse skills, they can work independently at the computer
¥ the computer provided great support in teaching the topic
¥ pupils experienced an approach to learning that was enjoyable as well as rewarding
¥ the computer was a powerful motivator; all pupils were very proud of their work and the weakest pupil was on the same level as the brightest _______________________________