Online Notetaking

[Eddie Carr]

Over the last year and a half my school has been going under “Modernization“. As a result of the classroom upgrades, I was able to move into a new and very large computer lab classroom in February. Very large compared to the last computer lab which was housed in a portable classroom. In addition to teaching Web Design, HTML, and MS Office I also teach Algebra in this computer lab classroom. During the 2008-09 school year I had the students use the online version of their textbook to begin their homework. I experimented with using the PowerPoint presentations that came with the text during the second semester. Students were still taking notes “the old-fashioned way,” using pencil and paper. Because the classroom is a computer lab the students do not typically face the front of the room when using the computer or taking notes. The computers are facing away from the front of the room. This means the students must turn away from the front of the room to use the desk space to take notes.

I’ve always been concerned with the amount of time it actually takes students to copy down notes and examples into their notebook. In my previous classroom the students had tables in the room to take notes on. During last semester, after moving into the new computer classroom, I noticed that students were constantly turning from the front of the room to look at the projection screen or whiteboard then back to where they were writing their notes. I did not feel that I had the students undivided attention. This may have ...

Read the rest of my blog post at http://mrcarr.edublogs.org/