Tragedy of the Commons? Pre-emptive “just-in-case” booking far in advance to ensure you won’t miss out A few observations: don’t always show up and then don’t cancel booking unnecessary indiscriminate bookings made before detailed lesson planning took place bookings where only a few of the students actually end up using the computers inefficient use – students searching for images, just using Google or even waiting for inspiration…

Tragedy of the Commons? Pre-emptive “just-in-case” booking far in advance to ensure you won’t miss out

A few observations:

don’t always show up and then don’t cancel booking

unnecessary indiscriminate bookings made before detailed lesson planning took place

bookings where only a few of the students actually end up using the computers

inefficient use – students searching for images, just using Google or even waiting for inspiration…

Get more labs? No more rooms for labs Get movable labs (i.e. roaming laptop carts) This will likely happen over time Expensive, though, so not an immediate solution Improve use of existing resources to cut out wasted time … and while we’re at it, why not also improve effectiveness (=educational impact) of lab time?

Get more labs?

No more rooms for labs

Get movable labs (i.e. roaming laptop carts)

This will likely happen over time

Expensive, though, so not an immediate solution

Improve use of existing resources to cut out wasted time

… and while we’re at it, why not also improve effectiveness (=educational impact) of lab time?

No bulk booking! Only book when you know you’ll need it Cancel booking if you know you won’t use it Indicate in booking: # of computers that will be used description of activity indicate exact time-span (e.g. 10:25 – 11:10) Consider which parts need to take place in lab and which can be done in classroom or at home (e.g. brainstorming, drafting, finding images…)

No bulk booking! Only book when you know you’ll need it

Cancel booking if you know you won’t use it

Indicate in booking:

# of computers that will be used

description of activity

indicate exact time-span (e.g. 10:25 – 11:10)

Consider which parts need to take place in lab and which can be done in classroom or at home (e.g. brainstorming, drafting, finding images…)

For example: Videos - quality, not quantity!!! We don’t set 20 page minimum length for essays – who wants to mark 400 pages of rushed drivel??? Likewise, don’t tell kids to make 10-minute videos too long to make poor end result Instead, set max length and clear objectives every second of video will have been carefully edited and considered in terms of relevance and quality Much of the work to be done not in lab  prior planning to determine when lab is necessary

For example: Videos - quality, not quantity!!!

We don’t set 20 page minimum length for essays – who wants to mark 400 pages of rushed drivel???

Likewise, don’t tell kids to make 10-minute videos

too long to make

poor end result

Instead, set max length and clear objectives

every second of video will have been carefully edited and considered in terms of relevance and quality

Much of the work to be done not in lab  prior planning to determine when lab is necessary

Field trip: teach map-reading skills before sending kids out to navigate unfamiliar town All teachers sending kids on the web should know and teach students how to do proper web searching Google is a popularity contest – SEOs (Search Engine Optimizers) ensure you usually won’t find the sites that are actually most relevant Save time: give kids a list of pre-screened sites, or better yet: make a customized search engine for those sites: http://www.google.com/coop/

Field trip: teach map-reading skills before sending kids out to navigate unfamiliar town

All teachers sending kids on the web should know and teach students how to do proper web searching

Google is a popularity contest – SEOs (Search Engine Optimizers) ensure you usually won’t find the sites that are actually most relevant

Save time: give kids a list of pre-screened sites, or better yet: make a customized search engine for those sites: http://www.google.com/coop/