Thoughts on Laptops

Yesterday I was in a classroom that had a COW (Computers On Wheels) to do a lesson on Keyboarding. Something happened that happens pretty often when classes that I have been working with try to do a lesson with everyone on laptops. A bunch of kids cannot get on and it took about 20 minutes before we ditched the lesson because there were only 10 minutes left. Plan B was practice on putting their hands on the home row several times with their eyes closed with no typing. 

I have observed this type of thing often with laptops. I like laptops in the classroom and it seems better than a lab to me, but it is always time consuming passing them out and putting them back. They seem much better suited to be available when needed for a small group or individuals. As a teacher you can then say to the students to get a laptop and let them switch if the one they get was not plugged in or is not working for some reason. 

I wonder about the experiences of other people. Have you had success using the laptops on a cart with the whole class? What tricks do I need to learn to make it work more smoothly?

Here are a few links to what others have said:
http://edtechie.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/managing-laptops-and-carts-in-the-classroom/ - This one is from New York. He includes links at the bottom to others.

http://it.seattleschools.org/blog/schools/laptopcarts/ - Concentrates on management issues (ie. how to sign the cart out, etc)

http://blog.classroomteacher.ca/841/pros-and-cons-of-having-a-class-of-laptops/
This is the best one and the most current. It talks about the pros and cons of having laptops in the classroom.

Promethean Boards

For the last few months I have been working with University of Texas Elementary school as a substitute Tech Teacher. I came from a school with SMARTBoards, but they have Promethean Boards. I never thought Promethean Boards could compare with SMARTBoards, but they are actually very interesting. One reason I didn't like them is that you cannot just write on them with your finger, you have to have one of their pens. They actually have a lot of really great features. 

Switching to the Promethean Board has not been easy. It can do many of the same things as the SMARTBoard, but in different ways. 

This morning I came across this blog from a teacher who uses a Promethean Board and she is having a contest. Here is the link. I am going to explore this blog and see what I can learn.

http://teachingmycalling.blogspot.com/2012/01/100-followersgiveaway.html