MathsClass

Asking Yr 9 about laptops

Thursday, 23 July 2009 | 8 Comments

As part of the last lesson with my Year 9 class in Term 2, I asked them to write me an email expressing their thoughts about getting their own laptop in Term 3.

I tried to prompt their thinking with a couple of fairly generic questions, e.g. how do you think a laptop should be used in Maths? Before getting them to answer, I showed them my teacher laptop and some of the software on the machines.

Here are some of the responses (spelling/grammar as received):

• i think we should play maths games and use math programs with these laptops and sometimes draw things and stuff
• I think we should do all our Math work on them.
• want msn and no books for maths
• i dont get this, why are we having laptops if we might not even be using them in all our clasess??..... btw do we still have to bring our calculators and books and pen?
• we should use stuff on the internet like math games and work sheets we could also write our notes on them we could do EVERY thing on them i dont think it will be different cause we will just be using tech instead of paper and i think it will help us more in the tests and understand it a bit more
• I strongly suggest that you talk to the big boss and tell him/her to allow Windows Live Messenger to be installed on our computers :D. I also think that these laptops are very good 😊. I think that this will take the old ways of learning maths to the extreme and it will be the greatest acheivement known to the modern human being since the dawn of time. It will take our old ways of learning to a new beyond and people will appricate it greatly.
• i think we should use the laptops for drawing maths stuff, and excercises but only fun stuff we should also be allowed to install msn
• i reakon in maths we should use the laptops every lesson because it would get confusin if we had to bring our books aswell and in maths we would be able to measure up stuff and we wouldnt even need a calculator so that makes it so u dont have to hand them out and that sometimes we can talk to each other on msn
• I think these laptops should be used for fun things that will help us with our tests. Something fun that will make us remember everything!
• i think cos we are getting laptops we can throw away our nasty school books. whats the point of having a school laptop if we dont use them more then books SAVE THE TREES DUDE !
• so we have to get a laptop? if so why do we have to bring it everyday when we might not even use it ?

• although these laptops are coming we should not do every lesson with them but every 2 or 3. if we did every lesson it would be mind boggeling.

Obviously, they’d like MSN Messenger installed. Beyond that, generally I don’t get the sense that my students are particularly savvy when it comes to using technology for education. BTW, I did answer some of their questions and clear up some of their expectations (e.g. bringing books).

Have you asked your student’s about their expectations?

• ← Using GeoGebra
• Student Expectations with Laptops →

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