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MUNCIE, Ind. - Fifth-grade students at Burris Laboratory School on the campus of Ball State University explore the bounds of technology while they trace the epic journey of Lewis and Clark.
Burris gave Sandra Murray's class 20 Macintosh iBooks and access to the university's wireless network for one year. As part of the initiative, Ball State doctoral student Steve Ransom is observing Murray and her students and noting how computers impact lesson plans and change Murray's teaching.
Through this experiment, Murray said she discovered that the laptops were effective learning tools.
"I think if teachers allowed their students to use laptops full time, teachers would dramatically change the way they teach," Murray said, pointing to her students. "Look at them working. I'm acting more as a coach than a teacher."
As soon as the students walk into the classroom, they grab their computers and begin working on their afternoon assignment with little instruction from Murray. They dig into their current project, researching Lewis and Clark.
By logging on to Web sites like www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark and www.pbs.org/lewisandclark, the students pore over actual journal entries made by the pioneering pair, view maps or watch videos.
For the Lewis and Clark project, the class divided into botanists, zoologists, Indian agents and topographers. Mining the Web, each group fills their own journals with facts on plants, animals, tribes and maps.
"Using the laptops to find stuff is easy and exciting," said Abe Underhill, student in the botanist group. "Looking through encyclopedias is boring because you only find what you're looking for. When you're doing a computer search, you find so much more."
Some students like Underhill search the Internet and then log their finds in a paper notebook. Other students like fellow botanist Willie Calvin keep electronic journals.
"It's just more comfortable for me to keep mine on my computer," Calvin said. "When I find photos, I can copy them and label them in my journal."
Taylor Unroe and Arin Phillips, Indian agents, like the PBS Web site to learn of the many tribes Lewis and Clark encountered.
"We've learned about many tribes we've never heard of," Unroe said. "I like the peaceful tribes like the Clatsop Indians."
Murray praises the long-term laptop experiment and looks forward to making them a permanent addition to her classroom. Daily use of the laptops has improved Murray's computer proficiency, thus making the technology more effective, she said.
"We could read out of textbooks and lecture about the expedition, but this way they are learning so much more," Murray said. "Excerpts from journals, maps, videos - there's no other way I could have brought this all together. They'll remember this project for a long time.
(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Murray at (765) 285-1131 or smurray@bsu.edu. A print-quality photo is available to download at www.bsu.edu/photoservices. Log on and follow the instructions.)
By Layne Cameron, Media Relations ManagerBurris gave Sandra Murray's class 20 Macintosh iBooks and access to the university's wireless network for one year. As part of the initiative, Ball State doctoral student Steve Ransom is observing Murray and her students and noting how computers impact lesson plans and change Murray's teaching.
Through this experiment, Murray said she discovered that the laptops were effective learning tools.
"I think if teachers allowed their students to use laptops full time, teachers would dramatically change the way they teach," Murray said, pointing to her students. "Look at them working. I'm acting more as a coach than a teacher."
As soon as the students walk into the classroom, they grab their computers and begin working on their afternoon assignment with little instruction from Murray. They dig into their current project, researching Lewis and Clark.
By logging on to Web sites like www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark and www.pbs.org/lewisandclark, the students pore over actual journal entries made by the pioneering pair, view maps or watch videos.
For the Lewis and Clark project, the class divided into botanists, zoologists, Indian agents and topographers. Mining the Web, each group fills their own journals with facts on plants, animals, tribes and maps.
"Using the laptops to find stuff is easy and exciting," said Abe Underhill, student in the botanist group. "Looking through encyclopedias is boring because you only find what you're looking for. When you're doing a computer search, you find so much more."
Some students like Underhill search the Internet and then log their finds in a paper notebook. Other students like fellow botanist Willie Calvin keep electronic journals.
"It's just more comfortable for me to keep mine on my computer," Calvin said. "When I find photos, I can copy them and label them in my journal."
Taylor Unroe and Arin Phillips, Indian agents, like the PBS Web site to learn of the many tribes Lewis and Clark encountered.
"We've learned about many tribes we've never heard of," Unroe said. "I like the peaceful tribes like the Clatsop Indians."
Murray praises the long-term laptop experiment and looks forward to making them a permanent addition to her classroom. Daily use of the laptops has improved Murray's computer proficiency, thus making the technology more effective, she said.
"We could read out of textbooks and lecture about the expedition, but this way they are learning so much more," Murray said. "Excerpts from journals, maps, videos - there's no other way I could have brought this all together. They'll remember this project for a long time.
(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Murray at (765) 285-1131 or smurray@bsu.edu. A print-quality photo is available to download at www.bsu.edu/photoservices. Log on and follow the instructions.)
