Data Collection Guidelines

Internet Access in the Classroom

Having Internet access in the classroom is always the best scenario but in most cases you will only have access to between three and six computers (and less) in the room. Here are some suggestions on how to effectively use this small number of computers.

• Group Work - By creating cooperative student groups you can rotate them between various learning centers, one of which would be the computers and Internet. This means that you will need to develop learning centers for the students who are not at the computers. It is useful to use the learning centers to develop the necessary skills students may need later on in the project. For example, if students will need to calculate the speed of a ship then one of the learning centers could be focused on developing an understanding of how to determine the speed of an object. Another suggestion is to rotate students once a day through the learning centers rather than trying to rotate them through in one class period. This will give them more time on task and will allow them to complete all of the necessary work before moving on.
  
• Projection System - There are a range of devices which will allow you to project the output from a computer screen onto a wall or TV set. This will allow you to share Internet sites and data with large groups or the entire class.
  
• Periodic Data Collection - When large amounts of data need to be collected or when many students need to collect their own data it can be useful to spread the work out over long periods of time. This can be accomplished by assigning students to the data collection job each day and then having them do their work during down time or at the start or end of class. If you are going to use this technique be sure to plan for it far in advance since you may have to collect data for awhile before actually needing to use it in the project.