How we can make the most out of laptop classes
Being a Student in one of my high school’s first laptop classes was a fantastic experience. But for laptop classes to work properly, there are some things to look out for.
Last summer, I graduated from my Swiss high school. After four years of using my laptop as the tool for my education, I can say with confidence, I know quite a bit about laptop classes and what it takes to make them work.
Know your hardware
First of all, being in a laptop class is great if you are into tech like I am. If you know how to use the technology standing right in front of you, on your desk, makes learning it a lot easier. But knowing your hardware is also crucial for a teacher. It is essential to know how to handle your laptop and peripherals like a whiteboard. For students, knowing how to get the most out of your device makes learning much more fun. I’ve seen numerous people, teachers and students, having problems with their hardware and hence not benefitting that much form it. If you don’t know how to utilize your device purposefully, you’re already lacking some basic functionality and benefits a laptop will give you.
Touch typing is also crucial. Students need to be able to type without looking at the keyboard, or they are at a considerable disadvantage. Being in a laptop class loses a lot of advantages when a student can’t type without looking at the keyboard. If it takes him/her longer to write something down digitally, then it takes him to write that down on paper, he/she is better off writing on paper.
Luckily though in Switzerland, touch typing is part of the curriculum in secondary school, so most of the students are decent touch typers.
Know your software
This is important for teachers and students alike. Knowing the programs you use in class is essential for a successful laptop class. Our most used software was Microsoft OneNote. It served as a file transferring application, a class notebook and much more.
For teachers, knowing how to use the main software properly is a must. We’ve had teachers who didn’t know how to work with OneNote, and their class notebooks quickly became a mess.
“Familiarise yourself with whatever software you have to use. It let’s you focus on the important things of a lesson”
As a student, knowing how to find your way around the most used programs, even if you aren’t into tech, is also crucial. It allows you to do tasks more efficiently and more interactive. If you have to ask every time you want to do something, like add a link to your notes, you’ll quickly get annoyed with working with your laptop.
So my advice is, to familiarise yourself with whatever software you have to use. Whether you’re a student or a teacher, knowing your program allows you to focus on the essential things in a lesson rather than stumbling over technical issues every five minutes.
Take advantage of the device in front of you
I can not stress this enough. Whether you’re a student taking notes or a teacher trying to get information across, use the laptops! Creating a Kahoot or a Quizlet quiz doesn’t require lots of time, yet makes the lessons so much more interactive.
As a student, utilizing your laptop as a powerful note-taking tool, which allows you to insert links to helpful websites, videos or even other documents, takes your notes to a whole new level.
I used a Surface Pro 3 for most of my time in high school, and except for some smaller issues with windows 10, it was terrific. Being able to draw something and then type again in an instant feels magnificent.
It makes the whole process of learning something way more fun and more accessible. Instead of crunching through pages and pages of unreadable notes, you have them right at your fingertips.
Teachers, especially the ones who were teaching the more “boring” subjects like maths and physics, can really benefit from the technology. Using GeoGebra to visualize functions can be so helpful to bring the information across.
Unfortunately, not all of our teachers integrated the laptops into their lessons. Most of them saw the devices just as another way of taking notes and not a new tool to educate.
Provide the infrastructure
Having the infrastructure to support laptop classes is essential. In my senior year, there were about 500 students and 60 teachers at our high school. Every one of those people carried around their laptops because every year after my year consisted of laptop classes. It is indispensable to have the proper infrastructure for this kind of education.
Providing reliable wifi is a must. In our first years, there were several occasions where the wifi wouldn’t work, and we would have to give ourselves a hot spot. That shouldn’t happen because it sacrifices a lot of quality during the lessons.
Additionally, there should be enough power outlets. When a school day can go all the way from 7.20 am to 5.45 pm with a 20-minute lunch break, some student’s laptops will inevitably run out of battery. There must be a possibility to charge these devices while in class. Otherwise, the advantages of the laptop class fall short.
Verdict
Laptop classes are great. They should be integrated into the education system. But for them to reach their full potential, teachers and students must know what they’re working with. Otherwise, there will be problems which severely limit the success of laptop classes. However, I’m confident that more and more schools will adapt to laptop classes, and given some time, educating and learning with laptops will be a better experience for teachers and students.
Stay safe, stay kind and stay health out there
Raffael
