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| Computer matters |
| Teacher's computer skills | Although the
English teacher is not supposed to be an expert in computer science,
when he deals with a project that involves the use of software he
should at least be familiar with it.
His skills should be good enough to know what is going on in the computer lab. If he feels that he can't face critical problems, he should secure the presence of somebody that can help out (another teacher or the lab's technical assistant). He should also be aware of what he can do and of his limits. The most dreadful situation is when, all of a sudden, everything in the computer lab comes to a halt and after meddling around hopelessly for half an hour you realize that things are simply not going to work.
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| Managing students' computer work | Exploit
whatever computer skills the students may have, but avoid the
"computer frenzy". The teacher should be able to tell the reliable students from
those that just pretend they know (these are the ones that mostly tend to waste precious
time).
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| Resources | Don't forget: to
err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.
This is not just a paradox, unfortunately it can happen. So, make sure
that the equipment and the network in the lab is in order. Computer labs
in schools are often in a mess, unless you have proper personnel that
takes care of it.
Recommend students to store away their works in files and make sure they know where those files are. A very common problem is that some precious work often can't be found, and usually when you most need it. Make sure all the peripherals you need are available (printer, scanner, an so on). In some cases it saves time to ask some students to prepare part of the computer work at home: they often have better equipment and can work more effectively if they are on their own.
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