Armchair Teaching?

Let's make this clear from the start: I do not advocate or support armchair teaching.  However, if used effectively, classroom management software can add an extra dimension to the whole teaching and learning experience.


OK, first and foremost, staff get all excited when they can 'see' their students' screens (as thumbnails on their own monitor).


"Do they know I can see them?"
"Not yet," I whisper.


So, from our 'armchair', we spend a minute or so 'looking at the students'.
"Er, Khalid," the teacher leans over and addresses a firm comment to a student towards the back.  "I said you weren't allowed to use the internet today."


Bingo!  Armchair use #1.


Then I go for the 'Do you have any students who can take a joke?' routine.  We pick one and we assume control of his machine, from the comfort and distance of our own.  He's drafting some text ... so we add our own comments, 'Hello.  What's your name?'


He stops.  He looks up and scans left and right.
Being the mature educators we are, we quietly snigger.  And then add more comments, of course.  'I'm waiting...'


Confusion.  He leans back a little, turns his head a little towards his teacher (but leaving his eyes on the screen).


'Miss.  Someone's on my computer!'


We quickly tell him what's happened.  Then suddenly, the whole class is excited and approach the teacher's machine.  Interestingly, there's not even the slightest hint of 'Hmmph, you can see my screen' (after all, an active teacher can do that anyway!) but more of a state of bewilderment, enquiry, fascination.


Classroom Management Software (as a real tool)
This isn't a tutorial, nor is it exhaustive, so I'll cut to the chase of some of these features:

• Web Limiting - Yes, while we all want to encourage resilience, autonomy and enquiry, sometimes students get distracted.  Prepare (and save if you like) your own list of allowed sites or blocked sites.  Save these if you're going through the same topics across a range of classes as others can load the list from a shared areas.  And, since students can only choose from your list, there's no chance for spelling mistakes (unless it's your mistake), students are up and running sooner
• Application limiting - prepare (and save if you like) your own list of allowed applications or blocked applications .  Also good if you're going through the same topics across a range of classes.  Don't want kids on the web?  Then don't put iexplore.exe in your allowed list then (or whatever your browser is)
• Launch applications for students - got a (young) class that can't find application A, B or C? Launch it for them and get them going sooner
• Co-browse the Internet - Don't want to limit browsing but want to get students going?  Where you go is where they go
• Vote - Want quick feedback (e.g. rate my lesson)?  Get a quick vote on the go
• Tests - create and save on-line tests.  Save and export the results
• Teacher Demo - Broadcast your screen onto all (or selected) other student screens
• Student Demo - Broadcast a student's screen onto all others.  "Great work, Lucy.  Let's show the whole class" or "Let's see how else that can be done.  Over to you, David"
• Remote control - if you don't want to get up, help a student from your machine
• Log off - tired of having to walk around the class, at the end of lesson, to see who's not logged off?  Log off all the stragglers from your machine

There's more, I'm sure.  Anyway...


Why did I select LANSchool over the others?
As a choice for St Christopher's School, Bahrain, I selected LANSchool as our preferred classroom management tool.  If you're still looking for your own school solution, other options include AB Tutor and Net Op.  Yes, there are more, but I only looked at these.


The problem with all this software is ... they're all pretty good at doing the same core set of tasks.  The balance was tipped in favour of LANSchool as they were the only one (at the time) who had already developed a 'simple' Apple App (for the teacher and/or student).  From within the learning environment, this allows simple communication between teacher and student.  It allows voting and students can ask private questions to the teacher.


Now they have EdApp support.  For third party apps that are EdApp Certified, LANSchool can now monitor activity of these applications, too.  I've not used nor tested it but am excited by it.


So there you have it: An armchair teaching solution, if that's what you want.  Or maybe a tool that provides a more manageable environment for staff and students, that also offers increased learning time and assessment, feedback and AfL opportunities.