Scheduling Computer Time For Internet Lesson Plans

Integrating the Internet into your curriculum takes careful planning. One of the most important issues to consider is the scheduling of computer time. Your schedule will be dependent upon the ratio of students to Internet-linked computers in your classroom. Obviously, the more computers you have, the more flexibility you'll have.

Try to develop a schedule that provides each student with at least two 30-minute sessions of computer time a week – one with a partner and one alone. To do this, you may need to assign time slots throughout the day. Scheduling throughout the day may occasionally cause students to miss some classroom instruction.

The way to best handle this problem may be to schedule students during instruction of subject matter in which they do well. Keep in mind that this conflict should not happen too often.

It is important to rotate the schedule on a regular basis so that students will avoid experiencing the same conflicts throughout the year. It is of equal importance to change partners regularly. This will afford students the opportunity to grow socially, as well as to learn new things about the Internet from their classmates.