Scribing - A tech based instructional strategy for the math classroom.

For being a NCTM member I get the magazine "Mathematics Teacher". In the February issue there was a great article about using a tablet PC in your classroom for instructional time.

The article discussed the advantages of giving the tablet to a student and allowing them to be scribe for the day, which, hopefully, will increase discourse in your classroom.

I WANT ONE!!! I am not sure where or how I am going to find the money, but there has to be a grant out there somewhere for math teachers to use technology in their classroom.

My concern with using this is...I am afraid to give up control. I know, that sounds dumb and over-baring. Most students have a hard time staying organized when they are doing their math work, I think it is important to model for them, just to help them stay organized. But is this too much? Is this what the student meant when she said that I "over teach"?

Another concern is that the "advanced students" typically do not show all their work and have a hard time explaining themselves in class. They get frustrated when I slow them down and ask them to clarify their response; usually this means to give in a complete sentences. So what will happen when they are the scribe? Will they slow down and take responses from their classmates or will they just buzz through, which will then cause me to not allow them to be scribe.

Will my mid level students embrace this?

How do I get my lower level students to participate, i.e. be scribe, without putting their math skills in the spot light?

But regardless, I WANT ONE, and I am going to find a way to GET ONE!