We are also helping build students' self-esteem. Once students are familiar with a program that will help them complete an essential part of a project, you can begin to integrate computer work into labs. For example, as part of a fifth-grade science lab, students tested the pH levels of samples of water from New England. Then we created a class database of the pH readings using Tabletop. Tabletop offers several ways to manipulate data.
First students enter the data.
Then, with a click of an icon, a Venn diagram or a line graph appears so that students can examine each item of data. Although it lacks a student-friendly tutorial, it lends itself to any situation in which data can be collected and studied. The time constraints of a regular school day often do not allow teacher-led tutoring on the computer. We must frame opportunities for students to explore the classroom computer at their own pace if we expect their skills to expand. My students use their personal computer time to further explore Tabletop by creating databases that represent the class' role models, favorite authors, dream jobs, family sizes, and weekly spelling scores.