Computers can make a difference

After reflecting on one of my teaching experiences, I thought it may be helpful to share such an experience with fellow teachers.
I was having some problems with a child who; in addition to not doing her work in class; was distratcting and being mean to the other children as well. I spoke to her on numerous occasions about her attitude to her work and the other children. She showed little improvement. So I called in the parent, who gave me numerous reasons (some excuses) for the child’s behavioral problems.
When asked about how she works at home, the parent said that she can read well on the computer when playing the computer games and she performs spell checks to correct her spelling. At first I thought that the parent was in denial but when I thought about it further, I was like hello, (lightbulb!) Jewel. The child is more interested in the computer than her class work so probably you need to use the computer to spark her interest.
So I took the children to the computer lab and used the learning software, which was already installed, for scaffolding as well as enrichment exercises. I observed the child and found that her interest was higher, she was more engaged and she was interacting and collaborating with her peers in a more positive manner. However, this was short lived as I had difficulty marrying the technology with the teaching content because of the limited scope of the software, the inaccessibility to the internet and time constraints.
Thank God for EDRL 6004, I now have a wider array of technological tools to use and which I could suggest be installed on the computers in school.