Jigsaw Classroom

This post is about the Jigsaw learning method - a cooperative technique in which each student's part is essential to the group's understanding of a subject.

How can the Jigsaw method be used in your classroom if you only have 5 computers?
If a classroom has only five computers, the class can be split into five groups. Each person in a group is assigned a task to learn about how to use word processors (for example, if your focus is Microsoft Word, one student's assignment could be how to use the tabs). Each student is allowed time on the computer to learn their one task, and then the computers are passed to the next student and his/her assigned task, until the group is finished. Then, each student confers with his/her "expert" group - the students from the other groups with the same assigned task - and goes back to teach his/her own group the task they learned.

What could be an advantage of this method?
There are many advantages to this method; it promotes classroom cooperation, enhances communication skills, accountability, and social skills. It is also proven to make children like school more, want to learn, and reduces prejudice in the classroom. Students teach other students; therefore, it is in their best interests to listen, communicate, and be courteous to one another.

What could be a disadvantage?
In a computer classroom setting, I can see how having five computers could limit the effectiveness of time management in a Jigsaw class. The teacher would have to limit each student's computer time in order to give each enough time to complete their task correctly.
Another disadvantage could be class size - if you have a large class, the use of only five computers would be a challenge. Also, uneven class sizes would lead to uneven groups, and possible partner situations when assigning tasks.

Overall, I agree with the Jigsaw method being a positive cooperation reinforcement tool in classrooms. A five-computer classroom would be a challenge, but I believe it would be possible to still use this method in learning how to use word processors.