Sometimes I just pause to listen to the conversations in the lab.  I get so caught up helping certain students or maintaining overall smooth operation of lessons, that I don’t stop to smell the roses.  Yep, a lot of little cliches in this post.  It’s rewarding to stop and be that little fly on the wall, to unobtrusively look over shoulders and listen to their conversations.  Hearing student conversations is not always difficult.  With headphones on, they don’t exactly converse quietly.

Thursday afternoon, I had computer club.  Though the kids had begged to play Secret Builders and put off our iMovie project until the next meeting, I was reluctant to nod and concede.  I had Family Tech night to plan for anyway, so it worked out.  But I finished the few last minute preparations and took some time to just listen and observe to all the hubbub in the lab.

“You ate all my food!” one of the girls shouts.

“You’re the one who unlocked your house…” Someone replies.

“That’s it.  I’m coming in and kicking y’all out!”  Laughter ensues.

It’s amazing to watch the kids absorbed in the digital world of Secret Builders.  Another student is hanging out in Mello Drama, where you might find Shakespeare walking around, ready for a quick, emoticon-filled chat.  Two boys are discussing the finer points of one of the strategy games.

“Who just turned me into a frog?” is a question I hear a lot.

I notice one girl sitting particularly quiet.  So, I naturally go and take a peek at what she is doing.  Humanities centered, it’s no surprise that Secret Builders has a romantic era, fancy story book that members can fill up with their own tales.  She is quietly typing away, about 300 words into a story she has titled, “The Fairy.”  Another of the quiet ones is absorbed in a game of chess.

I’m glad that I paused and watched them immersed in a digital world, but most interacting with each other at the same time.