Things You Learn Watching Students Work on Computers

I had my U.S. History classes in the LRC today to work on a simple research and report activity. The research was conducted today and the reporting out will be tomorrow. Throughout the periods I walked around, answered questions, and kept students on task (for the most part). I also discovered via peripherals that my students look at some cool sites, have great conversations, and play games that many teachers can enjoy as much as their students!

Here are the top 10 things I observed today and some have links for you to enjoy!

1. Is Tupac Dead or Alive? This one had the student researching (even if it was not about U.S. sectionalism, it is still research). 
2. Although there are many sites, pictures work best! This site is a step by step"how to" on surviving a zombie apocalypse.
3. Pandora, Spotify, or Snapchat which are all easily accessible by phone. Although access to these features are not by computer they are still a distraction that students enjoy as much as sugar laden food.
4. Urban Dictionary was a popular one today. I do not know if what I was saying was being translated or what I may have been thinking but a few students were using this valuable tool as much as our school administrators do!
5. As always, yoga pants fashion is always a must see! The most popular one today was Abercrombie and Fitch. By the way, is there such a thing as male yoga pants?
6. Living the hip hop life is tough, especially in an affluent suburb, so this site was a popular one for some students today!
7. Simple e-mail messages like "Help, I have no food! PLZ order Jimmy Johns for me!" or my personal favorite "Mom, I don't feel too good- please order me a BMT from Subway!" 
8. Games with cartoon characters were en vogue today! Although these are high school kids, Cartoon Network classics like "Regular Show" and "Pokemon" were on the minds of a few children in American Studies this afternoon.  This link is just a small sampling of what some male students were trying to play today.
9. Line of the day, "I'm telling you dude, McDonald's is either controlled by or is a part of the Illuminati! My step-uncle gave me a book to read (unintelligible title) and that is in chapter 1." Remember, the key is research skills, even if it is a conspiracy theory, there is value in questioning.
10. Last but not least is a link to a site that not only has a funny web address (http://iloveyoulikeafatladylovesapples.com/)but challenges your hand-eye coordination skills! I personally like this site and will use it for a future lesson plan about 19th Century Victorian manners and culture.