What I mean by "Guide By The Side"
when teaching with interactive media
These photos show what I mean when I say "Guide by the Side" when teaching with software, PCs, and tablets. Kids are so attracted to what's on the screen that they will naturally tune-you-out if you are not going along with them into the software.
If your guides are 
standing behind students they will tend to focus on what's going on in the classroom rather than what the students are doing, seeing, and interacting with on the screen (and that's where the teaching opportunities are!).
"Guide by the side,"
not "sage on the stage,"
not "coffee in the corner,"
and definitely not "man in the middle" (of the room).
As you can tell by some of the computer screens in these photos, some of these photos are quite old in computer years. But throughout the years, we continued to realize that the best way to teach and interact with this type of media DID NOT CHANGE. We still wanted to teach with this material as kids used it, not merely watch kids use it and wait for them to finish.
This is a cute photo of a "Dad in the Lab," but I would have encouraged him to get in his student's peripheral vision so that they felt he was "with" them, and so he could point at the screen and direct the mouse a little easier.
Even if you're using tablets, you need to be able to see what the kids are looking at so you can comment on it, ask questions, answer questions, and direct the kids.
Your physical presence also sends an important message.
Because they are focused on the screen and controls, you need to be in their peripheral vision and interacting with them during software use -- not out of sight behind them or across the room.
Some special needs students definitely need you by their side.
Sometimes you only have room to sit behind the students, and sometimes you need to sit between TWO computers (or kids with tablets). Like every other teaching medium, the more help you have, the better the teaching is during the activities.
You'll also notice that none of the kids are wearing headphones. I have no idea how to teach during software use with kids who can't hear my voice.
This last photo is from my 90's archive. The teacher shared it with me saying she was skeptical of teaching with computers --until she tried it and fell in love with it.
