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These kids are the ones that everyone considers to be "smart." Of course, now we know better, and we say that they are just "book smart," or "word smart." These kids are going to do well using many kinds of applications, but especially those that have the most use in completing assigned work. These kids are most likely to use word processing programs on the computer than anything else. They will know how to manipulate the text, do crazy things like create columns and outlines that actually work and look good, and lots of other cool stuff that we as teachers can take advantage of!
To use their linguistic intelligence to benefit the entire class, you might want to consider making these students the "secretaries" or recorders of any group they work with. If you are creating a newsletter in your classroom, for example, have these kids type in everyone's contributions and work on the layout. They will be able to write some excellent articles as well!
To help them develop other intelligences using the computer, have them begin to create graphics using some a paint program. Or, better yet, challenge them to create a hyperstack using hyperstudio or powerpoint, using lots of illustrations and graphics. They will have fun, develop their spatial intelligence, and if they work in groups, their interpersonal intelligence, too.
To implement a linguistically-intelligent based activity: a simple idea might be the "class poem," where stations are set up at a few different computers. Each station will have the beginning of a stanza, just a phrase like "I am," "I see," "I think," and each student will add something to each station. As a group, put the poem together representing the entire class's ideas on a theme, and have them write their own individual poems, too, using the word processor as an editing and proofing tool.
There is so much about computers that appeals to this intelligence. There are many websites that students can visit for help with math and science homework and problems, "Ask Dr. Math" being one of them. The internet is a great resource for science and math resources in general, and most students will enjoy going to the world wide web for help with homework and real-life problems.
The software available is amazing, ranging from physics simulations to geometric programs that create tesselations and much more. As a teacher, you need to carefully analyze each piece of software before presenting it to your students. The software shouldn't just be used as an aside to a lesson. Good software will provide lessons on its own, and the students will be learning concepts, not just trying to apply them using a new format.
To develop other intelligences while using math and science at the same time, try having students verbalize math problems, geometric proofs, scientific experiments, and equations or formulas. Have other students proof their peers' work, and try to duplicate the idea they were trying to present.
There are many activities students can perform in conjuction with basic programs almost any computer has to develop and exercise spatial intelligence. Draw and paint programs are prime examples. Have them use these programs for activities like making classroom maps to visualize different furniture arrangements, or try these approaches:
A "stimulated imaginative approach:" have students begin with an outline or stencil of a theme or an object, on their paint program, and encourage them to fill it in and add background to give it meaning, depth, and other important qualities. OR...
"Observation drawing," where students draw an object using pencil and paper first, then transfer the image to a draw or paint program somehow, either by trying to draw it again, or using a scanner and then playing with the image to change its design.
These activities will be excellent for developing this intelligence, and also for providing an outlet for students who have an amount of spatial intelligence already.
It's hard for kids with this intelligence to sit still in front of a computer for very long. There are ways to capture their interest, though. Just make sure that you limit the time that you require kids to actually be sitting and staring at the screen, because their level of learning will decrease the longer they stay in one position.
Use software that has lots of movement, bright colors and images, and can be used in small bits, over time. Or have them look up statistics and interesting facts about famous people who use their bodies for sport or expression (dancers, athletes, mimes, actors, etc).
Always relate what they are seeing to what they can do, and provide activities to supplement the technology in some way, activities which encourage movement and expression, like plays, skits, puppet shows, and sport-type games.
The software available to professional musicians these days can allow people to look at the wave(s) a sound makes, take away or add little bits of that wave to manipulate the sound in some minute way, and put different sounds together in an exact science. Of course, this software is very expensive, but less expensive versions of this kind of software are available, and it can allow students to really see what makes music, not just on an instrumentation level, but on a physical level as well.
Have students layer and manipulate sounds created by a synthesizer. Programs can combine timbres, and even individual frequencies and wavelengths. Each group can create a melody using such software. Try having different groups put their melodies together. Ask them which ones sound good together, and why? Let them figure out how to make harmonies and melody lines work.
Obviously, working in groups on a piece of software or on a project relying heavily on technology would be a good way to foster growth and development of this intelligence. Some other techniques:
Use presentation programs like Hyperstudio or PowerPoint for projects. Presentation skills are vital in school-based education environments and beyond.
Have students e-mail each other at intervals during a unit to convey questions, thoughts, or ideas. Create an online group-based journal!
Create a survey of the students in your class, or even in your school. You can enter this information into a database, and manipulate it in a spreadsheet later on (logical-mathematical intelligence, too!)!
Using a computer is a very individual task. We only make technology group-based because we want students to be able to work together under limiting conditions, or we just might not have the funds available to provide each student in the classroom with their own PC (imagine that!). So computer technology always fosters this intelligence, just with the way it's designed to work. Some ideas for activities to help even more include:
Typing journal entries or reflective essays on word processing programs.
Working on tech-rich projects which help the students explore issues that touch them personally, or that they have strong opinions about.
Using grammatical evaluation software to help students write creatively.
Creating a database of self-assessment, including completed rubrics for past projects and units.
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