As each day passes, technology plays a larger role in classrooms across the globe. Over the years, I have seen teachers enhance their technology repertoire, moving from the age of overhead projectors, video cassette recorders, and computers with 5 ¼” floppy drives, to the age of document cameras, DVD players, and computers with DVD burning capabilities. I’ve been intrigued by new technologies and devices that enhance classroom education for sometime, but more recently I’ve become very interested in the technology offered by Promethean.
The Promethean ActivBoard is a 21st century blackboard. Gone are the days of chalk and dry-erase markers; here are the days of ActivPens. Located in Blackburn, United Kingdom, Promethean manufactures an interactive whiteboard that integrates a touch-sensitive surface. Users project their computer onto the ActivBoard and then manipulate the computer using an ActivPen.
The ActivBoard is the foundation for the array of tools available from Promethean. Other support tools include the ActiVote, which allows students to vote from their desks, while poll results are shown instantly on the ActivBoard. Teachers may use the ActivSlate portable tablet, which allows them to write on the ActivBoard through writing on a slate. A teacher can stand in the back of their classroom, and continue writing on the ActivBoard at the front of their room. There are a total of eight tools available to support the ActivBoard, each of which can be viewed on the Promethean website.
The board also comes with the ActivStudio software, which allows the user to create lesson plans, which integrate the use of the ActivBoard.
I have watched teachers use this product with great enthusiasm. In turn, their students are also enthused and engaged in the lesson. Students are unbelievably eager to have their opportunity to write on the “magic board.” We have a math teacher at our high school who was so excited by this technology, that she could not resist purchasing one for her classroom. Through classroom fundraisers, she was able to save enough money to purchase a computer, projector, and ActivBoard. With help from my technology staff, I happily installed this equipment for her, and we were rewarded with her gratefulness and many thanks. I am confident that technology such as this will truly change the way teachers teach and students learn.
This YouTube video is a great demonstration of how the ActivBoard is used in one Baltimore school.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Module 7 - Multimedia
Technology and multimedia have completely changed the way we view presentations. Gone are the days when an audience packs a room to simply sit and listen to a speaker. Today, there are a plethora of resources and tools available for breathing life into presentations: PowerPoint, Keynote, video clips and feeds, audio clips and feeds, video and still cameras, document cameras, smart boards, etc. Each of these technologies has changed the way a presenter presents and an audience interprets the presenter’s message.
Although I don’t have students, or a classroom to utilize multimedia tools, there are many teachers within my district who do. Many teachers utilize projectors to display online Discovery Streaming content and other videos that are available on the web; I have seen teachers use document cameras on a regular basis to capture and display images and video of examples, that are too small to see without camera magnification; teachers use PowerPoint to highlight key-points in the topics they are discussing. Everywhere I look, I see teachers integrating technology and multimedia into their presentations. It may be something as small as a photo or as large as an entire lesson that is presented using a Promethean Board. Seeing these teachers in action is a truly exciting experience. Multimedia integration has a tendency to allow students to think differently about their learning experience, thus positively engaging students.
In my personal experience, I have used videos, pictures, document cameras, PowerPoint, and Keynote while presenting to my colleagues. In talking with teachers, I have found that the largest hurdle for implementing multimedia in the classroom is making sure the technology works when there are 30, mostly impatient, students watching. Technology can be unpredictable, but many issues can be resolved through additional teacher training and the availability of technology integrators. It’s my job to make sure that teachers have the necessary technology and resources to successfully integrate multimedia. Unfortunately, I have concern that pending budget issues in my district will have a negative impact on available technology, integration, and training.
Like most educators, I would like to see the continued and expanded use of technology throughout our district. As more technology-oriented teachers take to leading classrooms, we will certainly see the use of technology and multimedia increase within our classrooms and schools. I look forward to the future and the opportunities technology will bring to our students.
Although I don’t have students, or a classroom to utilize multimedia tools, there are many teachers within my district who do. Many teachers utilize projectors to display online Discovery Streaming content and other videos that are available on the web; I have seen teachers use document cameras on a regular basis to capture and display images and video of examples, that are too small to see without camera magnification; teachers use PowerPoint to highlight key-points in the topics they are discussing. Everywhere I look, I see teachers integrating technology and multimedia into their presentations. It may be something as small as a photo or as large as an entire lesson that is presented using a Promethean Board. Seeing these teachers in action is a truly exciting experience. Multimedia integration has a tendency to allow students to think differently about their learning experience, thus positively engaging students.
In my personal experience, I have used videos, pictures, document cameras, PowerPoint, and Keynote while presenting to my colleagues. In talking with teachers, I have found that the largest hurdle for implementing multimedia in the classroom is making sure the technology works when there are 30, mostly impatient, students watching. Technology can be unpredictable, but many issues can be resolved through additional teacher training and the availability of technology integrators. It’s my job to make sure that teachers have the necessary technology and resources to successfully integrate multimedia. Unfortunately, I have concern that pending budget issues in my district will have a negative impact on available technology, integration, and training.
Like most educators, I would like to see the continued and expanded use of technology throughout our district. As more technology-oriented teachers take to leading classrooms, we will certainly see the use of technology and multimedia increase within our classrooms and schools. I look forward to the future and the opportunities technology will bring to our students.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Module 6 Blog - Spreadsheets
I find it easy to pinpoint absolute uses for word processing and database applications, but very difficult to pinpoint absolute uses for spreadsheets. Perhaps this is because spreadsheets can be used for a multitude of tasks, whereas word processing applications are used to type documents and database applications are used for record keeping. Spreadsheets don’t have an absolute use; they can be used for anything from accounting to creating class rosters.
Although I don’t use spreadsheets on a daily basis, I do find myself using them many times throughout the week. I use spreadsheets in a variety of ways: tracking the IP addresses assigned to network devices, maintaining inventory of network equipment, creating budgets, and even for tracking results from the district’s annual 5K run. Spreadsheets allow me to organize data quickly and efficiently.
Like me, my district’s teachers use spreadsheets for a variety of reasons. A quick scan of the fileserver showed that teachers are using spreadsheets to create calendars, rosters, fine lists, maintenance logs, check-out lists, food orders, schedules, polls, etc. The list of spreadsheet uses is seemingly endless. Our teachers make excellent use of spreadsheets, but I’d be hard-pressed to say that they use them more than our district’s financial department. Spreadsheets are a vital tool for accountants and financial personnel. They allow for the tracking of finances, through the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division formulas.
Overall, spreadsheets play an important role in both the worlds of business and school. For some, spreadsheets allow us to better organize data; for others, spreadsheets allow us to keep our financial records in order. For me, spreadsheets have become an important tool that I will continue using for an assortment of tasks.
Although I don’t use spreadsheets on a daily basis, I do find myself using them many times throughout the week. I use spreadsheets in a variety of ways: tracking the IP addresses assigned to network devices, maintaining inventory of network equipment, creating budgets, and even for tracking results from the district’s annual 5K run. Spreadsheets allow me to organize data quickly and efficiently.
Like me, my district’s teachers use spreadsheets for a variety of reasons. A quick scan of the fileserver showed that teachers are using spreadsheets to create calendars, rosters, fine lists, maintenance logs, check-out lists, food orders, schedules, polls, etc. The list of spreadsheet uses is seemingly endless. Our teachers make excellent use of spreadsheets, but I’d be hard-pressed to say that they use them more than our district’s financial department. Spreadsheets are a vital tool for accountants and financial personnel. They allow for the tracking of finances, through the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division formulas.
Overall, spreadsheets play an important role in both the worlds of business and school. For some, spreadsheets allow us to better organize data; for others, spreadsheets allow us to keep our financial records in order. For me, spreadsheets have become an important tool that I will continue using for an assortment of tasks.
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