Gigantical monolith--
You hold much promise
You're yet one more screen
in my kids' overscreened life
(Almost theater-sized--)
My learning curve: steep
My exploration time: nil
The day you came, I sighed:
"My super powers
Are gone! It's like Kryptonite
For educators!"
But I accept you,
will integrate you, and soon
Will master you, yes.
But tell me one thing:
Will kids learn more? Or faster?
Impress me, I beg.
So I am pretty skeptical. I think it's the netbooks that will make the real difference in lessons. That's what will connect us to information instantly, allow us to share it and stuff. All the lessons on Promethean Planet strike me as Power Point-ish, and I never liked Power Points for lessons, just for funny pictures. Presentations delivered via PP's have generally bored me and, it seemed to me, control the presenters. History is a story at heart. I am not down on the Promethean Board--I am so glad I have one, am in love with having two microphones, surround sound, can't wait for a printer--I am just not impressed with the how technology has affected the digital natives in my class. (They know more about less than any kids I've taught in twenty years.) Watch--I'll probably fall in love with it. Here's hoping.
So far, without the netbooks, the PB has been like a giant overhead. It's easier to see...the kids enjoy helping me when I get stumped. I created one kind of cool "interactivity" with a cloud of characteristics of Republicans and Federalists that could be sorted into their proper columns....but I had already created tangible sentence strips that pitted the guys against the girls, maybe even more fun and effective. But as the girls and guys completed sorting the strips, I used the activity to engage the whole class, and it was good. I still think that the ActivInspire voting tools with the netbooks are the real key to transforming teaching and learning.
ReplyDeleteOK, so it is so much easier to show youtube clips, dvd's, and photos. Lessons are more visual, and I finally feel that I am the boss of the board rather than the other way around. I will never look back!
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