As I continue to think about how we can present things in class I went to www.TED.com and began searching for technology topics of interest. As a board member for the OSTA I am privileged to receive a wide variety of both resources and information. Bernie Carlson is one of the best resources for everything science oriented and seems to love TED TV. Not that I blame him based on all the ideas and amazing people I have watched on this resource. Today's search led me to a video in which a man essentially gives a speech using his ipad on storytelling and it's founding father.
Take a second and watch...
This presentation got me to thinking that our students could really bring their speeches to life through the use of the ipad and a projector. Why couldn't our students choose a topic and make it more interactive while presenting to their peers? This is no different than when my college professor advised us to tape notes on the back of our props when giving a speech. I remember giving a speech on spelunking and had all my gear on the table with small note cards on the back with key words. I places each item on the table in order of my presentation topics and went to town. I can see that in this situation the ipad becomes the props...no need for the real thing anymore...let me show you the real thing and how it works. This could also be done with science inquiries...couldn't a student prepare the write up as a script, add in visuals such as video, still shots, audio, etc...? Although it could all be made into an imovie there is still potential for these presentations to go beyond the simple powerpoints that most kids do. I have substituted enough in high school classrooms and watched students create these in my mind worthless and simplistic powerpoints...I often find myself thinking what a waste of valuable educational time these assignments are. Students just cut and paste for the most part and have very little interest in their topic. Watch and learn students... the power is in the presentation capabilities...not so much the content...but there is so much potential to meet multiple content standards in something like this example I am inspired. What would it take for a student to compile and present something like this? Wouldn't this be a powerful presentation if we could use this for our final presentation. A student discussing how the ipad has changed their learning? I love this idea and may pursue it myself. It is funny...I will admit I really didn't see the power and advantage of an ipad in the classroom verses a laptop (although I won't bail on this resource for many reasons), BUT I can see the advantages. I just may have to get an ipad after all just to begin experimenting with all this myself in the future and for my own classroom! I can't wait to get back in a classroom full time and share what I am learning with the world and take my students on a technology ride into the future!
No comments:
Post a Comment