Effective Technology Use

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Dan: Visual Communicator | Use Visual Communicator (http://seriousmagic.com) to create video reports.  This allows students to search the Internet for resources, storyboard, practice writing skills, public speaking, collaboration, and countless other skills.

Dave: PowerPoint | when having students do PowerPoint presentations, do not let them use words, only images to represent slide content. This helps develop visual literacy skills and creates presenters who must internalize content, thereby avoiding a set of digital notecards.

Chris: Blackboard's discussion board | Use the discussion board to continue exploring topics introduced in class, or to invite new ideas. Also, post a "class questions" forum where students can post questions about class work and miscellaneous class business. Their peers are usually the ones who will respond. This helps build a social network and sense of community in the classroom, as well as leveraging social/entertainment time for instructional purposes. Dave: we also have evidence that the discussion boards are outstanding places for peer editing to expand on Chris' example. Music teachers have students post MIDI music files; students from other classes provide feedback.

Billy:  PowerPoint | have students create a presentation based on a selected poem.  The presentation must be all visuals and the narration to the presentation is the reading of the poem.  Have them do slide transitions and automatic timings.  This follows Dave's idea very closely but it brings in cross curriculum very quickly.