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Effective Use of Technology In the Classroom?

Posted by kdawson on from the don't-say-an-apple-for-the-teacher dept.

postermmxvicom writes "I remember in college I had one professor who, in addition to being a great teacher, really took advantage of the technology in the classroom to illustrate the concepts for Calculus and Linear Algebra. Well, now I am the teacher. I teach Algebra, AP Calculus, and Physics in high school. This year I have gotten a tablet and a wireless projector. Now I can write on my tablet instead of the board, as well as use other applications. I want to utilize this tech effectively for teaching. Would you please share how you have seen technology effectively used for Math and Physics — either specific software or how that software was used (specific or general)?"

3 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. cart before the horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think a major mistake teachers make is to discover new teaching technology and then invent a curriculum that uses them. This gets the process entirely backwards. If you try this, you're going to sacrifice learning in the interest of playing with your new toys.

    You've got these new tools. That's great. Now forget about them. Design your lessons as you would. As you go, you're going to realize ... "this would work better if I can use my new gizmo." This is where the technology comes in. First find the problem, then find the solution.

  2. Re:powerpoint by DigitAl56K · · Score: 5, Funny
    Well powerpoint is the only thing usefull, my teachers ever used.
  3. Re:powerpoint by FieroEtnl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    PowerPoint is very useful if the person using that tool uses it correctly. Unfortunately, most people use it incorrectly and write down every single thing that they're planning on saying on a slide. If you're going to do that, students will catch on and just think that they can get by with printing off the notes and skipping class because listening to the teacher will not help them understand the material any better. The catch is, they won't understand it at all. Active learning helps people learn and remember facts and concepts way better than passive reading or listening. That's why the best way to use PowerPoint is as a guide or outline to what you're going to talk about. It forces people to use more than one sense to take everything in, and if they want notes on everything important from the lecture, they have to write it down themselves and actually comprehend it in the first place.