© MazioCreate 2011
Do you remember the first time you used an OHP? Gen Y, this is an Overhead Projector and for its day very high tech, more so than the spirit duplicator. (I often wondered why some teachers were spending more time than required sniffing around the machine.) The feeling of power I experienced when I first started teaching and displayed my first OHT (overhead transparency) was euphoric. Okay, maybe I felt chuffed that the whole class could be involved in making bunny ears, dogs and every other shadow you can imagine rather than staring at a dull blackboard. Add to this elation the introduction of coloured transparency sheets and pens and I thought my life couldn't get much better. Except for a few drawbacks like wiping off material with your hand in the middle of an explanation, using permanent markers instead of water based and my total lack of drawing talent, the OHP and OHT combo served me well for a couple of decades. Then technology brought to me a beautiful piece of gadgetry - the data projector (D.P.) and at that point our affair began.
Back in 1997 when D.P. and I first became acquainted, the portable version (and that's all there was at the time) was a chunky little minx (diet was on the cards) and I needed a solid workout before any date. Now I'm not blaming her for the slipped disc, but moving her did coincide with the injury. In the long term it didn't affect the relationship, because her ability to display web pages, PowerPoints, Word docs etc, far outweighed her weight problem. I can vividly recall the response from a group of students who were deaf when I first introduced them to D.P. The hands up in the air clapping was nearly deafening. No longer was it necessary to get close up and personal as we huddled around a single computer while I demonstrated processes, we all had room to move, including the interpreter. The collective sigh still resounds in my ears.
My affair with D.P. didn't just gain me personal space, but an invaluable teaching partner. The only time she ever let me down was when her very expensive bulb blew (a little like my Blood Pressure when it happened mid sentence). Class and I went back into the huddle to discuss game plan - early coffee break and hopefully tech would arrive with new bulb. Over the years D.P. has rested beside me, sometimes above me and enabled me to deliver workshops and teaching programs in a polished and professional manner. Those few glitches were nothing compared to the fingernails being dragged across the blackboard. Still get shivers up the spine.
My affair with D.P. didn't just gain me personal space, but an invaluable teaching partner. The only time she ever let me down was when her very expensive bulb blew (a little like my Blood Pressure when it happened mid sentence). Class and I went back into the huddle to discuss game plan - early coffee break and hopefully tech would arrive with new bulb. Over the years D.P. has rested beside me, sometimes above me and enabled me to deliver workshops and teaching programs in a polished and professional manner. Those few glitches were nothing compared to the fingernails being dragged across the blackboard. Still get shivers up the spine.
In the throes of a brain storming session.
I mentioned in my Top Ten out of Eleven Teaching Resources blog, about using D.P. to record input from the class/group. Nine out of every ten work topics undertaken by my classes were suggested by students during brainstorming sessions. I would record all suggestions using D.P. so there was no confusion on anyone's behalf. This strategy was an advantage as the students watched all my typos, processes, corrections and reading of drafts. Great way to show the correct procedures and this leaves butcher's paper just were the name says, wrapped around some haemorrhaging side of beef.
It all seems quite blasé now, using the data projector to demonstrate accessing and using software packages or reading material. By using D.P. to project the pages of books from the BBC RAW Reader library, the group were able to interact with text on a larger scale. My argument for this interaction being, they use BIG BOOKS for children to get them involved, why not for adults going through the same process of learning to read. One female student in the group commented, "Reading like this is great! I understand the story and can see how bits of the story are connected, and I'm not a reader. All I ever read are magazines and even then I mainly look at the photos." The excerpts are from books written to appeal to adults. Currently text is shown as a document, whereas it used to be displayed on pages like a book. In my opinion, the page format was superior. The lesson would go something like this - I would read the story (with all the ooohs and aaaaahs if it was a murder mystery) and students either followed the text on-screen or on their own copy. This big screen approach enabled me to draw students' attention to specific traits about the characters and other aspects of the story that would lead to solving the murder. One of the students enjoyed the excerpt from one murder mystery so much she even bought the book. SUCCESS!
Another activity that was exponentially enhanced by using a data projector was listening comprehension (link to video from resource Kitchens & Cuisines). Interaction with others by phone is the only time non-verbal cues aren't a component of listening. Now there's Skype, even our phone conversations involve more than listening. For groups who required higher levels of assistance (Level 1 ACSF assessed), either myself or a tutor would read the questions with the students prior to watching the video. One aspect of the reading activity would be to encourage students to isolate and highlight the main words / points of each question. These words would then be used as listening cues. With the video showing on the big screen students would prompt me when to pause to write the answer. Naturally rewinding (Is that possible with a digital video?) was involved, but asking others to repeat what they said, is all part and parcel of listening.
It all seems quite blasé now, using the data projector to demonstrate accessing and using software packages or reading material. By using D.P. to project the pages of books from the BBC RAW Reader library, the group were able to interact with text on a larger scale. My argument for this interaction being, they use BIG BOOKS for children to get them involved, why not for adults going through the same process of learning to read. One female student in the group commented, "Reading like this is great! I understand the story and can see how bits of the story are connected, and I'm not a reader. All I ever read are magazines and even then I mainly look at the photos." The excerpts are from books written to appeal to adults. Currently text is shown as a document, whereas it used to be displayed on pages like a book. In my opinion, the page format was superior. The lesson would go something like this - I would read the story (with all the ooohs and aaaaahs if it was a murder mystery) and students either followed the text on-screen or on their own copy. This big screen approach enabled me to draw students' attention to specific traits about the characters and other aspects of the story that would lead to solving the murder. One of the students enjoyed the excerpt from one murder mystery so much she even bought the book. SUCCESS!
Another activity that was exponentially enhanced by using a data projector was listening comprehension (link to video from resource Kitchens & Cuisines). Interaction with others by phone is the only time non-verbal cues aren't a component of listening. Now there's Skype, even our phone conversations involve more than listening. For groups who required higher levels of assistance (Level 1 ACSF assessed), either myself or a tutor would read the questions with the students prior to watching the video. One aspect of the reading activity would be to encourage students to isolate and highlight the main words / points of each question. These words would then be used as listening cues. With the video showing on the big screen students would prompt me when to pause to write the answer. Naturally rewinding (Is that possible with a digital video?) was involved, but asking others to repeat what they said, is all part and parcel of listening.
Aah D.P., you've done it again!
What was the outstanding bonus of using D.P.? Students using a tool that made their presentations as professional as any consultant. They displayed their advertisements for products they had designed, they used the D.P. to display discussion material and to demonstrate procedures to complete tasks.
This is one affair that will continue. Back to www.maziocreate.com.au
For more articles by Mary Hobbs go to
http://hubpages.com/profile/Maziocreate
This is one affair that will continue. Back to www.maziocreate.com.au
For more articles by Mary Hobbs go to
http://hubpages.com/profile/Maziocreate
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