March 27, 2008

My goodness we went through a great deal of information tonight. I especially loved learning more about PowerPoint, not the tools – those are easy. The comedy act, and the other presentations that talk about what not to do were rite on target. I had mentioned in earlier blogs how I allowed my students to use PowerPoint with a project we worked on. They spent entirely to much time on the fun stuff and very little on content. I was really dissappointed, more with myself because I was felt like a failure with my lesson. I expected more, but got less. Sure the presentations were pretty, but what did they really learn? I did not really make them accoutable for their learning. I learned a great deal during the lesson of what not to do next time. I doubt I will utilize Power Point much in the future.

If so, there needs to be a better balance of technology usage in my class room. Guidelines need to be set, such as the 10,20,30 rule or the 80/20 rule which I especially loved. It was like the pearly gates opened tonight and my prayers were answered. Simple things that were rite in front of me such as the 80/20 rule seemed so hard to control during the actual class. I knew after the classes finished I would not revisit that lesson until I learned how to better manage the class, what they were expected to learn and how they presented it. The articles really hit home with me in that students need to focus on the content of what they learn, not how they present it. I felt like I came out of a coma when Dr. Ransom went through his presentation. How could I not realize what to do, or how?