Thing #1 Revisited

Research shows that students today truly don't learn the same way as those of us over 30 (probably 25) do. The over 50's of us had a few tv shows we watched, the games we played involved dice and boards, and our fanciest toy was usually our imagination. Students are used to color and sound, constantly changing. Today's teaching needs to keep up with today's learning. I found that using the Activboard instead of my white board kept students' interest much longer. I didn't teach any new material or leave anything out - the only thing that changed was the package. If we as teachers can learn how to jazz up the package and keep students engaged, more power to us! The video was an excellent example of a new way to package whatever it is we want to teach. Many of our students spend much more time on the internet than we do, and if we can use what they are doing already to help them learn I think they will learn more, learn at a deeper level, and not complain so much while they are doing it. I can see students spending twice as long on a video as a powerpoint or poster with a much better final product. Let's show the students how to hang 10 with the Big Kahunas.

The student in the video spent much more time and effort than they would have if asked to do a more traditional presentation. I like the idea of the teacher being the concierge - knowing where to find the best for the students and let them go from there.