In our global village, teachers are facing more and more obstacles, more extended choices and classroom situations that aren’t dependent on one particular element of change. And so, we need to work quicker than ever before in order to meet the growing technological capacities that are now being part of our classrooms.
Students never think that it is wrong to speak on their cells but yet it is harder to teach them how to think for themselves. This is especially true with using technology such as powerpoints.
Several years ago I had my eleventh graders give presentation on endangered animals using all kinds of special effects for their power point presentation. By utilizing a wide variety of media, I gave them the tools of the trade on how to give oral presentation in a language that wasn’t their mother tongue. They were guided with lots of how to’s for public speaking and outlining. They had practice sessions. I gave them a criteria sheet for how they were going to get assessed based on what we decided in class and every lesson, they filled out working schedule form that was 10% of their final grade.
During each presentation, students jotted down notes, asked questions, listened carefully to the answers and assessed their peers.
Don’t get me wrong. There were many technological obstacles and problems. But we ended up getting through them. They saw my worrying face and and I saw their quick clicks. They knew more than I gave them credit for.
Since those oral presentations, I haven’t come close to anything as technologically challenging or meaningful in terms catering to more than two skills.
With careful planning, I believe they can inspire each other and even encourage us to take that extra technological step. It is well worth it.
