The Power of the Projector

Sometimes simple things can be the most powerful, and this is definitely the case with the new Dell projectors that many Buhler secondary teachers received recently. Of course, these projectors cannot engage students and enhance learning until we turn on the power and use them! Here are some simple ways to project learning this week in your classroom:

1. We Project Videos - Search for videos related to your lesson or unit at Discovery Streaming, YouTube, SchoolTube, or TeacherTube. If you need help logging on or downloading videos, let me know!
2. We Project Presentations - Our new versions of PowerPoint and Keynote are awesome tools for developing presentations that are engaging for students. You can easily place videos on slides, add music, and even record your narration. I would LOVE to show you how all this works!
3. We Project Web Resources - All those wonderful Internet pages that you've bookmarked or kept in an email folder can be used on the big screen in your classroom to project learning. Many educational web sites are interactive and engaging. Just ask me for ideas!
4. We Project Student Products - Project models of best student work, use the projected image of a student essay for discussion or evaluation, or show the multimedia projects which students have created. If students can create it, you can project it!
5. We Project Polls and Quizzes - Using web tools such as Poll Everywhere, your students can participate in polls and quizzes using their cell phones, and the results can be projected for everyone to see. It's amazingly simple. Could I show you sometime soon?
6. We Project Our Community and the World - Help your students see beyond the classroom and learn about the community, both local and global. Google Earth and Skype are available on your computer, and ePals is now set up for you on Kan-Ed. Ask me for help with Google Earth and Skype, and see your media specialist for your students' ePals account information. You can project the world to your students!

Take an ordinary projector and make something "out of the ordinary" this week. Just plug it in, turn it on, and project learning with your students! Please share your ideas by commenting here.