Projector usage

Two of my colleagues and I are trying to organize a trip of students to go to England, Wales, and Ireland this summer. It has been great having the computer and the projector for projects and this is no exception. We had a parent meeting and I created a keynote presentation for it. We then got together and practiced our presentation and it was really fun! It felt really great to collaborate with other teachers on this as well as share the technology. I think I have also paved the way for them to learn about keynote. For me, it was great to have other people to trouble shoot with as well about this technology. There were a few things that I couldn't figure out and although they don't know about keynote, they know a lot about trouble shooting so we were able to solve some problems together, which also felt really good. This technology made the presentation so seamless.

On the other hand, during the staff development day today, I was amused at my desire to take the presenters overheads and turn them into a power point presentation. I was almost bothered by how awkward flipping overheads seemed and how they had to use a piece of paper to block out pieces of this cartoon they were using to cover the punchline--and how the punchline was ruined when the overhead slid off and then they put it back on upside down...anyway, I remembered how lucky I am to have this technology and know how to use it.

In both cases, I was struck by how technology creates an impression of professionalism that outdated technology does not. In both cases, the content of the presentation would have been the same but the audience's reception of it is completely different. I know that students like the power point presentations I provide them, but I wonder if they are more receptive to the information in this format as well. Is there any research on the impact of technology in terms of learning and retention of information?