If you think about it, data projection has been around for a long time in teaching. In years past (and I mean years), data was simply projected on a blackboard. Teachers could spend hours writing word after word with the white chalk (colored if you had a "cool" teacher), just for it to be smeared or erased one second later. Never the less, data was still be projected.
Slowly, technology came into play where we had the power of.....OVERHEADS! Dim the lights and watch as you see all the dust particles floating in the air, while you are trying to shield your eyes from accidentally looking directly at the bulb. This new way of data projection allowed teachers to actually prepare their notes before hand~and adjust them as they went (with just a little bit of spit of course). This advance yet still had its draw backs. Overhead papers were easily lost or ruined if water droplets from the teachers cup came into contact with it. Also, they were harder to share among teachers because if they were lost, they had to re-write the notes over again. Not to mention trying to get that thing into focus was like trying to tell some parents there child really isn't an angle- it just wasn't going to happen.
But now, the world of data projection is slowly but surely becoming magnificant! Teachers can now share notes, games, activities, and lessons with the simple click of a button! Yesterdays amazing thinking and ideas could be saved and re-opened the next day for continual use! Smartboards, airliners, Powerpoints, and much more are being used in classrooms to reach all students! The words are being easier to read. Think back to your school days when you squinted and strained to make out the size 12 font on the board. Now, we can make words and activities as big as we need to so that all students can see.
Seeing the amazing progress we have made with data projection and technology leaves me wondering what other exciting things will be ours to use in the future!
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Ashley - You make an excellent point that the files we use in conjunction with our projectors are electronic and thus shareable. This is one of those side benefits of the actual technology. The projector is only useful if is has something to project. Unless we are showing something live, then it is saved somewhere and therefore can be used by someone else if we find that it is beneficial to our teaching.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the more descriptive prose this week. Nice job!
Ashley, I agree with Dennis in that the sharing aspect is the best part. There's no way I could come up with all the lessons I use without living at school. I just wish other teachers weren't so afraid of sharing their ideas. do you ever run into that problem?
ReplyDeleteAshley, I love your history lesson on data projection which most of I experiences as a teacher.(love that chalk all over your clothes) It is truly amazing where we've gone with projection and the advent of computers. It's amazing and I'm glad we have this wonderful option. I don't have it in my classroom yet, but I'm ready for a new experience. (Now I have dry erase on my clothing)
ReplyDeleteDianne,
ReplyDeleteYes I run into that problem a lot more than I like. But with persistance, it seems to be slowing down!
Alessa,
Haha! I can sympathize with the dry erase too!