You Can Do That? The exciting things you can do with an Elmo projector (Blog 7)

When I began working in the classroom, I walked right into the use of Elmo projection machines to display images for my students. I was instantly able to project books in color and share a world of teaching with my students that many teachers have not been able to in the past using the older overhead machines. I remember sitting in class and making sure to choose a seat where I could still see over the giant projection machine along with my teachers making sure they signed up for a time to use the traveling cart. My teachers would have students’ tracking down the machines if they were not in the right place and the pens/markers used tended to dry out quickly. Once I began my student teaching, the school I started at used these old projectors and I remember the time and money used to create overheads and the frustration of trying to make them come out correctly. When I entered a different teaching setting during a science internship I was first exposed to an Elmo machine. The teacher was able to project on the board with anything she wanted! No more trying to make overheads and then having to locate the proper pens. The teacher could take the text book and place it under the camera and the students could see exactly what the teacher could see. This was amazing and it allowed for ease of teaching because at any point, the teacher could project a question or student work to share. I remember my first experience using this machine was leading a frog dissection for the seventh graders. It was amazing to be able to show the students what exactly they would be looking for as they were doing it and they could check and see by simply looking at the board if they were in the right spot or not! My how far technology has come since I was in school. While looking for news articles about the benefits of using this technology, I stumbled upon a resource much greater to me as an educator, Karina Clemmons, of the Orange County Public School System in Orlando, Florida, took the time to create a document for using the Elmo machine in different lessons and directions as to what is needed and the skills the students will be working on. These lessons are geared toward elementary students but can be adjusted for upper level students as well. She began compiling the list because of the “number of teachers who are not using their Elmo machines or are simply using them to project lecture notes,” (Clemmons). The lessons begin by sharing what the age level the lesson targets is, the materials, and content area before going into a step by step procedure for conducting the lessons. So much of technology goes unused because it is overwhelming to learn. These lessons spell out what to do, providing any teacher with the tools for success! After each lesson is described, she has included a photograph displaying what the lesson will look like. Karina states, “Many teachers are simply unaware of what a powerful tool an Elmo document camera can be for all students, whether advanced, regular, remedial, English Language Learners, or students with learning disabilities.” (Clemmons) Some of the simplest tasks can be completed using the Elmo machine and allow the students to interact and the teacher can reuse the same product multiple times. One way the Elmo machine can be used is to display a stop watch during a test letting the students know where the stand instead of distracting and pressuring students by calling out time left. Another way is to share stories by displaying the pages under the camera all students can see while you are reading giving them a chance to soak in details. You can use the Elmo to project maps for students to label on the white board, putting cards in order of sequence and then rearrange and many other activities. I have my students play games under the Elmo machine during demonstrations and during shared reading. If I want the students to share their work, they can sit in the teachers chair and share under the camera and are allowed the freedom they would be if they were sitting one on one at a table. There are many great benefits to using this technology and I hope more teachers find exciting ways to use it through this article and others like it out there.

Elmo machine in action!

Bibliography

Clemmons, K. (n.d.). Show Me Great Lessons. Retrieved 11 21, 2011, from ElmoUSA: http://www.elmousa.com/files/ShowMeGreatLessons!.pdf

Notezweivier (Director). (2009). Elmo [Youtube].

Don't Just Tell Me, Show Me: Jing Screen Capture Blog 6

While working on our survivor island webinars, and throughout this course, I have been looking for different ways to make screen captures into movies and power points. I wanted to find a program that I could not have to see myself talking, but the viewer of the video could see what the steps were by watching the video and actually see the mouse moving and where it was clicking. I know that I learn much better by being able to see what I am doing and not having to simply figure it out by following written directions. I came across a program known as Jing in my research. This program has many features that allow you to screen capture and make a video, or take still shots and then make a slide show of the pictures to show steps. I really enjoyed the ease of using this program and I feel that I could use this in my classroom with my students or pass the site along to a colleague to use with simple directions. According to the Jing website, teachers are finding that making a video to show the lesson really helps to save time for teachers who teach the same class multiple times a day. The time and effort put into the video ensures that every student is receiving the same information and that the teacher is not overworking and become tired of repetition. Shauna Hedgepeth, a seventh grade math teacher used Jing in her classroom to help motivate students to complete math problems. She said, "I showed Jing to my students and they instantly wanted to use it. Suddenly EVERY student wanted to work math problems on the board. Students come to the board and record themselves working on problems in front of the class." (TechSmith, 2001) Being able to create a product can help motivate students to engage in the lesson! She follows up with having students using Jing at home and then emailing their videos to her about the problems they were completing at home! How much fun would assignments like this be compared to homework where the students are solving the odd number problems and then turning them in. Making learning an experience helps students retain the information longer and allows them to apply their skills. Dawn Sadler used to travel all over training for her business, since she began using Jing, she can simply make the training video from one location and then send it to the accounts and they can share the video without her having to be present! (TechSmith, 2001)  This idea could save companies time and money for trainings and services that are necessary to performance of employees. Imagine if some of our professional development on technology and other topics had a Jing video to accompany the information being taught as a way for us to revisit later when we feel we need a refresher. Using Jing or other screen capture sites can help parents of the students to help the students with assignments. If a teacher creates a Jing video and then posts it to their website, the students can revisit and make sure they fully understand what they are doing in the comfort of their own home without having to make it seem like they do not understand while at school.  There are many benefits to using a screen capture program and they are simple to use after you have had time to play around and find all the features. There are also great how to videos available. Check out this video from YouTube the neat thing about it is that a student is narrating the whole video talking you through the steps. This just shows how advanced our students are in the use of technology and how much we can learn from them.

 

Bibliography

CompHelp1996 (Director). (2009). How to use Jing [Youtube].

TechSmith. (2001). Jing. Retrieved 11 10, 2011, from TechSmith: http://www.techsmith.com/jing-uses.html