Technology & Learning - October 2008 - (Page 14)

news By Sascha Zuger trends “The ability to save notes is one of the favorite features of my students,” says Beal. “This also allows the absent student, or the student that didn’t comprehend the material the first time, to playback the information as it was presented in class." says Beal. "The absent student can also log on [to Dyknow] and use the Internet to join class from any location.” Beal uses the “anonymous” capability to blindly broadcast one student’s work for the entire class. This protects the privacy of the student and allows Interactive Math Classroom Adds Up to Success In a field in which women have traditionally been underrepresented, teacher Kate Beal of St. Joe’s Academy, an all girls’ secondary school in Baton Rouge, wanted to amp up excitement about math. By adding a computer monitoring system and tablet PCs, not only did her students get excited about the technology, but test scores improved. Each Toshiba Tablet PC has monitoring software from DyKnow. This allows Beal to monitor, control, and share every student tablet, all from her tablet PC. “Each student is able to watch, interact and learn from the rest of the class in real time,” says Beal. “This is incredible to watch and done with almost no effort on my part.” That convenience factor is no small perk to Beal’s busy schedule. She can also use the software to poll students to make sure they understand the math concepts being reviewed. “The ability to create an interactive lesson each day is amazing,” says Beal. “It is almost like a one-to-one environ- Kate Beal uses tablet PCs to get her students excited about math. ment for each student, because of the interaction between my tablet and their tablet, but at the same time it is cooperative learning amongst the students because they can all participate and work together too.” Beal simply uploads her lesson as a Powerpoint presentation through the interactive software. Opening the file replays second for second what Beal says in class and reenacts what occurred on each slide, stroke for stroke. Students can add notes or comments directly into the file, which can be saved for later review. By adding a computer monitoring system and tablet PCs, not only did Beal’s students get excited about the technology, but test scores improved. Beal to “catch” struggling students in their shining moments. Seeing their work offered as an example of success creates an instant confidence boost. “From their own seat, and without the distraction of students moving around the classroom, I can have one student or all of my students working on their personal tablet, which in turn shows up on everybody’s tablet. It incorporates all of the aspects of teaching that are effective and also enjoyable and meaningful to the students.” Adding the interactive spice of new technology to a traditional subject piques the girls’ interest and it shows in their test scores. In Beal’s math class, keeping them connected, both mentally and technologically, equals success. Sites We Like: www.SpellingCity.com Designed to help kids on spelling tests, this site has over 35,000 spelling words and eight spelling games—and includes a real person who says each word and sentence. There are thousands of free spelling lists, or students and teachers can save their own. 14 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.SpellingCity.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - October 2008

Technology & Learning - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Desk News & Trends We All Stream for Video Put to the Test Special Needs Guide to Tech Products The New Rules of Copyright Picture Perfect What’s New Leader of the Year Profile

Technology & Learning - October 2008

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