TECHNOLOGY CORNER... Creating an Interactive Classroom without an Interactive Smartboard, Todd Johnson, Guest Author Michael Sekelsky, MMEA Technology Chair
Technology is not the answer to being a great teacher; it should be a tool a great teacher can use. As more and more technology is brought into the classroom, we should not become so reliant on it that we forget to do that which we are to do, that is to teach. That being said, there are so many wonderful things technology in the classroom can do for you and your students. If you would like to be a teacher who embraces the idea of an interactive classroom to enhance your teaching, but do not have the money for an interactive white board (IWB), these tips may help.
Most of us want to show things from the computer to supplement what we do, so we want to control our computers without being next to them. Some of us want our students to be able to manipulate programs to help them with learning. In my experience, I have found that an IWB keeps me at the front of the room, and keeps my back to the students. I have also found an IWB takes time for students to get up and come to the front to use it and return to their seats. So what do you do?
There are two major ways to achieve the interactive classroom without an IWB, both requiring a tablet or smart phone of some kind. First is the computer driven interactive classroom. You have a regular projector with your computer hooked into it. Now the fun begins. If you are using an Apple product, i.e.
40
iPad, iPhone or iTouch, download a program and app like Doceri to your computer and to your device. (Doceri is free for 30 days, which is plenty of time to test-drive it.) When running, your computer screen
will
appear on your device. Not only will it appear,
but also you can control your computer from the device. Running Power Point? Touch the screen and change slides. Showing a YouTube video? Bring up the Internet, touch the “keyboard” button, and type from where you are standing. You are controlling your computer from anywhere in the room! Doceri comes with annotative software built in. One touch on the screen and you activate a highlighter, which you can circle or highlight something on your device and it shows up on the projector. Touch another button and you have a virtual white board where you can write notes for students to see. Unfortunately for Android users, Doceri has
not
complete d their app for you, but Android and Apple users have a great alternative: Splashtop. The main difference between Splashtop and Doceri is the free version of Splashtop just controls the computer from anywhere in the room, it has no annotative software.
The paid version does have the annotative software.
The second way to go interactive for Apple products is to purchase an Apple TV. For $99.00 you get a device to plug into a projector that, when it is set up correctly, whatever is on your iPad is shown on the projector with audio. This means that whatever app you have running can be seen by the entire class, and you can put the iPad in students’ hands to use. Apple TV comes also with built in apps to show YouTube and Netflix if you want. Android users do have Chromecast, a $35.00 alternative. The down side is it will not show your tablet directly, but certain apps will project. You can visit any website and show it on the projector and control it if you use Chrome as your browser.
Although not a means to an end itself, technology can be an amazing way of engaging students and enhancing our teaching. With the number of ways to include technology, we no longer need to be stuck at the front of our rooms to control computers, we have the ability to be anywhere in our rooms and still teaching with the help of technology.
Resources
www.splashtop.com
www.doceri.com www.apple.com www.google.com/intl/en-US/ chrome/devices/chromecast/
Contact: Todd M. Johnson
kruta@collegeheights.org
MISSOURI SCHOOL MUSIC| Volume 68, Number 3
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