Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Electronic Teacher Aides

I think Inspiration is an excellent tool for teachers, especially because it can be converted to a Power Point slide show with the push of a button. It is very versatile and I can see myself using Inspiration and Power Point in classrooms for children of various ages. Both are powerful tools that can help keep students engage.
One specific feature I like is that the students can also use them, they're not merely for educators. Inspiration is inspiring, just as the name implies. I'm excited to introduce my own children to the program because I know that, not only will they love it, but it will be extremely helpful to them in thier studies in the future.
As a teacher I would like to use both programs to create lesson plans as well as use them for the actual lessons. You can alter them whenever needed and, as we all know, education is constantly changing so, there will probably be a lot of "alter-ing". Students will become huge contributors to lesson plans because you can receive their feedback, what works, what doesn't, and change it as needed. Plus, it's a lot like playing when you are creating something on either program, so it brings a little sunshine into what is often seen as monotonous and tedious.

1 comment:

skipvia said...

Your last paragraph caught my attention. I agree that teaching is all about engagement. If students are engaged in their tasks, then they're learning. If they're not engaged, then you've lost them. Using tools like Inspiration, PowerPoint, and digital video provides a lot of opportunity for engaging lessons. That's why I push so hard for teachers to use tools like Inspiration.