Nearing the Finish Line

Just as I felt confident using the program the worst thing happen. You know, the old "Show and Tell" thing. We were to present the flipcharts we made to our classmates. First the "butterflies" then the "Bees". I was sure the "Board" would know I didn't feel comfortable touch it! As fate would have it, when I opened my mouth to talk nothing came out. Dry throat is the enemy! Fortunately, everything else went smoothly and we all accomplished the task at hand. Immediately we all felt better about doing this in front of students. I am now confident that after a few more attempts at working at the board I WILL succeed! GREAT CLASS! EVEN BETTER INSTRUCTOR.....THANKS MRS. MERCER!!!!

The Battle of the Hill: Hump Day

At last, it is Wednesday and things are beginning to look familiar and make sense. I can envision many, many uses for the "container" and embedding videos into flipcharts during lecture. These tools will not only keep the students interested, they will also challenge my creativity by forcing me to find new ways to use them. Maybe I'll make it all the way to the top of this hill without becomming a "mental case" after all. While still not a day at the beach, hill climbing is getting to be a real sport!

Day Two: Media Blitz

Today in class we learned how to edit our flipcharts and make them interactive! First we linked files, objects and pictures. Later we discovered how to link a video file to a presentation. I can see the various uses of this feature in teaching the body systems in Allied Health. Finally, we reviewed making containers and how to make items appear and disappear on command. This application will be usefull conducting pre and post testing events. Now, if I can just remember this until school actually begins!

No a day on the Beach!

What I thought was going to be a day at "boot camp" actually turned into a very productive and interesting day. It seems that towering, intimidating ActivBoard has numerous useful aspects afterall. On Monday the journey into the resources began. It was great to find out just how much information is there and can be utilized so quick and easy. "Dragging" can be fun! I see how transforming many of my Power Point lectures into Flipcharts will draw the entire class into interactive learning and keep them engaged the entire block. Much like the end of a day at boot camp, at the end of the session I had a brain cramp! So like you do with muscle cramp, I went home to practice all I learned and worked out the cramp.