There seems to be some controversy raging over the use of so-called ‘presentation software’ such as Microsoft’s PowerPoint and others.  In 2003, National Public Radio estimated that there were approximately 10 million computers in primary and secondary schools equipped with Microsoft’s PowerPoint software. With the advent of competing software and open source products such as Open Office project from Sun Microsystems, that offer presentation software for free to anyone who wants to use it, the number of students with access to such tools has exploded.  Such tools are available to almost anyone who wants them, but are they good for our [...]

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In the time of the iPhone, tablet computers and shrinking portable music players, science and technology in the classroom have gone into overdrive. Schools are now requiring students, as young as elementary-age, to have laptops in the classroom. What will these newer, high-tech changes mean for your classroom and how can you make them better? Computers The access to computers in the classroom has been increasing for the past decade. But, have they really helped? “Some educators claim that ready access to computers and increased use of computers in K-12 education has a beneficial effect on educational outcomes. In the [...]

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Sigh. Is it just me, or does the current hyper-focus on technology in the classroom leave anyone else just a little bit cold? Tech-hungry teachers and students are licking their chops.  Design fanatics are genuflecting at the feet of Steve Jobs. Do I risk professional suicide if I propose that there is an underbelly to the iPad2, and similar technology, that we should be thinking and talking about? When Steve Jobs recently catapulted his latest Apple creation into the marketplace, even the buzz from former tech rival Bill Gates’ ill-informed pontification about the “benefits” of increasing class size was reduced [...]

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For most of us, the idea of an effective education in a modern classroom immediately evokes the use of computers and electronics in the classroom.  In my own classes, I use both high and low-tech methods to teach astronomy and physics.  My physics classes are known for low-tech, hands-on lab projects; exciting and sometimes decidedly odd-looking contests where student teams compete to build the strongest crane, the fastest rocket car, or the most complex marble roller coaster.  These activities serve to make the physics class more exciting and popular, but there is a lot more to it than just filling [...]

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