DATE conference -- Session 1

The first technology session I attended for the DATE conference was Shade Gomez's "Incoporating Technology in the Classroom." All I have to say is...WOW!

Shade spoke about the ways in which teachers can use PowerPoint effectively in the classroom. Some tips are to keep text brief (two sentences at the max for each slide), use bullets, and know your audience.

Shade then showed us student work from various years. His class was "project based," and he used Shakespeare for his influence, so the students were able to make their own assignments. Students came up with a variety of ideas:
woodworking, tee shirts, hats, bead work, metal work, audio files, movie files, etc.

One of the best student work I saw was a "discovery channel" type of video. The students role played in the characters in Hamlet, and made it a modern day twist by using interviews like the Discovery Channel does today.

Students even made their own music, sang or played, and converted it to an audio file.

I was most amazed at the length the students went to do the assignments. They got so into their work, so it just shows us that if students are inspired and interesting enough, then they can make amazing products.