Making Concepts Come Alive Classrooms Dont Have to be Deadly or…

We Have A Tough Job Diverse Students Diverse Instructors Diverse Delivery Demands We need good tools and strategies to help us do our job right!

Student Diversity Vast range of experience Traditional vs. Adult Hardware vs. Software Full Spectrum of Learning Styles Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic, Interactive Full Range of Needs ESL Physical & learning handicaps

Student Diversity And often students are struggling to work jobs raise families deal with financial responsibilities and/or limited funds

Delivery Diversity Face to Face Large lecture format Small lecture format 14,10 or 8 week semesters With or without lab Hybrid or Online Different forms of Internet access ¨Dial up, Broadband

Instructor Diversity Full time Instructors to full professor Adjuncts New or seasoned Different levels of expertise, interests and knowledge base. Different amounts of start-up and prep time

Dilemma How, as instructors, do we: Manage the diversity in students? Manage the diversity in delivery methods? And… Keep the students interested? ¨Does the sit down, shut up, listen and learn method really work?

What We Are Doing Sequence and select topics with spin toward student interest Increase classroom interaction Inject current events Use of ART and images Weave in multimedia Smarter assessment strategies

Important in any classroom environment Use the same set of teaching strategies to any student…

Sequence and Select Topics Sequence and Select topics with a spin toward student interest: Home Networking CD Burner Installation Mobile Technology

Classroom Interaction Increase Classroom Interaction Group Projects – Web Quests ¨Design Your OwnDesign Your Own ¨Borrow from the WebBorrow from the Web ¨From the text Spam spam spam spamspam spam spam

Classroom Interaction Team Times ¨Gizmo, Inc. from page 147 of Tech in ActionGizmo, Inc. Let the students be the teacher ¨PPT presentationsPPT presentations ¨Organizing Key TermsOrganizing Key Terms

Searching the Internet Subject Directories 5 Search Engines 1 Dial Up Getting Connected 2 Broadband DSL 3 Cable 4 Satellite (hint)

Current Events Current events Tech TV Newspapers: in print and onlineonline Web Work

You Gotta Have Art! Lots of ART ready to go From the book and Different from the book

More Art 3D renderings

Multimedia Tech TV Warriors of the. Net Our Own AnimationsAnimations SoundBytes – SoundBytes ¨Virtual PC Tour (Chapter 2) ¨Installing a Computer Network (Chapter 7) ¨Labs hands on learning even at home

Smarter Assessment Assessment Combination of projects – ¨multi layered, multi-purpose ¨Feather in application skills PPT projects Word/Excel skills Automated training/testing to be more efficient in delivery

And all this means …. We are constantly Reinventing Repackaging Redesigning …With little time

Consider This Scenario … Assigned a Sound Byte as pre-lecture material. Want todays lecture to build on that and to provoke discussion. Need to reorganize PPT and find coordinating animations Need homework assignment Also want class materials shipped off to supporting BBD site Ten minutes to lecture!

How to Organize all THAT!?! Present IT! The Next Gen Instructor Resource CD!

Contact Information Mary Anne Poatsy Montgomery County Community College 340 DeKalb Pike Blue Bell, PA 19422