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One of the basic ways to use a visualizer (document imaging camera) is like a colorful overhead projector. You can do that by hooking up a VGA from the projector to the laptop and a VGA from the projector to the visualizer, you can toggle between the two by pressing “Source Selection.” You may have to first press Fn and F8 to get the laptop to show up.

A more powerful way to use a visualizer is to install its software on your computer. The benefit is that you can annotate student journals, take snapshots of student work and more. The only (small) problem is that it slows down how quickly you see what is placed under the visualizer. You can set up the visualizer by installing the software and then connect the laptop to the projector with the VGA and the laptop to the visualizer with USB, you can open the visualizer on the laptop as a window and use it like that. Then within the computer you can toggle between websites, the visualizer, PowerPoints, etc…

Providing ELL students socially supportive classroom settings have been shown to have a positive effect on student achievement. Providing support to students with diverse learning styles and needs have a positive effect on student learning. Utilizing graphic organizers has a positive effect on student learning… What kind of effects result from providing socially supportive classroom settings where students interact with graphic organizers according to their learning style (kinesthetic)? Did you say, “off the charts?” It must be so. You can see a great example of this in Lois Richard’s classroom at Kenton Elementary.

NETS: VIc – Students collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

NETS for T: IIIb – Teachers use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.

As the Department of Instructional Technology works with principals on school improvement plans, we are noticing a definite trend in which direction teachers and administration want to move. Schools are putting projectors and visualizers into the hands of teachers and students. Visualizers (document imaging cameras) are a fantastic tool for teacher’s instruction. They align perfectly with strategies that work. Three instructional strategies that are demonstrated optimally using a visualizer are:

• Identifying similarities and differences
• Using nonlinguistic representations
• Using questions, cues, and advance organizers

The visualizers lend themselves to all of the strategies, especially in regards to student work. Teachers can simply lay student work on the visualizer and there it is projected on a large screen for the class to see. What a great way to illustrate to students exactly what proficient and outstanding work looks like.

Here’s an example of a School Improvement Plan for Education Technology – Information Literacy (SIP: ET-IL).

Incorporating short-cycle assessments into the lesson plans are a great strategy for increasing student achievement. This strategy provides English Language Learners feedback on their progress so that they can successfully learn and apply new concepts. Steve Whitney, a science teacher at South Middle school, is using this technique with a student-response system by Qwizdom. Students are able to use remotes that are used to vote or respond to questions. Today Steve used the system to take an impromptu assessment to gage how much knowledge students retained from previous activities, discussions and lessons. Immediately upon receiving the data from students Steve was able to launch a lesson that addressed the area of weakness for the majority of students. While Qwizdom is one effective technology that enables a teachers to instantly receive feedback from students, there are others. One of the more prevalent student-response systems out in the district is by Promethean. Another technology that is being applied is the use of “Clickers” by Turning Point. Whichever technology is used however, the important thing is that it provides instant reliable feedback that enables teaching to become even more student driven.

NETS for T: IVb. Teachers use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning.

Yesterday a representative from Elluminate demonstrated their product to the DoIT. He described it as a “pumped-up” version of skype. It is like Webinar software but created specifically for the field of Education. It “Add[s] real-time interaction to distance learning. Extend[s] the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Engage[s] more students in more ways.” It seems like a great alternative to webinars for professional development. We’ll be taking a closer look at it to see how robust and useful it is.