Keystones: Regional Nomination Project

In the beginning of my career, I found technology integration difficult and at times burdensome often leaving me and my students frustrated by the whole experience. The problem was hardware availability and few tools for me the teacher. As time went by I continued trying to integrate technology and for ideas I started attending professional conferences in technology. These were very enlightening and I've discovered a world of possibilities and programs already available to me which aided me in integrating technology more easily in the classroom. With those frustrated days behind me I can proudly say I have many tools to aid me in integrating technology and delivering content to my students. I currently use many different approaches in my lessons to keep student interest and maximize learning. Some of the programs I've discovered along the way are very simple and others more complex. In this process of discovery, I found the complex programs can deliver very appealing and visually rich content which in many instances can't be matched. Still, I find some of the most effective ways of integrating technology are come from some of the simplest programs I learned early in this process. For example, PowerPoint is a simple program I used early to integrate technology in my classroom and still I find it very effective in delivering my content. Even though PowerPoint started it all the list of programs I use to create presentations has grown to include Flash, Flash Paper, Acrobat, Paint, Robodemo/Captivate, Dreaweaver, and many others.All offering a unique way to present and view classroom content.

With these programs I have created review games, Flash based PowerPoints, tutorials for a variety of desktop programs and Internet applications, timelines, movies, interactive maps, and have started putting class papers on-line for download. I use some of the same media to teach my fellow teachers in summer technology classes called Seal school. I have my students(students and teachers alike)use some of these programs to make presentations and I've created tutorials to aid them in their learning of these new programs. On the following pages I have examples of some of the media I created and integrated in my classroom. In fact, you can vistit my school website by choosing School Web in the navigation menu. Additionally, there is a page with student works in my presentation. On the student works page I give explanations of the projects students did using some of the aforementioned programs. Lately, I have developed an interest in podcasts and podcasting in education. Before the end of the year, I will be creating and delivering the schools first podcasts.
Lastly, most of the media I show requires the incorporation of certain hardware. The two most important parts in my classroom are the media cart and the SmartBoard poctured on the left. Since getting the media cart and SmartBoard 3 years ago, I have used many different techiques to integrate these tools and other technology into my classroom and everyday teaching. I have students themselves use the Smartboard and media cart for their presentations and sometimes in running our reviews. Without my SmartBoard and media cart none of this would be possible for myself or my students.

The cart above is complete have a computer, DVD player, and projector.

As the technology changes I find my projects changing and my lessons changing to integrate what I believe will be useful technology to help teach and learn. Unlike the frustrations early in my career the burden is no longer falls on how to integrate technology but how to encourage my students in the life long process of learning and teaching with technology. I hope you enjoy the rest of my presentation.

SmartBoard I use in class

Web done by:
Jason Heiser
Selinsgrove High School
IU 16