What Ever Happened To The AV Club?

What Ever Happened To The AV Club?

When I was in high school in the 60s, I was a proud member of the Audio Visual Club. This was before geeks and nerds — we were the pre- geeks and nerds. We would have a contest to see who could load the 16-mm film projector the fastest and our second contest was to see who splice a tape for the reel-to-reel tape recorders the fastest. I held the school record for replacing an overhead bulb in the projector.
None of our group ever imagined a CD, DVD, clickers, smart boards, Second Life, podcasting, video conferencing, the Internet and several other technologies that our schools use every day.

The common thread in comparing old and new technology is a vision for creating positive change.

Several new technologies are changing the shape of classrooms:
• Smart Boards – (a large – 4ft by 8 feet- white board that projects images on the board- teacher or students touch the screen/whiteboard and it is interactive. Used to display computer and or video images. The board is similar to a touch screen and you can cut/copy/paste/move images or type on it.

• LCD Projectors – (short description of what each is here) (a projection devise that you can connect a video camera, TV output or computer and project the image on a large screen up to 10 feet by 10 feet)

• Clickers – (Students can use the handheld device and click on a small keyboard to answers questions in the classroom. Allows the instructor to receive instant feedback and display the results on a computer)

• IVC – (Interactive Video Conference –camera and TV allows connections around the world. Can bring experts, museums, zoos and other content providers into the student’s classroom using IP video connection on the Internet)

• Document cameras – (a stationary camera mounted on a stand an pointed down to the stand, - that allows the instructor to display document, specimens, samples and any small object to display on a large screen. A zoom lens on the camera can maginify the object from 10 – 1000 percent.)

• Podcast Recorders –Podcasts are recorded by students about educational projects in the classroom. IE. book reports, digital stories, debates, class discussion, performances etc. (the old cassette recorder for the 21st Century Classroom. A small electronic recorder that fits in the palm of your hand. Can record up to 3 hours of content on a small media card. Card is removed and inserted into a computer and recordings are then edited to be placed on the Internet for educational listening

• Virtual Reality – (VR is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment. It can be real or imagined one. Most of the current virtual reality environments are primarily a visual experience that displays on a computer screen or through special or stereo vision goggles)

Districts that make new technology work invested in staff development and train teachers with new tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and visual literacy.
They provide access to new equipment including clickers, smart boards and 1-1 computers for every student and also invest in technicians and a chief information officer to keep systems operating correctly.

Digital natives — young people who have spent their entire lives in the digital world — need new tools to expand their reach into the world to acquire and remember information. School districts should not be afraid of new technology that challenges old paradigms.

In most of our schools today, students have very little input in the structure and substance of their education. Teachers still do the proverbial classroom lecture every day. Research is beginning to tell us that kids are bored, especially when outside of school they are using YouTube and media-saturated, tech-driven products and applications.

I wonder what would happen if we were to seek input from our students? We might learn that they prefer questions rather than answers. Maybe they would share their opinions, group projects, devise project for the classroom, communicate on real-world issues, and tell us how they can own their own learning.
Talk to your students — they have great ideas on how to integrate technology into the classroom — lead by listening. Ask students: What experiences in school really engaged you? How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?

What would you do to make school more fun?