D. Lambert | Secondary | Science
In late 2020 I switched to explicit instruction and drew and wrote out my instruction, dropping PowerPoint from my practice. I had a document camera and mini white board for every lesson and off I went off teaching. This worked reasonably well for me but it had its downfalls. The image from the camera was rarely as sharp as I needed it. This caused a lot of fixing and adjusting when I should have been teaching. Secondly, the content was live and once I rubbed off the white board it was gone. The final, most annoying thing, was the reflection of light from the mini white board. The camera just saw white and often I would have to go back adjusting the zoom. I enjoyed teaching like this but it wasn’t ideal, especially as I was moving to different classrooms regularly.
During the second lockdown in 2021 I continued to teach using the document camera and the mini white board. The online learning was a very similar to how I taught in class but with obvious lack of engagement. During this period I purchased a graphics tablet after reading a blog about them and I haven’t looked back since. It still is one of the best pieces of technology I use to date. There is no need to focus any camera, no issue with the mini white board being too bright and best of all it (using OneNote) allows me to retain all my instructions. So here is how I use a graphics tablet in my classroom.
1. It allows me write over any digital document.
This has allowed me to model how I would write answers to exam questions in science and biology. I could project the images or exams on the board and use a marker but this is quicker, cleaner and my big head isn’t in the way.
Correcting a mock CBA. “Straight away I can see here that this student’s CBA is off to a good start because they give some background knowledge. I am now going to tick off this reference from the bottom of their document to ensure they match. See this sentence here, I don’t fully understand what they are trying to say. How might they improve this sentence? Talk in your pairs and write the sentence that the student should have written…” Students see the process as well as the product.
2. It allows me to model how to draw certain diagrams in science.
Drawing the Rhizopus fungus. “I always start the rhizoids, they are not roots but they do anchor the fungus to the substrate. They don’t necessarily need to face directly down, they can point in any direction in the substrate but its best to point them down so we don’t confuse them with the stolons. Stolons grow across the substrate…” Students see how I start a diagram, they see my diagram isn’t a work of art and they hear my train of thought as I work through the diagram. I can purposely make mistakes and ask for feedback on them. They see that my diagram is fine all being in the one colour. This is all possible with a whiteboard or document camera but nowhere near as fast.
3. I find it much easier to maintain student attention when the content is appearing at the rate at which I write or draw, and this isn’t particularly fast. Students are less likely to get lost and follow my instruction. I can direct their attention around a finished diagram, but if I draw it live I am more certain they are thinking of the thing I need them to be thinking of.
4. I can be much more responsive to the class in front of me compared to PowerPoint. Students can ask some really powerful questions that you didn’t plan for. PowerPoint can leave teachers a bit flat footed if a second, alternative example or explanation is needed.
“Sir? Why does my exam say that I should have placed the ammeter and voltmeter is opposite positions in the circuit? I may have slide that covered this issue but what good is displaying this again if it’s clear the student didn’t get it the first time? I can try pre-empt all misconceptions in my lesson but there is always questions that throw you. In the above scenario I can quickly draw out the student’s circuit and explain why they are wrong and then draw the circuit out correctly and explain why my circuit is correct. Could I just walk down and draw this on the student’s page? I could but then I’d miss a valuable opportunity of given whole class feedback. I get to correct more hidden misconceptions and reinforce content for those who know it.
5. I retain a digital copy of my instruction. PowerPoint can do the same but whiteboard or document cameras can’t. I am more likely to pinpoint where I could improve and amend for the next time I teach that lesson. A graphics tablet wins this battle with the whiteboard any day of the week.