Teaching a Technology Course (Office 2010)
I struggle with "how" best to present the material...I show the students via an LCD projector and they follow along and then assign homework...any suggestions on how to better facilitate the learning?
I teach technology classes like that as well. I find 15-20 minute lessons followed by practice exercises works well. This gives the students time to process what I have just presented, ask questions, and also apply their new skills.
Hi Tonya,
Good approach. Your method gives the students both content and application which is important in the total learning process. This will also assist the students in retaining the content at a much higher rate.
Gary
I agree with the type of assignments Gary suggested. I teach Office 2007 and I will move to Office 2010 this upcoming quarter. I lecture on the technical key terms for 25-30 minutes and then I have a variety of assignments like projects that allow students to practice the topics covered as well as "Issues" we discuss that I require a short paper (no more than one paper) to provide their opinion. An example issue is "Can I copy it?" dealing with copyright protection, ripping music, and software license.
I think the best approach is to provide a variety of ways to gain hands-on experience.
Hi Cynthia,
Not sure what subject you are teaching but I would use case studies, problem solving, small groups and discussions to get the message across. Lecture for about 15-20 minutes then have a reinforcing activity. Lecture another activity. This way the students are applying their newly acquired knowledge and that greatly increases the retention of content.
Gary
