COMPUTERS AND PROJECTORS have made their appearance in classrooms as standard equipment to augment instruction. However, most teachers in the classroom have never used this equipment or have difficulty incorporating this technology into their lessons. They are unsure about how to utilize these presentation tools or how these tools impact student learning. Through the creativity of teachers, many uses of this technology have been developed to augment classroom instruction. Some examples are:

Demonstrating the Writing Process
Teaching English Language Development
Representing Information in Graphical Organizers
Modeling Software Use

 
Teachers can use computer programs to model the writing process. For example, writers uses programs like Microsoft PowerPoint or Inspiration to organize their ideas. Then, the writers can transfer these ideas to paragraph form using a program like Microsoft Word. In the classroom, the teacher can use the computer and projector to demonstrate this process to the students. 

Using graphic organizers, the teacher can guide the class discussion and record the students' ideas. The students feel validated since their ideas are being recorded. Once the information is saved in a document, the class can repeatedly revisit this document later. Also, the teacher can demonstrate how to transfer this collected information into organized paragraphs. The students will see how to create, organize, and write their own essays using computer programs.

Another use of computers and projectors in classroom instruction is in English Language Development. Teachers can combine PowerPoint presentations with pictures, illustrations and music to teach songs and vocabulary to English Language Learners. The teacher is able to review the words of the song with the students and explain the meaning of words when necessary.


During the singing of the song, students practice word pronunciation. Depending on the lyrics of the song, the class can create movements to help illustrate the meaning of certain vocabulary words. The illustrations can also help reinforce the movements. In the example, the teacher incorporates signs from American Sign Language to emphasize the days of the week that appear in the song. 

Some instructional topics can be better understood if the information is organized in graphical form. Teachers can use some computer programs like Inspiration to graphically display information. Students are able to remember this visual organization. This organization helps them to better comprehend or recall concepts, categories, or facts. Teachers can also use these kind of programs to help document the students' knowledge in lesson discussions that last more than one day. This information can be saved and retrieved another day to help students connect with their prior knowledge or previously discussed ideas. 

Another important use of the computers and projectors in classroom instruction is the actual demonstration of how to use computer programs. For example, when a teacher opens a document and types a letter, the students see how the teacher uses the software. After repeated modeling by the teacher, the students are more confident to repeat the process. This learning occurs with all of the software programs the teacher might use throughout the course of instruction.

In the illustration at the right, teachers demonstrate how to use a program like MS Word in classroom presentations such as:

Daily Journal Writing
Grammar Lesson
Cloze / Fill-In-The-Blank Activities
Essay Writing 

At the same time that the teachers use this technology to lead classroom activities, students are able to observe how the teacher uses the software. These observations will only give students confidence in their own computer use.

Brian Deyo, Educational Technology Graduate Student at SDSU

Deyo, B. (2005). Integrating computers and projectors into classroom instruction. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.