EdTech Talks

Presentation design is rooted in the art of storytelling. Storytelling is a powerful tool for transferring knowledge. Socrates used storytelling as a means of stimulating critical thinking. Of course he also preferred to use dialogue and debate with pupils, but he used storytelling to illustrate a point. One such story is recounted in Plato's Phaedrus in which Socrates shares with Phaedrus (Plato) the story of how writing came to be and why its invention would ultimately be the demise of human memory which he believed to be the foundation of knowledge. I share this with you as I believe presentation design is the modern equivalent of the Socratic method in which the intent of the presenter is to transfer knowledge to the audience. The presenter poses questions, provides answers, stimulates emotion and brings the audience to a new understanding. Of course, Socrates would never promote the use of slides, but it's not really the slides that tell the story, they're an aid us...

Technology is a Tool  Technology is a tool and there are some practical reasons why it’s still offered to students as a class.  For example, students need to learn keyboarding. Which apparently now is being taught to 3 rd and 4 th graders so they can be more proficient in word processing when they get their own school-issued devices in middle school. (Regardless of the fact their hands are too small, and their pinkies can’t even reach the keys.) The goal is by 6 th grade, these students are using two hands and proper keyboarding techniques. Technology class is also necessary for teaching students to use software applications on the computer (or their device) like Microsoft Office and Google products so they can complete their assignments and homework online thereby streamlining the grading process and eliminating the stacks of paper teachers used to lug around in their bags.        What I’ve written above may sound trite because I’ve...

This is my first (official) foray into the digital realm of blogging.  I am looking forward to sharing, collaborating and exploring the many aspects of Instructional Design using this forum. Cheers! Judy