Showing a movie in class used to be a way to fill time, calm kids down, or maybe an easy lesson to leave the substitute teacher. Today I had fun letting the students have very different learning experiences while…watching a movie!

Before starting the movie a student asked me if we could use Cover It Live to take notes while we watched the movie. In three minutes I was able to launch a live event and get them set up. Another student asked if she could use our Livescribe Pulse Pen to record notes and audio. Sure, why not? Another student decided to just type her notes on a Microsoft Word document. She added some pictures and used colorful headings. There were still 4 students who preferred writing their notes in their lab notebooks. Using the Interwrite Mobi slate it was easy to pause the movie for discussion as it streamed from Discovery Education and could even draw and add notes directly on the screen. When the movie was finished, I uploaded the Word document, the Pulse Pen pencasts, and the Cover It Live notes on our class wiki page.

What is changed when technology is incorporated into a typical lesson?  Do the students learn more?  Can the difference be quantified?  These are the questions that we have to face in order to build a case for technology.  We are asked to prove that the students do better when using technology.  I don’t collect data, but I do make many observations.  The students are happy to have a choice.  They are engaged in the class activities.  They are practicing their communication skills.   And they are proud to show me what they create using technology.  That is enough proof for me!