Over the past year, I’ve seen a multitude of creative solutions on how to get the one laptop and projector in the room involving students during a lesson. The old way of getting kids involved had them coming up to the blackboard or overhead to demonstrate a skill. With wireless technology as readily available as it is now, we’re able to accomplish the same task without the distractions of having students leave their desks (if that’s your preference).
The most prevalent and easy to use way to get the students interacting is to pass them a wireless keyboard and/or mouse (about $60 for the one that we suggest) and have them interact with the website, or program of your choice. Another option is to invest in a wireless tablet such as an eInstruction Mobi. Recently, I purchased an Ultra Mini Keyboard from eBay that I’m quite happy with. I was shown the presentation tool by a colleague at Pickering HS who was quite happy with it. Our experience has shown that the 2.4 GHz RF devices have a greater range and tend to suffer from less interference than their Bluetooth counterparts so I decided to go with the RF version and have found that I quite like using it for presentations.
It's perfect for a classroom setting as students are, for the most part, fluent in texting and this device allows us to capitalize on what they are already doing on their own. It is small enough to carry around while teaching, and easy to pass off to students for them to manipulate digital manipulatives, or any other programs that you may be using.
The device is about 5.5cm x 14.5cm x 1cm thick and has a full keyboard and track pad for working the mouse. The range is reliable, in a room full of computers, within about 20 ft from the antenna, but has a longer range when in a room with less interference. The keyboard is much like one that you would see on a Blackberry except that it’s slightly larger and easier to use. It costs about $65 including shipping.
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