The Journey Continues

My goal to use technology in the classroom to increase engagement has led my explore my use of powerpoint, or google slides, presentations. I usually begin new units with presentations for the purpose of introducing new terms and formulas that will drive our learning for the unit. I noticed that an increasing number of my students (high school students in physics and AP physics) started taking pictures of the slides in the presentations. I inquired into why some students did this and they told me they just wanted the pictures to review later. Most were also writing down the information while also taking the pictures. However, an increasing number of students are only taking pictures and not writing anything down. They said they would review them later, before the test. A few students admitted that most times they would fail to review the notes at a later time. This got me to start thinking about changing the way I present material to students.

I found 2 products, Peardeck and Nearpod, that make presentations more engaging by letting students interact with the material on their screens by answering questions, drawing, etc. I settled on using Peardeck. After struggling with the normal learning curve of using Peardeck I was ready to use it with students for the first time this week. When I put the login screen up on the projector some students said "Cool, I really like this," as some teachers in the building have been using Peardeck for a while. I used it for one class and realized I needed to fix a few things as I had used text boxes instead of drawing boxes, easily fixable things I can do. The second class dove in with an equal enthusiasm. Near the end of the presentation, when the students had drawing boxes to use, I decided to use the "Show Answers" feature. As I scrolled through the answers I came across a very inappropriate response from a student. Yes the answer was on the projector for the entire class to see. Ahhhhhhh!!!! I realized that I now have to freeze the screen before I search through the answers to present to the class. (Yes I found the student and handled the disciplinary situation appropriately.)

I am not going to let one bad apple spoil my use of interactive presentations. Students like them and I find that students are more engaged than a "regular" presentation. I will reflect back later to see if the newness wears off and students will sour on the interactive presentations like they did with my "plain" presentations.

Meet the Teacher - Steve Ramthun

Hello my name is Steve Ramthun. This is my 3rd year with the School District of Waukesha, and my 23rd year teaching. I currently teach physics and AP physics at Waukesha South HS. My life has been hectic to say the least for the past year. The past year has brought some huge changes to my personal life. Last year we sold our house in Waukesha because we were building a house. Our new house was not completed so we moved in with my sister and brother in-law for 2 months. We then moved in to our new house in the end of June. Finally, my wife Laura, a teacher at New Berlin Eisenhower HS, had a baby girl on August 22nd.


I embraced technology early on in my teaching journey, often before other teachers did. However, my use of technology was mainly as a tool to collect data in the physics classroom. The use was of data collection sensors and probes was limited to a few labs per unit and not an integral classroom tool on a day to day basis. I did notice that when I did use the data collection devices for labs, student engagement increased. As the years passed, I integrated computer simulations for student use. On the teacher side of technology, I was one of the first teachers to regularly use powerpoint presentations in the classroom, yes I am that old. Additionally, I have started to make my own videos for students to use as "answer" videos. Most of the mathematical problems I assign in physics are supplied with answer videos that students can access online by way of BB9. I originally used these videos as a time saving feature to free up class time from doing math problems on the board. Not all students need  help with the mathematics of physics so I found the videos I created as a nice solution to free up class time for other activities and still provide help with the students that needed it. Students find the videos very helpful.

As I start my journey to integrate technology into my daily teaching I will be guided by engagement. The technology must keep the students engaged in the lesson. If the technology does not increase engagement, I will reevaluate its use as a teaching tool. I live through the era in science teaching that pushed hands on learning. I started to realize that not all "hands on' activities were "minds on" activities.

So my journey begins to integrate technology into my daily lesson plans. The struggle will be to choose activities that not only engage the students, but engage them into meaningful learning that scaffolds into high levels of understanding. I will keep you posted on both my triumphs and downfalls on that journey.