| Whether you make presentations in the | | | | move around and engage the students. (It's the |
| boardroom or classroom, chances are you want | | | | digital equivalent of asking a student up to the |
| freedom from your regular keyboard and mouse. | | | | board to record answers on flipchart paper.) |
| We teach using a data projector in our classroom. | | | | We've found that students enjoy the opportunity |
| This year, we bought a wireless keyboard and | | | | to type during the lesson. (We typically stress |
| mouse combination to use with our digital | | | | that when we generate ideas during a lesson, |
| projector. And, we love it! | | | | we're in the prewriting or brainstorming stage of |
| | | | the writing process. Therefore, we are not |
| 1. You are not limited to teaching from behind | | | | focusing on correcting grammatical or spelling |
| your desk. With some classroom setups, (or if | | | | mistakes - that comes later in editing.) |
| you use a school data projector attached to a | | | | 3. You can use the wireless mouse to move |
| media cart that you roll into your classroom), | | | | forward to the next slide from anywhere in your |
| your computer may not be in the most ideal | | | | classroom. If you are a dynamic speaker, you |
| location. A wireless keyboard and mouse allows | | | | won't be limited to the front of the classroom... |
| you to move around and teach from anywhere. | | | | you can change to the next slide in your |
| (that way, you can sit beside students who need | | | | powerpoint presentation from anywhere. We |
| help focusing on the lesson.) | | | | found that a regular wireless keyboard / mouse |
| 2. You can share the work. You can pass the | | | | combo didn't work in the classroom because the |
| wireless keyboard and mouse to older students | | | | range was too limited. Eventually, we found that a |
| so they can type in the responses generated by | | | | bluetooth keyboard / mouse worked from the |
| the whole-class discussion. That frees you up to | | | | opposite end of the room. |