They quickly learn that technology is important in this class. They will receive relevant class announcements and exam study tips via group e mail. Exemplary Internet sites will be shared through their e mail. In fact, student opinion is enhanced when forwarding an e mail response to the video. Students learn e mail is an efficient way to contact a very busy instructor who manages to checks e mail messages several times daily.
All students learn better when they are recognized and valued.
Calling students by name on the second day of class is a powerful way to include them in meaningful interactions. Not only do we have class demonstrations for selecting and evaluating software for content relevant purposes, but students select four of their own software selections to analyze. Therefore, I have found making requests to commercial software vendors, who want their software analyzed by our preservice students, to be a valuable investment. Some software must be returned to the company within a 90-day period, other demoware is ours to keep. Students locate 5 well-selected sites for teacher or student use.