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Today’s seminar marks the end of not only this course, but also the entire MT Program. It’s been a long two years, but also a really fast degree. Sometimes I can’t even believe how fast two years have flown by. It doesn’t seem like so long ago that I was sitting in my first Prosem class. Even more surprising is that today is also the end of 20 years of formal schooling. From kindergarten all the way to the end of a second undergrad degree, it’s been a long journey to get here.
Our SIPS class has easily become my favourite on-campus course of the entire program. The focus on technology and how it can be used to great benefit in the classroom has been both engaging and exciting in ways I’d never imagined before. It’s been such a great class, that other classmates have even agreed that this is the course that everyone should take. I’ve probably gained more from this single semester seminar than I have from several different seminars combined. It is THAT influential.
Powerpoint is BORING. There, I said it. It’s boring and I hate that it dominates classrooms, boardrooms, and every other kind of room in which you might find it. It’s formulaic, bland, and plain. No matter how many pictures, videos and so-called “stuff” you put into a powerpoint presentation, it’s still powerpoint. And it still sucks. Are there better ways of presenting information? Absolutely! I’d like to introduce you to one such alternative, but first a little context.
In January, I was brought into a class I didn’t know much about. They called “SIPS.” What is SIPS? Good question. SIPS stands for Studies in Pedagogy and Schooling. More specifically, I was enrolled in the SIPS class: Inquiry & Technology Across the Curriculum. In it, we were introduced to a vast array of technological toys to foster inquiry in the classroom (you’ll be hearing more about my SIPS class in the future). One such tool was shown during a showcase, and it wasn’t even the focus of the presentation, it was the medium!
