Video Lesson

I regularly present a lesson on verb forms throughout my intro level Latin classes as new material is added.  It serves both to present new material and reinforce that which was previously taught. I make the slides that go along with the material available to my students via Blackboard. The slides can be useful for a student to whom I have already presented the material, but do not stand well on their own. With that in mind I plan to use this presentation for my first video lesson, so that my students can view not only the slides but the instruction that goes with them on their own time.

Cleveland Board of Education vs. LaFleur

See below for a presentation on Cleveland Board of Education vs. LaFleur

Cleveland Board of Education vs. LaFleur on Prezi

Legal Concerns in Education

It is important for a teacher to be aware of the legal pitfalls that go with the profession. Copyright law in particular can cause concern. Fair use allows us as educators some latitude, still it is important to know what that entails. It is especially important for a teacher, who holds his students to a standard of academic honesty to meet that same standard.

Presenting through Prezi

Preparing a lecture or lesson is perhaps the most time consuming task required of a teacher. I spend at least three hours in prep work for every hour of lecture to my students. That time may include reading and re-reading the source material, looking for art or media to enhance the information, finding something fresh to add so that my lectures don't become stale, and in the end the putting all of this content into a medium to present. And this doesn't include the years of coursework that preceded all of this. After so much effort, the document that results should be something that elicits pride from its creator and excitement from his audience—or at least does not put the audience to sleep.
I suggest Prezi as a particularly effective presentation software. Prezi allows you to create your presentation on one giant digital canvas of sorts, rather than individual slides. The content of that canvas is presented in a linear fashion by focusing in on a specific part of that canvas, one after the other, resulting in a series of images—called a path in Prezi jargon—similar to the familiar slide show. I find many benefits to Prezi as a presentation medium, not the least of which is the novelty to an audience used to slides. That alone will buy you a couple of minutes of attention. The benefits of Prezi are not, however, limited to the final product—the presentation itself. I have found that putting together a Prezi lends itself to brainstorming, effectively combing that preliminary step with the composition itself. The software can also be easily utilized for group work within the class. The "edit together" feature allows students to work concurrently on the same document, filling in content individually or in small groups from which the entire class can learn.
Rather than expound more in words, I have put together a quick demonstration.

Brief Intro to Prezi EDMS 550 on Prezi