Overhead Projectors/Visual Presenters

The first time I remember having an overhead projector used in class was in fifth grade. I remember using it for math, possibly for other subjects but math seems to be more clear to me. My teacher stood next to this somewhat bulky technology and taught us multiplication on it. She used transparency film, which is basically a transparent sheet, and dry erase markers. The dry erase markers allowed her to omit anything she needed to without the hassle of permanent marker. She also could have used more than one sheet if needed. I liked using the over head because it was much easier to see the handwriting on the screen.

Chalkboards are just messy, once you write on a clean surface, and then erase after, it just makes it more difficult to understand the handwriting on top of that. They also create unwanted chalk dust in the air, along with leaving your hands all chalky. Also if you sat in the back of the classroom or even in the middle it was difficult to see any handwriting at the bottom. I remember always looking over peoples' head. Transparency film usually comes in a huge pack, so it leaves less mess and is less time consuming, you just use a new sheet once you fill one. Way easier than having to erase what you already wrote, students are also able to perhaps revisit a sheet if they missed a part.

We also used an overhead in my sixth grade class in science. I loved it, my teacher always wrote the notes this way. Copying down notes has always been my favorite thing to do, so think I just genuinely enjoyed that half the room was dark and the overhead just made it way more interesting. I also felt that the students seem to pay way more attention this way. I think we are always mesmerized when a teacher uses a technology in the classroom. Digital visual presenters are sort of the more modernized version of the typical old school projector shown in the image above.

These visual presenters now come with an abundance of neat features. They are very useful features as well. We currently use a visual presenter in my math class. My favorite button on this technology is the freeze button. It is a really neat tool, my professor usually asks one of us to share our work on the projector. She lets us talk about it while the student stays up by the projector with her work. We revise a couple things to her work, then when she needs to go back to her seat she simply pushes the freeze button. This function allows the image of her work to be copied, the projector takes a picture of it and then it stays on the screen even though the student has moved her notes off of the projector.

This is a neat way to reference back to the sheet without having the student miss out on any other notes. It also has a zoom in and out button which is sort of self explanatory. It lets us view the image closer, or further. You can also connect the overhead to a PC, this way the teacher can actually go from her PC notes, to the projector. There are many different devices, all fairly similar. I will leave a link to the Samsung Digital Visual Presenter. The projector also comes with a user's manual that explains what is included and all the functions it has as well.

I think an overhead or a visual presenter can play a big part in education. It has many different uses and functions, the possibilities are really endless. I also strongly believe that it helps maintain the class under control and they are more engaged in the lesson or activity. I recommend that everyone give this technology a try in their classrooms.