Teaching Technology Workshops:
Hints and Suggestions

This site was used for a presentation to the NSF EMPOWER program teachers at the summer workshop, June, 1999. The presenter was Mr. Scott Ragan, EMPOWER Program Coordinator

1. Remember that there are basically two learning curves when teaching CBL or MBL technology. You first have to learn how to use the equipment…how to set things up, what buttons to push, how to use the software. After that a comfort level is reached on that curve, then you can examine how to use the technology with a specific content.

2. If teaching a CBL workshop, spend some time just getting to know the calculator first. Don’t bring the CBL out at the beginning. Examine the keyboard and color coding, adjusting contrast, lists, graphing, memory, etc. You don’t have to know what every button on the calculator does, but try to get people comfortable with it before pulling out the CBL.

3. You may want to use the CBL without the calculator at first. The CBL can be used as a simple monitor or meter without even using the calculator. This works very well with the temperature probe and motion detector.

4. Choose the easiest probeware to use first. Don’t worry as much about whether everyone could use the probe in his or her class or not. Good probes to start a workshop with are the temperature, light, motion detector, and microphone.

5. Save some of the more challenging probes until people are comfortable with the equipment. The second level of difficulty may include probes such as the pH, force, pressure, and photogates. Your more challenging probes may include conductivity, dissolved oxygen, heart rate. Remember several of these probes need to be calibrated!

6. You may want to start doing CBL activities with the programs already loaded into the calculators. Save the task of downloading programs until later in the workshop. When you do cover the topic of downloading, make sure you show them both ways, from another calculator and from the computer.

7. Use a variety of activities. They can be from Texas Instruments or Vernier. They can be something you have written. They could be a math or science lab. Use labs that use individual as well as group programs. Make sure you have copyright privileges before you use something!

8. Include well-written instructions on certain procedures and tasks. For example, tasks such as linking to another calculator, downloading from the computer, downloading into Graphical Analysis, fitting a curve to data, etc. You are welcome to use instructions The Science House has written, but please keep our name on the page somewhere.

9. Be prepared for problems you have seen in your experiences, such as linking problems, battery problems, difficult probes, etc. Have some sort of troubleshooting guide prepared.

10. A one or two day workshop looks much different than a one or two week workshop. In short workshops we normally try to look at as many basic probes as we have time for, doing one activity with each probe. In a 6-hour workshop you can normally look at 5-6 probes. In longer workshops you can go at a steadier pace and do multiple activities with a probe.