Using color when you teach can really make your lectures come alive. Rather than presenting students with a wall of monochrome text, you can use different colored white board markers to highly key points, to define different sections and to create clearer charts and graphs. You can find a wide variety of markers available, ranging from bold splashes of color to muted pastels. I’ve also noticed that a lot of these colors erase more easily from the board, so ghosting is less of a problem.

You will probably find that students are much more willing to come to the board when you are using a dry erase board. The dreaded trip to the chalkboard to work a problem becomes more attractive you your young scholars when they can add their own contribution to the multicolored notes already displayed. Plus, you don’t have to worry about allergic reactions, broken chalk or smeared letters that were often associated with chalkboards.

Today’s educators are constantly being asked to do more with less. When faced with shrinking budgets, teachers may have to make hard choices about the equipment they can afford for their classroom. Fortunately, a dry erase board can do double duty in the front of the room, acting as both a way to present notes and as a screen for a projector. There are times when projectors are an essential part of the lecture, providing a way for students to view computer output, video clips or photos. The smooth, white and highly reflective surface of the white board makes a perfect substitute for a projector screen. And unlike a regular screen, you can use markers to highlight portions of the projected image.

To sum up, a high quality dry erase board is essential for today’s educators. They offer the opportunity to clarify points with color, they encourage student participation, and they can also be used in place of a costly projector screen.

A visual aid, any kind of visual aid, makes lectures and presentations more interesting to the audience. Our minds prefer to be engaged on several levels. If your teaching method uses only one medium of communication, the listener’s brain gets bored and starts thinking of other things to combat the boredom.

Although it’s possible to point to a picture or hold up an object while teaching, today’s tech-savvy learners expect more. A document camera makes it possible to smoothly integrate visual aids into any kind of lesson. It does this through the use of a video camera and an advanced optical system. You may wish to share an image of an antique map or an original document. Even three-dimensional objects can be displayed with a document camera.

In the most basic application, a document camera can be connected directly to a video projector. Whatever is placed in the range of the camera is projected on the screen for all to see. These devices can also be connected to a computer, where the images can be added to a presentation or manipulated with software to enhance the output. Finally, the document camera can be connected to a smart whiteboard, for the ultimate in interactivity.

As the technology available to students continues to expand, teaching methods will need to evolve to keep pace. A document camera is the perfect way to bridge the gap between traditional visual aids and high-tech expectations.

Without an effective filing system, you will soon be buried under an avalanche of handouts, tests, notes and more. You’ll need to begin with a sturdy, lockable filing cabinet. You may be able to get by with two drawers, but four would be better.

Begin by dividing your papers into two main groups. One group should be related to your teaching curriculum. This category includes notes, handouts, tests, and any other papers that are associated with the subjects that you teach. You will be amazed at how much time you can save by knowing exactly where a particular handout or exam is located. Having your curriculum papers organized this way really shines when absent students return and ask for last week’s handout.

The other main category includes any and all papers related to classroom management and your teaching career. This is the perfect place for testing manuals, professional development notes, discipline records and chronicles of your parent contacts. You should also include any special education documents like individual plans or accommodations lists in this group.

Once you have your papers divided as above, then you can begin to subdivide them into classes and dates. Use plenty of good quality file folders. You can label them by hand, use computer labels or create your labels with a label printer.

When you begin to experience the time savings and feelings of control that having your papers organized provides, you’ll wonder how you ever survived in the paper avalanche.

Using PowerPoint or similar presentation software can add interest to your lecture and engage your students at a higher level. However, if you end up being tethered to your desk so you can advance each slide, your ability to connect with your students will be reduced. You can free yourself from staying in arm’s reach of your computer by using a presentation remote control.

When considering which model to buy, find out which method the remote control uses to connect to your computer. There are three common ways: Bluetooth, infrared (IR) and radio frequency (RF). Generally speaking, you should steer clear of any infrared remotes. These models only work by line-of-sight, which means you would need to point the control directly at your computer to make it work.

Bluetooth remotes provide an excellent connection; however, the range is usually limited to 30 feet or less. Occasionally you can run into a little interference, especially when you have a roomful of students with Bluetooth-enabled smart phones. Radio frequency remotes usually work very well and they can connect at ranges up to 100 feet.

One feature that is highly recommended for teaching is an integrated laser pointer. If you need to highlight specific information on a slide or direct student attention to certain areas, you just press a button on the remote to activate a laser pointer. This is much more convenient than having to carry a separate laser pointer. With a little practice, remotely advancing the slides and using the laser pointer as you teach will become second nature.

Desk chairs come in many different styles and materials. But when it comes to selecting the right chair for comfort and health, you need to focus on three key areas: chair height, lumbar support and seat depth and width. If you can select the chair that is optimal on these three counts, you will be able to make maximum use of the few minutes you are able to sit down each day.

Any chair you buy should have adjustable height. Obviously, people come in different heights, but that’s only a part of our differences. We are each proportioned differently as well, with different measurements from foot to knee, knee to hips, and so on. An adjustable height chair gives you the power to choose a setting that is perfect for your unique size. Of course, you should make sure that the best height falls within the chair’s adjustable range.

Lumbar support is another important feature for a desk chair. When you spend hours each day standing on your feet, it can take a toll in the form of back pain. A chair with lumbar support provides support for the curve of your back, giving your muscles a short rest break. This kind of support will help ease back pain. Some chairs allow you to alter the degree of support provided. If such a chair is within your budget, you should definitely go for it.

Finally, ensure that the seat is deep enough and wide enough. Seat depth (the distance from front to back) should be just right to fully support your legs from your hips to your knees.

Brightness. The amount of brightness you need depends on how dark you can make your classroom, and whether or not you want it darkened during presentations. Brightness is measured in lumens. Look for higher lumens if you need a brighter projector.

Resolution. The resolution of the projector will determine the amount of detail you can see in the picture. The best rule of thumb is to match the projector’s “native” resolution to the resolution of your computer. Higher resolutions cause the price to rise.

Portability. This will only be an issue if you teach in several different classrooms, or if you need to take your projector home each day for security. Smaller, lighter projectors are more expensive than larger, heavier ones.

Connections. Make sure the projector and computer can talk to each other. Match up the inputs of the projector to the available outputs from your computer to make sure there is at least one in common.

Quiet Operation. You will probably want the quietest projector you can find. Classrooms are noisy enough without adding a layer of white noise.

Price. With dwindling school budgets, price will always be an issue. Of course, if this is a personal purchase for your classroom, you can determine how much you are willing and able to spend. If money is a problem, consider applying for a grant or asking parents to chip in a little. Consider shopping online at auction sites like eBay for good deals on new and used projectors.

Practically every public school system in the nation is frantically looking for ways to cut costs. Dwindling state funds and maxed out local taxes have made funding education very difficult. Some schools have chosen to eliminate the use of wall maps and classroom globes. They reason that since the world is constantly changing, digital online maps are preferable to dated physical learning aids. But are we giving up too much by switching to digital geography?

Some students really need tactile input to learn. The more we switch to computer-based instruction, the more we leave these students out in the cold. We should always give our students, especially younger ones, the ability to actually touch the things they are learning about. A spinning globe with raised relief provides a much richer learning experience than staring at a spinning virtual globe on a screen.

It is also difficult to convey the idea of a three-dimensional globe on computer, regardless of how impressive visual technology becomes. Nothing can replace the revelation of seeing just how much space the Pacific Ocean covers, or seeing where you might pop up if you dig a hole through the Earth.

Even if your physical maps and globes are made obsolete by world events, that provides excellent teaching opportunities. You can ask students to compare the existing map with up-to-date information and discuss what changes have occurred. Over time, you could collect a succession of globes or maps to illustrate the changing nature of international borders.

The typical classroom performance system consists of a base unit and a class set of “clickers.” These clickers resemble handheld remote controls numbered or lettered buttons. Software included with the system is used to create a series of multiple choice questions, which are displayed via projector to the class. As each question appears, students choose an answer and press the corresponding button. The base unit receives the student responses and sends them to the computer, where the percentage of students choosing correct answers is displayed.

Because each student can answer without being personally identified on the screen, it removes any fear of being wrong in front of other class members.  Students are more encouraged to participate because they don’t have to worry about being embarrassed. So in this way, a classroom performance system increases engagement.

Both the teacher and the students get instant feedback on each question. Answers are graded within seconds. Right answers are confirmed, and wrong answers are corrected. After the class completes a set of questions several times, the number of students choosing correctly will increase.

The system also provides critical feedback to the teacher. By noting which questions are answered correctly and which questions still give the class trouble, teachers can fine tune their teaching methods to be more successful. They can also begin to recognize different learning styles within and between their classes.

A basic system consists of a wireless microphone, an amplifier and speakers. The microphone should be a lapel mike or similar, because you certainly don’t want to spend all day holding it. Wireless systems vary, but many schools opt for an infrared system. Although this type of communication has limitations, it eliminates the possibility of interference with another classroom. Having two or three teachers coming through the same amplifier at once would definitely not increase learning!

As student to teacher ratios increase during these financial hard times, it is logical that classroom sound levels are increasing as well. Even if each student is making only minimal and acceptable noise, the whole class together ends up being too loud for effective learning to take place.

A classroom sound reinforcement system is not meant to be overbearing, blasting out the teacher’s voice at rock concert levels. Rather, it provides just enough extra punch to rise above the unavoidable background noise and provide each student with clear access to the instructor’s voice.

If you would like to add a sound reinforcement system to your classroom, you can apply for funding from several organizations that have created grants for just this purpose. There may also be funds available from your local PTA or other support groups. You can either find pre-assembled systems or you may be able to gather the components of a system from online sources like eBay.

An interactive whiteboard can help to create a more active learning environment. Typical lectures often require students to devote all of their energy to listening and taking notes while the teacher scribbles key points on the whiteboard. However, since anything that appears on the interactive whiteboard can be saved and distributed, students can direct their energies to participation and class discussion instead. This allows them to take a more active role in their learning by posing questions that are relevant to their personal experience. By connecting what they hear with what they already know, learning is enhanced.

There are opportunities for even greater student involvement when you pair up an interactive whiteboard with a wireless tablet and pen. Students can be called on to work problems on the board simply by handing them the tablet. You could even assign portions of the lecture to students in advance and have them present using the wireless tablet.

Some systems allow the real-time broadcast of the whiteboard output to student computers. Learners can actually add their own annotations to the presentation even as it’s being presented. These notes are visible only to the individual student and can be in a form most useful to that student. This is an excellent way for each student to personalize the lecture and make it their own.