One of the challenges for a person who “gets” technology is to understand how to teach those who don’t. We all have the technophobes and techno-reluctant on our staff. When you start explaining to them how to do something on their computer, their eyes gloss over as they consider whether to go to Bangkok or Sihanoukville for the upcoming 3-day weekend. Who can blame them. It’s human nature. Even for someone like me who loves technology and everything it has to offer, it can be tempting to put my fist through my macbook screen when I’m late for a meeting and I’ve got to download that one last document and my pinwheel is stuck in an infinite spin.
That’s why I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders when I learned about the ScreenSteps software from Blue Mango Learning Systems. I mean, it’s just plain hot. I’ve labored over “How To” lessons for students and teachers this year and finally decided that for the time it took me to create one document, I could have planned my next unit and marked a class set of design workbooks. With this software, I’ve already cranked out three lessons in thirty minutes.
Here’s some of the things I like about it:
1) Cross platform. This is a super bonus because my school is cross platform and there are teachers and students who shy away from our MacBooks because they don’t know the operating system. ScreenSteps is going to help me help them see the light.
2) Exportable to html or the ScreenSteps Live website. Students, teachers, and the world (eek! I’m getting global) can access the lessons from anywhere.
3) Exportable to pdf. Because the internet in Cambodia can be a little slow at times, being able to export to pdf will enable me to put a copy on our school server.
Another fabulous thing about this software is the two-part video tutorial from ScreenCastsOnline that covers just about everything you need to get started. And, if you purchase ScreenSteps before May 1, 2008, you get a 25% discount. I, for one, am sold!
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