Getting students' attention in this age of technology is simple- use the technology! In other words, fight fire with electrical fire. The first technical asset of a classroom is the ability to connect the computer to the TV monitor. The monitor should be at least 27". The neatest device is the Averkey 300 Gold Converter, which connects them. Below I have the description of the Averkey so you can try to find it. Be sure to get the Averkey with the remote and the ability to enlarge whatever you have on your screen. It doesn't pay to skimp and be dissappointed with reduced functionality.

I have not used a marker or an overhead projector since I got totally hooked up last year. It is fabulous. I put up my agenda or anything else I would put up on an overhead. You can scan all your old overhead inlays, save them as jpegs and throw them right up on the TV screen. I do all of my agendas in MS Word and make the letters at least 36 pt. font size. Students can read that from all over my room.

I make Power Point presentations for my classroom rules, to introduce new grammar concepts or to teach anything new. Just be sure to make the letters really BIG.

You can go online and show students actual sites from the World Wide Web. Sometimes it is too small to see very well, but you can enlarge segments. One Internet site has a game like Jeopardy and with it up on the screen, all the students can gather round to watch and participate.  It is fun to put in a CD with games or songs on it and put it up on the screen. Anything you can see on your computer screen, the students can see on your TV monitor.

I keep all my daily agendas in a folder in my computer, so that I can immediately go backward or forward when students need to find out what we did or will be doing. Often I print them for students who were absent. It is so much easier than writing everything out. It cuts the paper work!

My latest use of this set up in my classroom is digital slide shows. Also check out the digital camera best suited for classroom use: The Mavica