Lesson 14: Maximizing the Use of the Overhead Projector and the Chalk Board

“Indeed, in no…country have I ever seen a good school without a black board or a successful teacher who did not use it frequently” –Horace Mann, noted American Educator.

Among all instructional equipment, the chalk board is the most available. The overhead projector is versatile equipment that is quite common today. By learning how to use them properly and in an inexpensive way we are able to realize our instructional objectives. There are techniques of using the chalk board and OHP proven to be effective by practitioners. Adopting them in our teaching spells visual and lasting learning for our students.

Chalkboard techniques:

a. Sharpen your chalk to get good line quality.

b. Stand with your elbow high, move along as you write.

c. Use dots as “Aiming points” this keeps writing level.

d. Make all writing or printing between 2 and 4 inches high for legibility.

e. When using colored chalk, use soft chalk so that it can be erased easily.

The Overhead Projector (OHP) Techniques

Among the outstanding attributes of overhead projection are the many techniques that can be used to present information and control the sequence of a presentation. Keep in mind these features of overhead projection.

• You can show pictures and diagrams using a pointer to direct attention to a detail.
• You can use felt pen or waxed based pencil to add details. It can easily be removed by a soft cloth.
• You can control the rate of presenting information by covering with an opaque material and exposing the data as you discuss. This is known as the progressive disclosure technique.
• You can super impose additional transparency cheats as over lace on a based transparency so as to separate processes and complex ideas into elements and present them in step by step order.
• You can show 3 dimensional objects from the stage of the projector.
• You can move over lace back and forth across the base in order to rearrange elements of diagrams or problems
• You can simulate motion on parts of a transparency by using the effects of polarized light.