The first time I saw Anthony Salcito use Office Mix I was in awe. I could hear the whole auditorium start buzzing as we watched him add audio and video while inking on a power point presentation....the same kind of powerpoint we had been using for years. The same kind of powerpoint we were witnessing become less and less effective in the classroom. We were watching him breath new life into it and open up a whole new world of possibilities. I've been showing those possibilities to anyone who would listen ever since.
Recently, I have had the opportunity to show it off to two very different groups. One was a group of reading specialists required to learn it in order to create modules on specific reading topics. These are going to be used for training teachers on implementing the new reading model. The other group was made up of about 25 second graders who were looking to go above and beyond for a research project on bats.
Even though their ages were quite different, I realized that not only was I teaching them the basic tools in almost the exact same way, but they were learning and using the steps just as effectively! The ease of use of Office Mix makes it a tool that any age group can quickly learn and apply. The groups had very different objectives but were able to use the same basic tools of inking and audio/video recording to make something meaningful and useful to others.
I was skeptical about trying to teach Office Mix to second graders but, I have to admit, they made me a believer. They may take a little more time to learn all the different tools available, but even these 7 year olds can use tools like Office Mix to give more meaning to their work and share it out to broader community!
