For & against essay. López Silvina, Paez Maira

The overhead projector in schools

At present, teachers have many different ways to present their subjects, new information and contents to students in a more interesting manner than in the past by the use of technological tools. The overhead projector is piece of equipment that is used to show images, videos, messages, presentations, and also, it is one of the most common devices that is used into the classroom to accomplish several tasks.

The first advantage of the use of this technological tool is that it provides teachers with another possibility to present the material and activities to their students in an interactive and motivating way. A clear example of some interactive homework is when the teacher suggests students to work in groups using the overhead projector instead of using boring copies. Not to mention the fact that it improves the process of working together to the same end, and the collaboration among school children. An additional advantage of this device is that it helps professors in all the levels of education to develop the contents of their subjects systematically. For instance, in kindergarten and primary level,educators can show and explain concepts through the projection of images or videos in order to catch kids´attention. Furthermore, it facilitates the comprehension of ideas and stimulates new learning and understanding.

Nevertheless, there are disadvantages to consider regarding the use of this technological tool. One of the main drawbacks of this resource is that not all the schools have one, or if they do, they do not have the right or necessary facilities to use it. In particular there are many institutions that have no a projection room or in some cases, if they have one, they are not used. Also classrooms have to be equipped with electric power and electric plugs to have an easy connection. Another negative aspect of this device is that it requires an specific training and knowledge to accomplish the showing correctly. However, there are a lot of school teachers who are not involved in their own training and improvement about the use of this electronic equipment into the school room.

To sum up, nowadays colleges in every educational level have to increase their knowledge about the use of this technological device in order to enhance the quality of learning and introduce new methodologies of teaching. Moreover the overhead projector into the classroom has a great educational value and it is an important teaching resource.