The visualiser: a powerful tool for the classroom through annotation, modelling and showcasing achievement.

I use my IPEVO visualiser in the majority of my lessons at the moment. I thought it might be useful to reflect on what a powerful tool it can be for all sorts of activities.

Annotating a text

I used to use ClassFlow for annotating my texts with students in Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation. However, it requires inputting the text in advance onto the slides and turning my back on the class when I write. The visualiser means I can annotate my text sitting facing the class, and use the text booklet I’ve been using all year rather than creating a new resource. I can also scan in the paper booklet more easily to upload to Google Classroom later.

Completing a brain dump or mind map

We’ve been teaching our new course on women in the ancient world to Year 9. We’ve completed Helen and Pandora and were getting ready to do an essay comparing them. I made a scaffolded brain dump which we filled in together under the visualiser. More on the scaffolded brain dumps in another post – my class loved it – but it was much easier completing this on an A4 page on the desk than on the whiteboard, and again, I’ve scanned it to put on Google Classroom.

Modelling an answer

A few years ago my Department and I did some work on Harry Fletcher-Wood’s ‘Responsive Teaching’ and Ron Berger’s use of models. Models are really important for showing a class what excellent literary analysis/artistic analysis looks like, and Fletcher-Wood recommends having an ‘arsenal’ of models which distinguish excellence from average (see his original post). For a while we used model answers we’d prepared in advance but I also now like to write an answer ‘live’ for the class, either narrating what I’m thinking as I write my Point-Evidence-Analysis-Link or getting input from the class as we write together.  This shows them the process as well as the final result, and makes it really clear how I got there.

Show and Tell

I like to use the visualiser for students to show work they’re proud of to the class. This, again, ties in with the idea of making concrete what excellence looks like and gives students the opportunity to have an audience for their work. I have an idea of whose work I’d like to show too and ensure that these are brought forward – most recently, for some excellent mind-map work on ancient Egyptian rulers.

So – a few ways to use it. My IPEVO visualiser costs £102 and I have got so much value from it.