I always remember the famous last words of one of my favorite teachers when I use technology in the classroom--"Technology is great when it works"...

Here's an interesting question--I recently attended a "successful use of powerpoint" talk, and the presenter said not to use words/or many words on the slides. Midway through she commented that she had given her talk in front of a multidisciplinary crowd. The venue allowed attendees to provide anonymous comments, and she received comments from several scientists stating that she didn't have enough text on her slides. Now the question--is this a real disciplinary difference? Do you think that it is appropriate or good to use more text in a powerpoint presentation on a scientific topic than on a humanities topic?

Using technology in teaching

I'm interested in ways to use technology successfully and thoughtfully in teaching. New and exciting technologies are appearing seemingly on a daily basis. I am looking for ways people have found the use of technology in their classrooms, or outside their classrooms, to be effective in teaching. If you have specific examples, horror stories, things that worked great, or things that you think have great potential, please share!

Have you had particular successes with clickers? Wikipedia postings? Blogs? Electronic blackboards? Challenges with any of the above?

If you think technology is not the answer for education, I'd like to hear from you too, particularly if you have tried and true methods you'd like to share.

If you have references to particular studies showing efficacy, or lack thereof, of use of technology in the classroom (i.e. clickers, powerpoint presentations, etc.), I'm especially interested in learning more about how specific techniques have been shown to influence learning.