Simon Says, "Let's Use Technology"

Sometimes the simplest teaching methods are the best, even in the world of technology. My most recent discovery is using the old Simon Says game to step students through learning new skills and I call it "Mrs. Campbell Says". Basically, when we are navigating new tech territory in a whole group setting, I give simple one sentence instructions. For example, I might say: "Mrs. Campbell says, click on the start button; Mrs. Campbell says, click on My Documents; Mrs. Campbell says find your saved Word document titled "My Halloween Legend". To command attention there are little or no repeats (depending on the difficulty of skill). At the end of the "game" the student has learned some new skills without being overwhelmed. One of our first grade class successfully created a short PowerPoint project titled Me and My Pet using Mrs. Campbell Says in about an hour. Sometimes I give stickers and I always give praise for a job well done but in any case we are all winners!