Thanks KJ.

Yes, we've got the facilities here, apparently, so I guess it would be a waste to not take the opportunity , and have a go. Spontaneous? Me? On a few occasions I've had to fall back on a "plan b", but without a "plan b", my first thoughts are often panic-stricken until I tell myself to calm down and then I will normally find some way to adapt the lesson to the class' needs.

You're correct, I have plenty of time that could be put to good use, and I've actually been perusing one or two Powerpoint sites. After I've sent this post of I'll be investigating "Presentation Zen" too, it sounds dynamic. Yes, it's a great feeling when you sense the students shifting in anticipation of a certain activity. Those are win-win situations because as the activity goes on the teacher and the student are both feeding of each other, and encouraging each other onto greater effort. I call it a kind of "class utopia".

You mention your dislike of chalk, but don't you find the black markers even messier?, although they are admittedly less toxic (or are they?. Who knows what chemicals they add to them). Personally I like the rawness and earthiness of using chalk and blackboard. Also I find it's much easier to build a rapport with the students, because a third party (media equipment) can often be a distraction, especially if you're as clumsy as me in using it. I often find it's an interesting challenge to fire the students up without media equipment and it often forces them to be more creative and imaginative without having to rely on sights and sounds for stimulation.

Mind you, despite being a bit of a minimalist, I certainly can't see any harm in using stuff like Powerpoint occasionly, to give the students and myself a change. I don't want to sound like the guy who thinks " I can't work out how to use it well, so I'll criticize it, and say it's of no use!" At the same time though, if I really can't work my head around using it, and the students don't get much out of it, I would have to have a rethink, but not blame the technology and accept my own shortcomings.

I haven't used MS word, but I remember using a projecter a couple of times in a middle school with pretty poor results because the students could hardly make out the text. I'm not sure if it was my own incompetence or if the equipment was faulty (probably the former, from what you mentioned). It may take a bit more time using the traditional blackboard but I think in the long term things tend to run more smoothly. Maybe I'm a bit more old-fashioned than you but I tend to like the more traditional chalk and blackboard, because it leaves everything to the imagination. I think I''ll have to give up the mortar board and cape, though (I look too much like Batman), and the cane doesn't go down too well with students in China today, either! Maybe like yourself I'll change my anti-tech stance in the future, KJ, and "get more with the program". Those vocabulary charts etc. sound good.

Thanks a lot KJ. Very encouraging. Despite my misgivings I will give it a go, and I'll be sure to tell you how it works out. If you hear any loud explosions coming from the Jiangnan area of China in the next month or two, you should be able to work out what's happened.

By the way I loved the pic. Very clourful and vivid. If that's the sort of stuff you can use on Powerpoint then I may be a believer very soon.

All the best.

Yingwen