We've all been there. Sitting in a meeting when the presenter double checks his/her technology to be sure it is working and we all grit our teeth and wait for the inevitable PowerPoint Presentation. Though most of us have experienced (many) less-than-appreciated presentations, there are many who do them well. A few of the reasons are:
As I started using PowerPoint in my own classroom, I found that it was easier for students that had difficulty taking notes to follow along in our class discussions. As I progressed through my presentation/information, I was able to give students modified versions of our note-taking lessons so those that struggled to follow along and use multiple modalities to learn information would not feel 'lost'. Another thing I noticed was they gained confidence as they were able to answer questions that I would ask; they had the answers in front of them, though others in the class, often, didn't recognize it.
Feeling as though I relied too heavily on some of my presentations, I began experimenting with Prezi, another presentation software. I found, however, that I didn't have time to learn the proper way to use it and found myself losing track of where my next topic was and I would feel motion sick with the jumping around from 'slide' to 'slide'. I did like how easy it was to embed a video into the presentation and be able to access YouTube or whatever storage device I used.
I don't feel as though I utilized this format of teaching very well. I think I could use PowerPoint as an assessment as well as a teaching tool; why shouldn't students be allowed to use the technologies I have access to in order to show me what they've learned? It would take a lot of scaffolding with the nuances of the software, but it would teach students the 'right' way to use PowerPoint (or any other interactive slides) from the beginning.
I am glad I was able to learn how to embed YouTube videos into my presentation. That will come in very handy, and I truly plan to be more aware of my presentations and their validity in my classroom.
Resources
University of Oregon, "Powerpoint Tips Design Keys for Classroom Presentations."
- Different programs used to create a presentation
- There is significance to the information on each slide
- There is structure to the slides
- The slides are simple
- They know their presentation and use the slides to back up what they're saying
As I started using PowerPoint in my own classroom, I found that it was easier for students that had difficulty taking notes to follow along in our class discussions. As I progressed through my presentation/information, I was able to give students modified versions of our note-taking lessons so those that struggled to follow along and use multiple modalities to learn information would not feel 'lost'. Another thing I noticed was they gained confidence as they were able to answer questions that I would ask; they had the answers in front of them, though others in the class, often, didn't recognize it.
Feeling as though I relied too heavily on some of my presentations, I began experimenting with Prezi, another presentation software. I found, however, that I didn't have time to learn the proper way to use it and found myself losing track of where my next topic was and I would feel motion sick with the jumping around from 'slide' to 'slide'. I did like how easy it was to embed a video into the presentation and be able to access YouTube or whatever storage device I used.
I don't feel as though I utilized this format of teaching very well. I think I could use PowerPoint as an assessment as well as a teaching tool; why shouldn't students be allowed to use the technologies I have access to in order to show me what they've learned? It would take a lot of scaffolding with the nuances of the software, but it would teach students the 'right' way to use PowerPoint (or any other interactive slides) from the beginning.
I am glad I was able to learn how to embed YouTube videos into my presentation. That will come in very handy, and I truly plan to be more aware of my presentations and their validity in my classroom.
Resources
University of Oregon, "Powerpoint Tips Design Keys for Classroom Presentations."