I personally enjoy using PowerPoint. In my opinion, it is very simple to use and provides a visual presentation that can stand alone or be used to suppliment another mode, an example of this being a speech/tutorial. After reading the Week 3 information on PowerPoints, my knowledge of this tool has been deepened. What struck me the most was the planning tools that can be used to make storyboards and outlines in Microsoft Word. This seems like such a wonderful way to introduce students to the aspect of organising their information and thinking ahead before creating their PowerPoints. I also believe that through planning a PowerPoint presentation in Microsoft Word, this may eliminate any hesitations from some students who have little knowledge of PowerPoint but are capable at using the Microsoft Word program. The only weaknesses that I gathered from these tools were that it may be slightly hard to teach students how to construct an outline because of the procedures around this. Some students may also already be very familiar with creating presentations from scratch in the PowerPoint program so they may not appreciate the benefits of planning initially.
Hyperlinking PowerPoint slides together also seems to be a very useful way of presenting information. This could be used by the teacher and would make it easy to navigate through the PowerPoint and return quickly to desired slides. I also believe that students could benefit greatly from this as well. According to their age levels and abilities, students could be scaffolded to explore the interactive PowerPoint presentation as a class or alternatively, this could be a self-lead activity that may require high student responsibility. Ultimately, I believe that PowerPoint is a wonderful resource which has many uses within a classroom context.
Hey Jasmin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my post and for the great feedback. Yes i would think that the more pictures used would create far more interest for students than a heap of words. I don't know about you but if there is to much writing on a slide i automatically tune out. I much prefer You tube clips and pictures for connections with content and i reacon most kids do.
Hi Nina,
ReplyDeleteI agree. Too much information must seem very daunting to students, especially the ones who are primarily kineasthetic learners. I agree with you about Youtube Clips, especially seeing that most of them incorporate a variety of modes which can help make them engaging to students.
Hey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteAgain I enjoyed reading your insights of another digital tool. It seems like some people believe that PowerPoint may be a fading digital tool (I'm especially referring to yours and Nina's conversations). From what I can tell, you are both agreeing that there are now more effective and updated technologies that can be used instead of PowerPoint. In some areas I do agree that students are more engaged in moving images and added effects and music. However, I do believe PowerPoint is a classic. A digital tool that will be used for many more years to come... and not only in the classroom. The reason for this is its simplicity. I like how you explained in your blog that it can be a great visual resource that can be used independently or in conjunction with another mode.
Thanks again
:)