Dayton,
Right. PPT can be overused and after a time can actually become a distraction. Every tool has a specific purpose and use. More variety with delivery and presentation will assist with retention.
Barry Westling
Carl,
For the amount of time in one stretch your students are in session, variety has to be used to keep interest and students engaged. Ideas to help memory you've mentioned are great.
Barry Westling
It is important to select the media to fit the material. It is very tempting to use PowerPoint for everything but many times posters or video may be a more suitable medium. PowerPoint is often over-used and there is nothing worse than having the presentation consist of the presenter reading the slides to the audience, with the exception of the instructor reading the textbook to the class. PowerPoint should be used as an outline to focus the discussion and keep it on track, not the presentation of all the material. I like to hand out copies of the slides with an area for notes.
Our sessions consist of 6 weeks of 5 hour classes 4 times per week. I believe that a variety of presentation techniques, activities, and assessment methods are critical to knowledge retention for the students. In looking at presentation techniques that help a student to retain and reinforce content, I review what causes things to stick in my memory. Some examples are points brought home in a good movie, songs remembered since childhood. I am looking for possibilities in applying these techniques in my classroom.
Our sessions consist of 6 weeks of 5 hour classes 4 times per week. I believe that a variety of presentation techniques, activities, and assessment methods are critical to knowledge retention for the students. In looking at presentation techniques that help a student to retain and reinforce content, I review what causes things to stick in my memory. Some examples are points brought home in a good movie, songs remembered since childhood. I am looking for possibilities in applying these techniques in my classroom.
KAI,
Personally, I try to keep longer movie clips limited. I will embed a 1-2 minute clip (no longer than 5-minutes) in a PPT, for emphasis and variety. Longer clips, or whole movies tent to create a passive learning environment. Unless an instructional video directly related to their training is available, I try to limit them.
Barry Westling
Sheena,
Good idea! I think matching the basic content with related media sets well with students and also shows them that their instructor is tuned in to what they need to learn an abundance of information tied to their professional goals.
Barry Westling
I like to show real world examples in movie clip format. But when you do this you must ensure that you have copyright permission.
I try to select my media based on what topics I am covering. For example, if I am discussing DEA, controls, and the various schedules I like to show a video concerning substance abuse and its consequences.
veneece,
I always start out with the course objectives, then consider topics I want to emphasize, then think of creative presentation or delivery activities, in that order.
Barry Westling
First, it has to be linked to what is being taught.It is important to be appropriate for teh different learning styles of the students .It has to be designed as part of the lesson plan and should not be added in the last minute .
Naomi,
All instructional media are tools, and ideally, each tool has a specific use and purpose. For instance, bombarding the students with a steady barrage of PPT slides is abusive to students. So, adding variety, frequently switching to alternate activities, and creating an interesting learning environment are components of more effective classroom settings.
Barry Westling
I'm relatively new at this I would think I would use the materials avaliable to me and use the instructional media that I am comfortable with. Of course using the recommended teaching intrustional medias would be ideal. but I need to make sure I am comfortable with. There are many different methods of instrutional delivery. Being younger and technology savey I would just adapt to the different types of instructional media. i.e. powerpoint, slides/transparencies, chalk/whiteboards. etc. Does anyone have other good ideas for instructional media?
Aprilan,
Great use of variety in selecting your media choices. More variety adds interest, demonstrates creativity, and is more likely to engage students by active learning.
Barry Westling
Tamara,
I think the best video insertions are very brief snippets, rather than longer pieces, as students will tend to quickly zone out if they have to sit, passively watching something. A few slides, followed by a 1-2 minute snippet, then discussion, then back to slides provides variety and makes for a more interesting lesson segment.
Barry Westling
Often times I am limited by the budget of the institution I am teaching for. I prefer to touch on at least three different forms of media. The first is something they can do with their hands, ie anatomy models that they can assemble parts into or exercises in a software relevant to the topic. I like to do PowerPoints as a visual and auditory media. If I am teaching about a medical condition or surgery then videos are an excellent option. The media I choose varies based on the topic I am teaching. It is also based off of the resources I am allocated and previous experience as to whether that media was successful as a learning tool.
I'm a big fan of PowerPoint presentations. But I would like to incorporate more videos/ and characters into the Powerpoints just to make them more lively but its hard when you always have to be considerate of the time of the class.
Larry,
Another way of sayiong this is relating to the students where they are, or student centered learning, which is great way to approach instructional class sessions.
Barry Westling
Charles,
More variety adds interest and perhaps more meaningful class seeions.
Barry Westling
I like to select instructional media based on relevancy and impact to the student. If an instuctional piece of media is simply my words on the board I find it can get easily overlooked. I like to use items that support my lectures through paraphrasing or additional opinions and information.
