Hi Claudia,
I think teachers usually learn to be creative and resourceful. We tend to use what we have and make the best use of limited resources. As you suggest, variety in the delivery methods can still produce successful learning experiences.
Barry Westling
Hi Shantel,
Good comments. I think we can begin by asking what is it that I want the students to learn. Next, I assess what resources are applicable, and from there, what resources do I have that's available. For instance, I might have to rent, or borrow, or go to a site (field trip) in order to have the students experience the benefit of a particular resource. Finally gathering or collecting the resources assist when I am ready for the class. The assessment process helps me determine where I may need to modify or alter what resources I thought would be effective and change to those that end up being most effective.
Barry Westling
The majority of students learn by sight and hearing but also aware of four learning styles. The current generation is more farmiliar with hi-tech tools. Therefore organized and visially simulating but not distracting PowerPoint Presentations might be the best choice for making important points.
Also the use of a real-life application senario video will encourage students to focus one the importance of the academic knowledge.
If applies, it will be helpful to have related sample items that they may use in the clinic available in the classroom. Recommand to students during their classroom break that they can actually see and touch. And discuss the comparison of the different product when the class resumes.
We don't have access to all of the things in these lessons, but we do use powerpoint a great deal, and we have white boards. In my particular area of general education for respiratory therapists and dental hygenists, I do not have much of an opportunity to invite guest speakers, or take students on field trips. I still try to vary methods so that no one is bored all the time.
Hi Chara,
Greewat. Variety and involving students achieves btter outcomes than static, dry presentations by the teacher.
Barry Westling
Hi Joseph,
You've got a good point - we have to know and teach to our audience. The closer we come to relating to their learning style, the better the retention of essential information will be.
Barry Westling
My selection of media content depends on the information I'm delivering and how I want the students to interact with me. For example, if I'm just lecturing, I use PowerPoint to communicate the information students need for the test and application to speeches. However, if I want to make it interactive, I use handouts to engage the students in small groups or one on one.
Hi Maksuda,
Nice suggestions. Also, I would add for math the use of the overhead (old doesn't mean bad), practice written worksheets, and case study examples that involve the practice calculations. I teach a lot of various math equations and subsequent applications and beside the suggestions you gave (good ones), I use these others because they either reinforce the correct process, or give me an opportunity to give correction.
Barry Westling
I select instructional media based on the material but also the class. I find that classes vary with what stimulates them. If a powerpoint presentation is being used, I may insert a video clip of a procedure for one class. For a different class, I may stop and do a live demo. Some classes respond more or less depending on the presentation method. You you also maje sure you are not scripting your lecture from the media. You may lose your audience.
The type of media used, depends on what you are teaching for example, if you are teaching math or calculations, it is best to use a whiteboard or chalk board, because you want the student watch you do it. For science classes using powerpoint is better, because you can add information and pictures to the slides. For an English class, its wise to use a white board, or flip pad, to discuss and write things down from the text, or book being read.
Hi Michael,
Great activity. Seems interesting. I've embedded video's in PPT slides and I've learned they are most successful when there are few (1-2 per session) and very brief (2-3 minutes, no more). It's almost like technolgy encourages us to do things that may not be actually helpful to the student learning. So we have to be careful. Facilitating is just that - coordinating the various potential activities and delievry methods to insure the greatest learning outcomes.
Barry Westling
Looking ahead at the lesson plan/s for the day/course, I establish what type of additional media would complement the lesson and at what point. For example would a short video snip-it better explain a procedure or will drawing a diagram best suit the need. I also sometimes embed a hyperlink to a video or a pre made power point presentation and decide later, during class, if it would fit in based on the needs of the students I am instructing (sometimes yes, other times no).
Hi Betty,
Great use of variety. We need to be able to reach all (or as many students as possible), and tweaking the delivery method.to fit the instructional content is a crteative and usuually successful strategy.
Barry Westling
I select instructional media depending on the content I am teaching. A PowerPoint presentation is good in aiding in a lecture or reviewing for a test. I think that overhead presentations can do the same, but they allow instructors to add information or manually demonstrate a concept as the lesson is being taught. Students can also be asked to demonstrate something on the overhead; this allows the student to become more involved with the learning process. I believe that when planning a lesson, an instructor should determine which type of media will be most effective in getting the message to the students.
Hi Glenn,
Great idea, that is, breaking up the lecture (and slide montage) with another activity. One that you probably do and I would recommend is a class discussion of the previous hours materrial. We can check to see if students have received and retained the essential information, and also clarify any misunderstanding right then, before further material is presented.
Barry Westling
I have been using power point slides for many years; the one thing that I have learned is they can be over used. You can lose the students attention quickly if you just read the slides; has too much information on the slides, or simply just too many slides. My text books always come with slides and what I have found, I use only a portion of each chapter’s slides. I also add my own to cover additional information that is relevant to the topic. I also try to incorporate some activity with each hour of class. One activity is to do an internet search that actively engages the students.
Hi Andrew,
These are great examples of media resources that supplement the lecture (PPT) portions of a class. Using a variety of resources such as you have described add interest and enjoyment to the learning environment. The more, the better!
Barry Westling
We mainly use PowerPoints in our curriculum but in addition to them I like to use actual parts or cut aways of parts to see how the different parts go together. In electrical I use boards with different types of circuits that I can hook to a battery and demonstrate how electricity flows through the circuit and where to hook up a volt meter and what readings you will get.
Hi Jennifer,
Yeah, PPT is a cool tool. I try to keep in mind that PPT, along with just about any other media is a tool, and tools are needed to facilitate a class. But the facilitator needs to be the "orchestra leader", directing the tools to get the job done. With PPT, the tendancy is to overpower the focus. This is something we should avoid if possible. We want to focus on the information, not the tool that is providing the information.
Barry Westling
I really enjoyed the information on Powerpoints, and especially the website provided. I am always looking for new ways to make the powerpoint more effective part of my teaching curriculum. Very informative!
