Death by Powerpoint
In my past experience I have ofter been taught by the teaching strategy Death by power point. What is a way that I can still use a powerpoint that certain jobs require but also make it more interesting?
Tiona,
Like the way you involve the students and get them doing different activities that help them to make application of the content that is being shared. This is how you get them engaged in the learning process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to use PowerPoint because it gives the students specific material to take home and review. I also implement activities to reinforce the lesson. Songs and dances have really worked well for my students. I also plan to do more "fill in the blank" information on the slides to keep them engaged during lecture. Students can read word-for-word themselves.
Glenn,
This is a good use of powerpoint slides. You are using them as an instructional method which supports what you are discussing. This way the technology does not over power the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that the students react well to powerpoint presentations which are clean (not too much text), no fancy graphics or animations, and contain summaries of the discussion topics. That way I can fill in the blanks during the lecture. I also always print out a copy of my presentation as a packet to give to the students before class begins so they can take notes and use it for studying purposes.
Kayla,
With variety and change of pace you will be able to use your PowerPoint slides as concept points and then you can generate discussion from there. This way you will keep your students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is really helpful info... I know I will be using PowerPoint for my lessons but I want to keep my the students attention but still providing valuable info. I know I learned through PowerPoint lessons when I was a student but the presentation needs to aide in all learning styles.
Adonis,
You make an important point about how to use a PP presentation as a highlighter of key concepts and not a text source. This way you can add examples to the key concepts to reinforce the learning of your students all the while keeping their interest.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I use powerpoints for almost every presentation. However, it is used as an outline or guide to assist in organizing your lecture. It should have short bullet points and diagrams/pictures to complement your lecture. Also, One should never read directly from a powerpoint.
Harold,
These are great resources to add and they really expand the engagement of students as a result.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that I can enliven my PowerPoint presentations by incorporating links to short videos. I often include links to TED.com and youtube. Of course I research them carefully first.
William,
Thank you for your insight on how to effectively use PP presentations. I know these comments will be valuable to other instructors as they do their instructional planning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that the most boring PowerPoint Presentations are the ones where the information is presented verbatim - or close to it on each slide. As an art instructor the way I make presentations interesting is to include pictures, examples, etc, and keep wording (other than keywords) to a minimum.
I think of the PPT as a notecard, rather than a script. Headings, keywords, are fine, but the information should always be conveyed by the professor, not the presentation.
Also, it could help include a relevant image or video in the background of certain slides - to break up what can be a morass of bullet points and graphs.
John,
First you need to have good graphics with limited text to get your message across to your students. Another strategy is to limit your time in using powerpoint slides to 10-15 minutes then have an activity such as small group discussions, Q&A sessions, role playing, case studies, etc.. Use guided notes to support your slides so the students will follow along with you as you go over the slides and complete their outlines. All of these strategies will help you to keep your students engaged and focused on your PP slides.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
