To me Powerpoint Presentation is a must. It keeps the whole class informed about the subject you are talking about. Also they are partucularly handy when the subject is complex. having students visually focused is a plus.
Hi Anne,
I agree with Andres, but in addition to tactile you can set up ppt's with your own slides that have some humor in them. Add music, look to third party software to dress it up, and don't be afraid to include video in the slide show as well.
Remember, your students have a finite attention span and in addition to being an educator, you are also an entertainer, like an edu-tainer.
Robert
Hi Andres,
Well said. Any form of presentation and/or technology has to be used in a manner that is supportive. Being creative is the fun part about teaching, meaning we can take things like a standard PP presentation and modify it for our use, test the results and then try something else. Our job is not boring that is for sure.
Gary
Hi Anne,
Like Robin, powerpoint slides are provided in the Microsoft Official Curriculum, and I find them to be a great time saver as opposed to generating them yourself. But, here again, care must be taken that they are relevant, most of all that promote learning with your audience, I have found many times that certain audiences would be better served by some of the other techniques, such as tactile learning, or trial and error. Sometime the slides while being professionally generated, will lock you in a sequence that will not allow time for anything else, depending on the time you have. These days I rather have the lights on, and get my students engaged in practice inmediatly after exposing a concept, since the labs can be time consuming.
Andrés
Hi Robin,
I do not like many of the publisher provided Power Points as they do not fit my approach to teaching certain content. I think PP presentations have a place to play in the instructional process if they are developed and used properly. Example, I have the key words for one of my courses on a PP presentation, that is programmed to give the word and then the definition. The word is on the screen for 5 seconds and the definition for 15. As the class is getting settled into their work stations I run the PP. They can look up see the words and their definitions. It is an easy way to teach key words. I also use the PP for playing Jeopardy in my classes to teach common concepts.
Just some ideas you may find helpful.
Gary
When I taught Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC), the PowerPoint Presentations were available to default, and we have to use them as parts of the teaching/learning experience.
Now, I do not use PowerPoint presentations, but rather use the time for other presentations, such as out of the material lab work, etc.
Hi Anne-Patricia,
PowerPoint presentations are like any other form of delivery, they have to be well done and not over used. They can't be the only form used or the student will turn off to them. I used every form ranging from lectures to small groups and everything in between. The key is variety.
Gary
