Powerpoint and Beyond

I liked the chapter we read in using technology in the English classroom because it provides an opportunity to see how what technologies children learn and use in the elementary classroom can be expanded on as they advance throughout their school careers. I agree that multimedia software is a great way for students to gather their main points and thoughts, and then eleborate on these points in a presentation. It eliminates the problem of having to think on the spot, and it gives students the opportunity to use innovative learning techniques. I though having student fill out a flow chart is a good idea, because it is essentially the same as creating an outline. That way students can use their time efficiently. I was unfamiliar with the copyright notice which students can use instead of citing all of their sources. I think this is especially efficient for the younger grades, but I still believe it is important for students to learn about plagarism and how to cite their sources properly. I liked the idea of having student reflect on their projects because it gives them ideas for improvement, etc, without the teachers feedback.

I really enjoyed working with the multimedia software. I had a lot of fun making my project, and there is still so much more I could do with it. There are endless possibilities of what you can do with the software, as we saw today in class. One of the things I find frustrating about software is that I know their are sometimes more efficient ways to do things but I just don't know what they are. Some of the other challenges I had with the project was determining what significant texts to include in the project that would be sufficient in conveying the main idea to the students. I had to decide if the picture was enough of an explanation or if text was needed. I also had trouble navigating the web to find reliable sources and typing in the keywords that would give me the best results for pictures. Despite some of the frustrations that come with learning about technology, I do get excited when I master something and I will be a more competant teacher because of it. I am glad I am taking this class and learning so much!

Chapter 10: Presentation Software

Throughout high school and over the past few years, I have used PowerPoint significantly more than I have used other programs, such as Excel.  I thought that I had a pretty good grasp on how to use the program.  After reading Chapter 10, however, I realized that once again, my knowledge of presentation software barely touches the surface of the possibilities these programs have to offer.  In the reading, Hamilton presents so many activities and assessments that can be done using these programs.  Many of these activities, including brochures and bookmarks, I would have thought to do in other programs - never PowerPoint.  I'm excited now to learn how to do them on presentation software instead.

While this book does focus on the elementary level, I am finding it very interesting and useful for me, a future high school teacher, as well.  Most of the ideas that I have read about so far could easily be adjusted for the high school student/curriculum.  In this chapter, for example, the text mentions creating portfolios and character webs using presentation software.  Both of these projects would be very applicable to the English classroom, no matter what the grade level.

Kudos of Presentation Software

Even just reading the first few paragraphs of Chapter 10 bring up ideas and show that powerpoints, etc. are great tools for using in the classroom. They are creative ways to introduce new material or outline key ideas about a new topic. They can also generate TOUGHTFUL questions, encourage higher-level thinking, motivate students to participate, and stimulate questions and discussion among students. What more could you want. The fact that presentation software is so interactive is wonderful because it involves students more than a lecture or reading a chapter in a book.

Once again, I think that the activities that Hamilton describes are very helpful for beginning teachers. My favorite activity was the visual peotry described on page 142. It uses technology to make something sometimes seen as boring and redundant more fun and interactive. The ability to format text and add graphics helps make the work more visually appealing and more fun to present throughout the classroom.

In class through the past weeks, what has helped me the most and been most informative are the fact sheets about each processor. Many times, we dont have time to "play around" with technology, but with instructions to new functions on each helps us out. I do not think that I would be learning as much if we were not given time to actually experience this.

Presentations

Since middle school, I have been using Power Point presentations for my classes. Until I read this chapter, however, I did not realize the "intuitive nature and versatility of the software application" (125). I never realized you could create so many different projects with Power Point. I basically always thought of Power Point as a slide show generator, but it is much more.

During classes, I would usually get angry when my classmates would create slide shows for discussion but use a lot of text on them. This chapter really enforced the idea of "presentations with only visuals force students to practice inferential skills as they wrestle to understand how what they see relates to what they are learning" (126). Power Point also allows you to creatively reach students with different learning styles. As stated, "the appropriate use for presentation software in a school is limited only by a teacher's creativity" (126).

I really enjoyed all the projects that this book gave such as bookmarks, cards for holidays, photo albums and trading cards. I look forward to implementing some of these ideas into my project for this section of the course, and learning all the tricks of Power Point. I learned a lot about Excel already, and I look forward to enhancing my learning on Power Point.

Presentation Software

I started using PowerPoint when I was in middle school, but I still don't think I am proficient in all of its uses. Just the other day I made a photo essay for my teaching science education course, and we had the option to add music to the picture slide show. I had completely forgotten how to implement this skill, so my presentation was slightly lacking. I look forward to learning about the basic elements of PowerPoint and how I can incorporate them into my classroom. I thought the book had a lot of neat ideas about how to use presentation software. I liked the section on effective instructional slide shows which lays out the basics of a good slide show because I think that some teachers do not know the proper ways to present information on presentation software and yet, they still use the software. This section is also helpful to me as I think about using presentation software in my classroom. I think it is important to remember that the PowerPoint should enhance the subject matter being taught and successfully produce learning. If used incorrectly the presentation could distract students from gaining an understanding of the subject matter or not produce the best option for a teaching method. I love the idea of having parents view their students work in some way or another. I think this is a great way to encourage parents to get involved with their students learning by talking about the projects and to make students feel proud of their accomplishments. I liked many of the presentation software ideas in the book, such as the postcards, trading cards, dictionaries, and visual poetry. I think these ideas in particular are excellent ways to get students thinking in different ways and to encourage the sharing of students ideas/projects.

I have learned a lot in this class so far, and I am eager to learn more. I enjoyed the unit on spreadsheets, and I am excited to learn more about PowerPoint and its uses.

Presentation Software

This chapter was very informative and I was amazed at all the ideas for using presentation software in the classroom. I thought it was a great point that slide shows with pictures to generate students thinking. Also, slide shows invite student participation and keep students engaged. I liked the idea of creating a portfolio slide show. This enables students to track their own progress and share it with parents and other students. For younger students, I thought the acrostic poem would be a beneficial tool to introduce students to the power point program and tools. I will use the postcard and trading card idea in my future classroom. These projects can be applied to any subject and are very engaging for students. I was surprised at how many project ideas this chapter presented. I am looking forward to learning more about power point and creating some of the projects that were suggested in the chapter.

So far I am amazed with all I have learned. I never thought I would be able to create projects with excel such as the interactive quiz.  I look forward to learning more and becoming proficient with power point.

Presenting Presentations

I am in awe of how many things you can do with software like PowerPoint. I would have never thought of many of these activities or the way it can be so helpful to students in the classroom. 

I really liked Hamilton's idea of using instructional slide shows to, "outline the key ideas or use visuals to stimulate questions and discussion among students," (125).  I never thought to use PowerPoint int his way. By creating a presentation where the images are large, you limit the text, and skip the glitz as Hamilton says it seems like it would be a great way to open a unit.  

I really enjoyed the ideas for the portfolios, bookmarks, and acrostic. But my favorite idea was the class shows and to have them running at parent teacher conference or to hyperlink each child's name so the parents can see each child's individual work. 

I never knew that so much could be done with Excel so I am excited to being learning about PowerPoint!