Educational Application of PowerPoint
The PowerPoint presentation that I have developed is specific to the middle level classroom and is two-fold: 1) It serves to teach a new objective in a Language Arts classroom, and 2) It is interactive so that students can work on their note-taking skills. PowerPoint is not useful if it is taking the place, verbatim, of the teacher in the classroom. The text, graphics, backgrounds, animation, and transitions are best kept subtle; formatting text with simple bold or color changes add enough effect to make the key words stand out so that students will know what is important. Clip art or pictures should only be used if they are relevant to the material that is being presented on the slide, but not so dramatic that it is taking away from the content on the slide. When teaching a new concept, PowerPoint is helpful to break down the concept into small parts and the teacher is able to be in charge of the transitions, moving on when students have had time to take in the information that is presented on the slide.
What is especially helpful with PowerPoint in the classroom is that a well-developed lesson can reach students with different learning styles: audio learners, visual learners, and hands-on learners. Key words on the screen while the teacher tells the students additional details reaches two of the three types of learners. Allowing time for guided practice reaches those students who need to put what they are learning to work with a hands-on activity. Providing a slide that is free of anything but a question or a picture is an excellent tool to encourage higher-level thinking.
The text layouts of PowerPoint provide an excellent opportunity to work on note-taking skills with the middle-level student, particularly, notes in outline form. The design of my presentation provides both modeling and guided practice to students who have already been introduced to outline form note-taking. Each transition requires students to add more to their outline with less teacher involvement in regards with dictation, yet on each slide, simple direction can still be provided by the use of prompts. Again, a well-developed PowerPoint lesson can be beneficial to teach students about main topics, sub-topics, and supporting details.
Aside from the content, the use of PowerPoint with a remote control allows the teacher to remain mobile in the classroom, which any teacher knows is extremely beneficial in regards to classroom management. Since the teacher is able to move around the class, he/she is also available to assist students who may be struggling with the note-taking activities. Even while the teacher assists a student, the slide is up and visible to the rest of the class which can help keep the students focused and on task.
What is especially helpful with PowerPoint in the classroom is that a well-developed lesson can reach students with different learning styles: audio learners, visual learners, and hands-on learners. Key words on the screen while the teacher tells the students additional details reaches two of the three types of learners. Allowing time for guided practice reaches those students who need to put what they are learning to work with a hands-on activity. Providing a slide that is free of anything but a question or a picture is an excellent tool to encourage higher-level thinking.
The text layouts of PowerPoint provide an excellent opportunity to work on note-taking skills with the middle-level student, particularly, notes in outline form. The design of my presentation provides both modeling and guided practice to students who have already been introduced to outline form note-taking. Each transition requires students to add more to their outline with less teacher involvement in regards with dictation, yet on each slide, simple direction can still be provided by the use of prompts. Again, a well-developed PowerPoint lesson can be beneficial to teach students about main topics, sub-topics, and supporting details.
Aside from the content, the use of PowerPoint with a remote control allows the teacher to remain mobile in the classroom, which any teacher knows is extremely beneficial in regards to classroom management. Since the teacher is able to move around the class, he/she is also available to assist students who may be struggling with the note-taking activities. Even while the teacher assists a student, the slide is up and visible to the rest of the class which can help keep the students focused and on task.
Application of PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 252 kb |
File Type: | zip |