Monday, August 17, 2009

Powerpoint or Powerpointless


The use of PowerPoint is one technology I am reasonably familiar with. Power Point is an interactive learning tool that allows users to present their information in a much more effective and interesting way. PowerPoint was originally a business presentation tool used to enhance lectures (Marcovitz, D. 2004); however it now extends to almost all facets of life. PowerPoints can also be a highly useful pedagogical tool for both teaching and learning in the classroom. The PowerPoint I created for use in the classroom was based on the Tasmanian Devil and the effect of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease. One of the achievements I learnt in regards to PowerPoint was the use of the hyperlink feature. Through the use of this feature I was able to make my PowerPoint similar to an interactive webquest.

When using PowerPoint in the classroom the students liked its interactive nature and enjoyed engaging with the tasks and quizzes throughout. One of my major challenges I had with this technology was the use of timing and animation. Although I figured this out eventually, it did take a lot of time to get things exactly how I wanted them to go. A further problem I faced in a lesson I took on PowerPoint was that students wanted to rush the content they were putting on their PowerPoint and spend more time with animations. For future lessons I ensured that students had the content done and ready to copy onto the PowerPoint before they could begin playing with animations. PowerPoint’s are something that I will continue to employ in the classroom as I have not found any tool that can engage active learning thus far.
 
References

Marcovitz, D. (2004). Powerpoint for Educators. Citing computer references. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RbRu6uYvOsC&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_s&cad=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false

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