Thursday, July 29, 2010
PowerPoint
PowerPoint is a program that allows users to create presentations with ease. In schools I have been to I have witnessed some teachers incorporating PowerPoint into their lessons. PowerPoint I find quite similar to the 'talk and chalk' style of teaching except instead of information being displayed on the board it is displayed on a screen. I have also witnessed that some educational professionals label certain slides which students need to copy down. I find this method encourages students to become off-task and that students don't really have an understanding of what they are learning. Students sort of just do the motions without really 'being there'. For me personally I can see the feasability of using such a resource now and again but using this resource in most lessons I believe wouldn't be in the students best interests especially those students who are kinaesthetic learners. But for me, I prefer trying to have many hands on activities during lessons that teach/explain to the students the various concepts and information they need to understand and retain. For me PowerPoint is nothing more than a modernised 'Chalk and Talk'.
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Hi Brian - your views on power point are interesting and I agree that in a lot of classes, they are probably not well used. One of the most common mistakes in my opinion is that teachers can put too much information on a slide which totally disengages the students. What I do like about them is the ability to share photos, drawings etc that I certainly cannot draw on the board.......
ReplyDeleteHave you used the interactive powerpoints yet? I really enjoyed those and can see that they will be a lot more beneficial for use both in and out of the classroom.....the learning seems a lot more student-centred with them having control over the sections of the powerpoint. Although on a negative note, this is useless if there are not enough computers for each student.... ahhhhh, sometimes it just seems too hard..... :)
Hi Brian.
ReplyDeleteI too find your views on power point very interesting. I agree that if a power point is only used to put main points on the board it does become a modern 'chalk and talk' lesson. Though I disagree that this is all a power point is used for. I personally find power points a great teaching tool when used effectively. I found it engages learners by being able to show them images and maps. Another thing I found useful was to not over use a power point in a learning experience - having multiple mini learning experiences in the one lesson. For example 10minutes of chalk and talk with a power point, 5 minutes of deconstructing a picture, 10 minutes of a writing task, 10 minutes for a role play activity and so on. I found this a useful way to use a power point while engaging all learning styles and keeping learners from as you said " not just do the motions without really 'being there'". I also found interactive power points useful.