Week Four

This week’s module focused on the use of presentation programs for teaching and learning, including PowerPoint, Prezi, and Lotus Freelance Graphics. These programs provide digital support for oral presentations. As a teacher, these presentation programs are an essential supplement to the traditional methods of teaching. By using programs that contain videos, graphics, audio, and text, teachers can present information in a much more engaging way to their students. Because of the many different learning styles that students possess, incorporating a multi-media presentation can benefit students in a variety of ways. In the readings this week, I learned how presentation programs allow educators to effectively communicate information to the different learners in their classroom. Not only do presentations help reach students in ways that appeal to their learning styles, but they also help make learning more memorable. One tidbit that stood out to me in the reading this week was the statement, “One can become engrossed with the graphics, animation, and music, but the content must always come first.” This is crucial in the classroom where students already have many distractions. Another interesting thing I learned was to avoid the color combination of red and green when creating a presentation, since approximately 8% of males and 4% of females are color blind, and this is the most difficult color combination for these students to decipher.

In regards to using PowerPoint presentations in the classroom, I have personal experience in this area. I use PowerPoint presentations at least once a week in my high school Algebra classroom. I have found that students are more receptive to the information if it is presented through the use of technology. This past week I created a presentation about graphing linear inequalities. The presentation was for my high school Algebra 2 courses, and included not only text, but also graphics, animations, multiple colors, and a video clip. I began the presentation with a definition of the topic and a short video clip of how the math topic is used in real life. This caught the students’ attention and allowed me to continue with the presentation of notes for them to take. In the presentation, I am most proud of the fact that I was able to successfully use animations for transitioning from slide to slide. The graphics were also helpful for the students to see how to graph the inequalities. If I were to re-create this presentation, I would include another video at the end as a conclusion that proposed a challenge to my students. Not only were my students engaged in the learning experience, but they were also impressed with the fact that I printed the notes for them to follow along with me!