There is a phenomenon that all public speakers encounter when they are addressing a crowd that if you thought about it very much, You can have your bullet points fly in from the side, it would get to you. bounce in or fade in from nothing to something and then fade away again. It is a phenomenon that any teacher who is trying to impart knowledge to a room full of students will experience as well.The software tool, And if you think about it very much, Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most versatile tools that the huge software giant has given to us. it will get to you too. Business has already discovered the power of this amazing tool. That phenomenon happens when you are talking along and you look out at those blank faces staring up at you and you realize that a few, But there are a lot of lessons plans that would benefit from the tools and resources that PowerPoint can offer to make your lessons more fun and interesting for your students. some or maybe all of those minds behind those faces are paying absolutely no attention to you at all. But you have to know how to use it for maximum advantage even before you start designing your slide slow.
Whether or not that drives you crazy depends on whether you consider the act of teaching complete when you speak or when the student grasps and understands what you are saying.
Almost everybody has seen PowerPoint used and witnessed what a fun and creative presentation tool it is. Very often when you see a teacher speaking you know that this teacher has absolutely no concern for whether the students are getting it or not. You can take classes to learn how to use PowerPoint and to tap the power of the amazing animation and graphics tools it has to present information to your students. They do not consider it their job to make sure the students understand or interact with the material. This is why PowerPoint is such a great tool for teaching. They are a delivery vehicle and if they enunciate the lecture successfully, It gives you the chance to supplement what might have been a boring lecture with some colorful and quickly moving slides that will keep your kids riveted throughout your presentation. they have successfully "taught".
PowerPoint is also easy to use.
But just saying words into the air whether or not they are heard or understood really isn't teaching is it? Put it in the context of a chef. The genius of Microsoft is that they do facilitate us in using this great tool by making it so easy to take advantage of all of PowerPoint's fantastic tools. If you cook a wonderful meal that is delicious, In a classroom setting, prepare it with the finest of materials and present it with perfect ambiance, PowerPoint alone could represent one of the biggest revolutions in how to present information to students in a long time. is it still a delightful meal if there is nobody at the table to appreciate it and nobody eats the meal? No, But its a good idea to think through how to use the tool and have some ground rules for how to use it so you get the maximum value from PowerPoint without becoming abusive of its powers. you are only a chef when the patron dines on your food and appreciates every nuance of the flavor and the experience of enjoying what you have done.
When designing the way you will use PowerPoint as a teaching tool,
That distinction is what drives teachers crazy when they feel students are not listening. dont give in to the temptation to let the slideshow do all the work of teaching for you. To a teacher who has a passion for the real act of teaching, Remember that PowerPoint is great as long as it is a supplement to your lecture or presentation to your students. their job is not done until the students grasp the material and interact with it, The best kind of PowerPoint slide presentation uses bullet triggers to take you through your lecture but you do all the work of actually teaching your students. question it and finally grasp it and make that knowledge their own. When it comes to putting a large amount of information on a PowerPoint slide, A lecture not heard, in a word, not understood, don't. not "taught" is not teaching at all, This will lead to reading the slide presentation to your students which will become boring causing you to lose the "punch" you hoped PowerPoint would bring to this lesson plan. its just talking.
Another tip when working with PowerPoint in an educational setting is to never turn your back on your students.
Preparing to become a teacher is about more than just knowing how to design a lesson plan and how to organize a class room and make a bulletin board. You need to have eye contact with them at all times when you are teaching. Becoming a teacher means you become one of those amazing people who can take students from uninformed to informed and from unenlightened to truly "taught". So know your presentation well so you dont have to turn and look at the screen during the course of the lesson. When it is your calling to become that kind of teacher to just talk at students with no knowledge of whether they know what you are saying at all is absolutely unacceptable.
PowerPoint gives you the ability to use a timer fiction so the slides change on their own after a set period of time.
This means that you will have to change your teaching style. This is a slick function but one that few actually use. It means that you won't be satisfied with just working through a lecture. And in your setting of trying to integrate PowerPoint into your teaching, In fact, you should avoid the timer function as well. it might spell the end of the lecture as a teaching device for you entirely. The only way this function can work is if you are in a teaching situation where there is no chance there will be an interruption or a delay. To really find out if those kids are listening and interacting with the material, And since in a classroom setting you can almost guarantee interruptions in your presentation, you will have to change your approach to an interactive teaching style. the timer function then would become your worst enemy rather than a good tool to help you. You will have to start talking to students or with students and not AT them.
Maintain a consistency to the design of your PowerPoint slides. But once you do that, This means using one single color or background scheme for the entire show. the feed back you will get and the quality of your teaching will improve so dramatically. Consistency also applies to the motion of bulleted lists. you will never want to go back. There are dozens of presentation styles for bulleted lists that PowerPoint supports.
