EDOL 533 Week 4-- Powerpoint

Out of all off the software packages that have been discussed in this class, the use of a presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint is the one that I feel the most comfortable working with. This software can be used for either teacher of student-led presentations, which help organize and enhance the delivery of the desired content. The versatility of the program allows the creator to incorporate several multimedia elements such as text, graphics, animations, sound, and video clips into his/her presentation. The flexibility of the software allows the user to create a presentation that is appealing to a variety of different learning styles that may be found in a typical audience.

The use of this presentation software is especially valuable when used by students to create their own presentations. This software helps the students organize their thoughts into certain chunks on any given slide. By using this software, students will gain valuable experience using multimedia software along with incorporating basic computer and software skills. In my experience, I have found that students become highly motivated and have fun creating a presentation with this software, which in turn will result in the students ability to retain the material and improve learning.

Throughout my young teaching career I have always used a presentation software package such as PowerPoint in creating presentations for class lectures. Students will find the material more appealing to them when the content is delivered through a presentation rather than a teacher writing everything down on a chalkboard. The teacher is able to incorporate certain elements such as images, graphics, animations, and video clips to ensure that all learning styles are being covered.  I recently created a presentation that I presented to all of my freshmen science classes about converting between different units using the metric system of measurement. This skill is essential for all science students to master, but it is a skill that students struggle with the majority of the time.

There is several different methods that can be taught to students on how to convert between different metric units. I have found through my experience that the "Ladder Method" is the simplest and most effective strategy to use. Using this method, students have to find their starting and finishing points on the ladder, count the number of spaces between the units, then move the decimal accordingly in the right direction. I am most proud of the image of the ladder I was able to add into my presentation that broke down each step for the students to follow in converting the units.  I was able to walk through the entire process with the students to ensure everyone understood completely. Just by judging their facial expressions, I thought the majority of them were catching on faster than I expected. I have uploaded the image of ladder that I used below for everyone to view.

One other item that I added to the presentation after walking through the entire process as a class, I created a slide that contained several practice problems for the students to solve. After an adequate amount of time, I called on volunteers to provide a correct answer to each problem. I found this very effective for me to check for understanding of the content and if the students were capable of applying it for their own use. Overall, I thought the presentation was really effective and thought the students enjoyed it for the most part.