The power of the point.

I have had quite a lot of experience using PowerPoint during my time at school and at University, and I believe that it is an incredibly important and useful teaching tool. It is possible to use powerpoint to engage students with course material and retain focus throughout a class or a lecture. At the same time, however, if not used correctly they can be distracting and cause more of a hinderance than an actual useful tool.

Before getting into how I feel they can be used within classrooms, I thought I would make a quick list of common mistakes found in PowerPoint presentations. These are often the pivot point within the presentation that will turn it from a useful and engaging tool into a distraction. I've compiled this list from videos on youtube and moodle as well as my own personal experience.

Chloes 5 points to a powerful presentation!
1) Make sure the colour scheme DOES NOT clash and that your points are easy to read.
2) Do not have too many slides.
3) Do not use useless data just for the sake of having another graph present.
4) Only use animation where needed, and do not overload the slides with it.
5) Only put a small sentence on each point you wish to make on the slide. Do not overload a slide with information and do not use useless bullet points.

Within a classroom, powerpoint can be used as a really good presentation method. There is also the possibility for students to use powerpoint within their own assignments. Allowing a child to make a presentation, which would then be presented to the class, is a highly effective way of increasing engagement with the content. Not only would a student need to understand the content in order to make the presentation, but they would also need to be confident enough in their understanding to present their information to the class as a whole. This would also help with public speaking exercises.

I also feel that PowerPoints would be useful as a tool for explanation of sequences. Putting a presentation up of steps that need to be followed during a practical class would help the students with their constructing and shaping of procedural knowledge. A step by step guide would also be highly useful for highlighting errors, pitfalls and variations in the process.

With the new technologies uses in classrooms now, there is also the added bonus of using PowerPoints on smart boards. Below is a quick video outlining some of the features that are most useful within a classroom. I particularily think the addition of notes or drawings made on the presentation being saved is most beneficial and could be used to help you reflect on the class at the end of the day. It would also help for continuing improvement of presentations as you would be able to remember what was lacking.