Sunday, July 25, 2010

PowerPoints - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly



I completed a Webquest for my SOSE assignment in my first year (2008). A Webquest is basicly an interactive powerpoint so I thought it would be perfect to upload a sneak peak of my Webquest for those interested. The Webquest is about Recycling it was designed for 7-8 year olds.

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most frequently used program in the world, many use it because it is versatile, simple and easy to use, making it possible for anyone to create an interactive multimedia presentation (Central Queensland University, 2010). PowerPoints can be used for interactive presentations containing text, art, animation, video and audio clips. If your computer came pre-loaded with Microsoft Office the great thing is that you will most likely have PowerPoint too.

Daniels (1999) states that the PowerPoint presentations allow for students to use the visual differentiations to their own benefit. Each slide allows the student to stay on track and if a printer is accessible printing out the slides as a handout helps to cater for the varied learning styles within the classroom (Daniels, 1999). PowerPoints with audiovisual elements allow students with different learning styles and ESL students to grasp the information required (Daniels, 1999).

PowerPoints could be used in the classroom for:
• Enabling students to construct creative presentations for classroom tasks.
• Students develop meaningful technology skills.
• Creating & completing Webquests
• Present information, procedures and or instructions to the class
• Create tutorials, reviews or quizzes for students
• Display students work – Parent teacher night
• PowerPoints can be changed, updated and used again and again for those particular lessons
• Learning Manager can create many activities such as:
o Flash Cards
o Interactive Stories/Reports
o Group or individual Slide Shows
o Photo Stories – Learning Stories – e.g. Science Investigation
o Classroom Slide Show – e.g. Field Trip Story (for parents, peers and other teachers)

PowerPoints can be a Learning Manager’s and a student’s best friend however if they are not used correctly they will not be as effective as they could be.

Here are some PowerPoint Weaknesses (Kaminski, 2003):
•It’s easy to get carried away making slides. Making too many sides then are required for the presentation
• PowerPoint can be a time waster. It can become very time consuming tweaking a presentation.
• It is easy to begin a presentation without the plan or ideas first. PowerPoint works best when reinforcing the ideas or information.
• PowerPoint’s can have too many bells and whistles. Making an ugly and confusing presentation
• Too much text with each slide, even incorrect spelling and grammar can become a hindrance
• A presenter can become dependent on the PowerPoint presentation.
It is crucial for a Learning Manager to remember that students can become lost, confused or distracted when a whizz bang PowerPoint presentation is used during a learning experience. So when using a PowerPoint make sure it is used effectively.

Have a look at this Youtube clip "Life After Death By PowerPoint" (McMillan 2007), it paints a clear picture of when PowerPoint goes wrong.




References

Daniels, L 1999, Journal of computing in higher education, Introducing PowerPoint in the classroom: PowerPoint as the first step, vol. 10, pp42-56, http://www.springerlink.com/content/3628423174085807/, viewed 25th July, 2010.

McMillan, D 2007, How not to use powerpoint, YouTube,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM&feature=fvst, viewed 25th July 2010.

Central Queensland University. (2010, May 30). Practical Activity: Week 3- PowerPoint, LMS and RSS. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from FAHE11001 - Term 2, 2010 Managing E-Learning: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=99697

Kaminski, S. H. (2003, January 16th). PowerPoint, however, has notable weaknesses. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: http://www.shkaminski.com/Classes/Handouts/powerpoint.htm#weaknesses

2 comments:

  1. Hello Eva
    I've see powerpoint used effectively by students in the lower grades to learn their sight words. It's a simple way to vary the learning and kids enjoy the process of learning that way.

    I also think powerpoints can be overdone in the respect that too many whistle's and bells confuse the content of the presentation but I think there is more creative scope in terms of visual appeal with PP's than what I have experienced so far with wiki and blog background and colour themes.

    You're doing a great job with your blogs :)

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  2. Hi Eva,
    I love the 'How not to use PowerPoint' video, was enjoyable to watch and I think it would be valuable in a secondary classroom! In fact I will write it down for future reference! I think PowerPoint may be one of the more useful digital tools, as it is readily accessible. Like you said, it comes on most computers, where as other tools such as skype and some others we have looked at, you actually need to download, which takes time and download allowance! Nearly everyone would have access to someone who is confident in using PowerPoint. But then again, maybe thats just me taking the safe option! I guess other digital tools will become as common as PowerPoint in the near future.

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