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Using MS PowerPoint as a teaching resource by Mark Hitch Introduction The ability of modern computers to bring multimedia resources into the classroom is having an increased effect on the way teachers teach. If teachers have the necessary hardware to present these resources to the class, then PowerPoint becomes as much of an everyday tool as a textbook or even a piece of chalk. Once PowerPoint, or ICT resources in general, have been created, they can be exchanged with colleagues or modified to suit the specific needs of subject groups and classes without any reprographics cost. Even if a teacher has a limited ability in using PowerPoint, Science Online will provide a bank of lesson resources based on PowerPoint that can be used to provide the backbone for any lesson. The resources in the Teacher presentations section are NOT student centred but designed by teachers for teachers to allow them to enhance the way that they teach. Preparation is very important in terms of lesson provision. Once a PowerPoint file has been created or downloaded it may need to be modified to meet the needs of a specific class. For experienced teachers this does not present any significant problem, as they all have the 'feel' for how long a lesson, or aspect of a lesson, will take. Creating PowerPoints from scratch can be a time-consuming process, but once they have been created they are always available. Downloading PowerPoints is even better. In this case the preparation time for the lesson is greatly reduced. The required PowerPoint or a selection of slides is simply selected and copied. Any modifications are then made as needed. If modifications to these resources are needed, or if you want to create a new PowerPoint, there are a few golden rules and hints that help teachers get the most out of the program.
Build the diagrams
using simple animation effects.
Here's a sample PowerPoint
about capacitors for 16+/A2 Physics. This sequence of slides shows the basis for a successful PowerPoint teacher's presentation.
When using PowerPoint a whole range of resources is available at the click of a button. The pedagogy that develops at 11-14 (Key Stage 3) and 14-16 (GCSE) creates more opportunities for students to take an active part in their own teaching as opposed to just their learning. Students are able to use the PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate their understanding to the class. In effect, the students become teachers because the teaching resources are now available at the 'click' of the mouse. Lesson time can now be used to expand ideas and concepts to create greater opportunities for discussion. Similarly, at 16+ (A-level), PowerPoint can have a very positive impact on teaching and learning styles. The students are able to download resources before each lesson by printing the PowerPoint presentations using the '3 slides per page pure black and white' option to create printouts to which they can add their own annotations. This is basically a set of notes that contain the slides from the presentation and spaces in which they can record their own notes during the presentation. Whatever the teaching level, the most important thing to remember is that the PowerPoint NEEDS a teacher to bring it to life - to explain the concepts, to put it in context, to relate it to the real world, to expand the subject…to teach the lesson. After all, PowerPoint is just another tool that allows teachers to teach.
In addition, as more ICT-based resources become available to teachers, they can use PowerPoint to hyperlink to these resources at the click of a mouse. CD-ROMS, digital video and Internet pages can then be brought directly into the classroom and used as teaching materials. For PowerPoint to be an effective tool for whole-class teaching a means to display the presentation to the whole class is required. This can range from inexpensive scan converters* to powerful data projectors and interactive whiteboards. The scan converters are a fraction of the cost of data projectors and allow the display from a single computer to be shown to the whole class. The data projectors are considerably more expensive but not only allow a PowerPoint presentation to be shown to the class but also any notes that have been written on the whiteboard to be converted into a PowerPoint presentation as well. Whatever method of whole-class display is used, the effectiveness of PowerPoint to engage students in their own learning makes it a highly effective teaching tool. *Scan converters from Avermedia +44 (0)1908 218800. Display any PC on any television.
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This
slide shows a series of animated drawings that illustrates the basic construction
of a capacitor. The descriptive text is bullet pointed and kept to the
minimum that covers the main discussion points.
Here
the simple drawing tools have been used to animate a graph.The mathematical
equation has been created in MS Equation editor and imported into PowerPoint.