There were two items that I really liked during the presentation. In concept I very much liked the idea of having a movie, or an animation playing in the background as the presenter is talking. It gives the feel of the presentation being more interactive. I also really liked the use of acronyms such as the ones used by Andy and Trevor; Ask question about the scene, Change-deliver y or emphasis, Think-what are they trying to say, Outside Research. Using acronyms allows you to bullet point thoughts without the bullet points. Most of the presentations that I have use a summary slide at the end. I think this is really important for retaining the main points of the presentation.
I think bad PowerPoint presentations can sometimes be like obscenity. You can’t describe it but you know it when you see it. The least engaging thing for me is often a presentation of a slide with a great deal of text in it. This can be improved upon by not writing out a definition of terms but instead only showing the word and defining it verbally. For me it can also be very confusing when I am presented with a slide full of information or a great picture and do not get any information, from the teacher, on why that slide, is there.
I think that next time I would ask for twice as much time for my presentation or greatly reduce the number of slides. I like to get the group involved far more than I did in my original presentation. If I had few slides, cutting out the video maybe, then I could get more interaction with the class. Another option would be to have the sound off and do the video at the end of the presentation. That way the information learned in the presentation on bird identification could be applied to the video.
I do like using PowerPoint as a lesson presenter; however, I think that you need to have a specific goal in mind when you use it. On the positive side, PowerPoint definitely gives a teacher the chance to present information in a neat, consistent manner and allows them to add all types of media into their presentation. There is a risk that once you have presentation it may affect the spontaneity of teaching and have you too focused on not getting off track. More than likely, I will probably use PowerPoint as a way to show illustrations seamlessly or to illustrate process. It will be limited to specific functions so that I do not become stale in repeating information.
Although I didn't see everyone else's presentations I completely agree about the too much text on the PPT being a distraction rather than a help. That's one of my biggest pet peeves.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment as to how you'd use PPT in class, I would encourage you to consider using it when lecturing. Our goal is definitely to be as interactive as possible, but there will definitely be moments when you'll just be lecturing content. As Shawn said, students even WANT you to just talk at them sometimes! I've found in my teaching experience that during this "lecture time" students sometimes get frustrated (especially your visual learners) when they don't have something to look that can help them organize the concept you're lecturing about in their heads . It helps them to organize their own notes that they're taking.