Powerpoint Best Practices Reflection

Lindsay Kaye Ohlert EdHD 5007 PowerPoint Assignment 6/25/09

All too often, PowerPoint presentations are simply lectures reproduced nearly verbatim in slide form. While such slides may be useful for note-taking, their use begs the question: why doesn’t the lecturer simply give the listeners a printout of the presentation and let them read through it at their leisure? Purposeful use of PowerPoint requires harnessing the software’s capabilities in order to utilize various learning modalities and increase engagement with the material. Good PowerPoint presentations integrate audio, images, text and video, organizing them in a way that adds depth and relevance to the subject being taught. PowerPoint can also be used to create non-linear resources that allow the learner to interact directly with the material, such as photographs and diagrams with “hot spots” where one can click and explore, or games, like the sample Jeopardy board I created. These learner-directed activities allow students to participate actively rather than absorb passively, increasing their level of attention and making it more likely that they will retain the information. In my future classroom, I would like to use PowerPoint both as a way of presenting information and as a method of assessment. Creating and using PowerPoint presentations can help me ensure that I cover all the content I intended to cover when initially planning, and PowerPoint games offer a fun way of informally assessing students while proving useful review. Also performance tasks such as having students create their own PowerPoint presentations require them to sift, winnow and organize the information they’ve learned, both aiding them in forming schemas that will aid in future knowledge application and allowing me to assess the depth and breadth of their understanding. All in all, PowerPoint, when used thoughtfully, is a good method of ensuring that more material is covered with greater efficiency and efficacy.