PowerPoint presentations are one of the tools used during lectures. Before, acetates were used and these were undeniably boring and consume a lot of time. Instructors had to write the lesson in acetates. Some may print it on the acetates but this was actually a waste of time. Today, PowerPoint presentations are widely utilized.
Advantages of Using PowerPoint
PowerPoint presentations and has a lot of benefits. However, a teacher should be aware on how to utilize it. When used appropriately, PowerPoint can:
- Frame a lecture.
- Promote student involvement.
- Highlight important material.
- Integrate complex graphics and video.
Designing an effective presentation
It might be a modern tool but a teacher must be able to design it properly so that students will be interested. Here are some suggestions:
- Consider what information and key concepts you want students to pay attention to.
- Give visual organizers, such as agendas or chevrons that indicate where you are within a lecture.
- Keep text to a minimum to prevent students from merely taking notes and listening passively, and be conscious of color choices for accessibility.
- Use PowerPoint to deliver visual ideas, such as graphs, tables, and images that are not easily represented in other ways.
- Integrate questions directly into the slides and give students time to discuss and answer them. Also consider also using i>Clickers.
- Include a video and frame it with questions students can discuss.
- Make sure that your PowerPoint presentation is supported with other forms of communication such as classroom discussion, handouts, and videos.
Integrating PowerPoint into a course
A teacher should be knowledgeable on how to incorporate PowerPoint presentations in a syllabus. Here are some reminders you should consider.
- Think of your PowerPoint presentation as a tool to support instead of replacing your classroom instruction.
- Note how students are responding to the information.
- Give time for questions and clarifications at regular intervals.
- Turn your screen black (press the “B” button on the keyboard) or white (press the “W” button) when your class lecture or discussion has nothing to do with a slide.
- Aim to incorporate a couple of interactive activities during each lecture session.
- Have students create their own PowerPoint presentations as part of an assignment.
Should you provide PowerPoint presentations electronically?
PowerPoint lets you to provide your students with class presentation documents electronically.
- Providing students with presentations before or after a class can reinforce ideas and make learning material easily accessible, but may adversely affect class attendance.
- Giving students with skeletal presentation slides can support note taking, but may interfere with students’ ability to organize their own thoughts to take notes.
- Providing students with slides, questions, or videos before a session can introduce students to the class topics.
- Giving electronic slides only to students who request them.