Lesson 4
Presentation Programs
for
Teaching and Learning
Agenda:
Technology Explorations:
ComicLife, iSpeech, VoiceThread,Scribblar,StoryBird,KidBlog
An Example of a Presentation
TED Videos
An Example of a Presentation
TED Videos
An Overview of Presentation Programs
Features and Functions
7 Different
Intelligences
Promoting Engagement
in the Classroom
Triple P
Looking Ahead
ComicLife is for creating engagement in beginning and intermediate
readers and writers. This is a visual tool to engage reluctant readers through
visual representation of knowledge. Students can create a one page comic that
they can easily change or fine tune. They can also incorporate photos and drawings
into their narratives. It also allows students to experiment without setting
anything in stone. Therefore, it allows them to grow in their reading and
writing and not get discouraged if they mess up. ComicLife can easily be incorporated into any subject. For
example, one way I could apply this in a Social Studies class would be to ask
my students to create a one page comic on their favorite historical figure
(Daniel Boone, Paul Revere, Rosa Parks, etc.). They could incorporate famous
quotes and endeavors these people are known for. I think ComicLife is a fun and unique educational tool. It has a free 30
day trial period. I would encourage the trial period and if educators find it
is helpful and beneficial to the learning of their students I would encourage
them to pay the $29.99. This product works with MAC, Windows 7 and 8.
iSpeech is available for eLearning,
presentations, training videos, audio books, and commercial distribution.
iSpeech can translate email or text in multiple languages. It converts text to
speech, documents to speech, web content to speech, and can also convert blogs
to speech. However, with all this said I would argue that this website’s focus
is primarily towards business. But, it can be applied in the classroom. I could
apply iSpeech in the educational
setting as a tool for reading. Because it converts text to speech, this would
be of benefit to my children who are having difficulty reading or also for my
speech needs students or my students who may be blind. iSpeech is fairly basic and I think it would have to be based on
the teacher’s preference. There are many text to speech tools available. Also,
this tool Is fairly pricey. To covert 10,000 words you have to pay $500.00 and
the price only continues to climb.
I was
pleasantly surprised with Voice Thread;
however, it was the wiki that truly showed me the potential Voice Thread has in
the classroom. The purpose of the wiki is to gather examples of how educators
are using Voice Thread in their classroom and to share their examples. Man, was
I surprised at what all Voice Thread can help kids do! Voice Thread is used for
publishing and collaboration. Collaboration can involve the teachers, students,
and anyone else in the community authorized by the creator (teacher) to view
and comment on presentations created by the students. The teacher has the
ability to make accounts private or public. He or she can also create
collaboration through group conversation. Directions are straight forwarded and
there is no software to install. What I learned from the wiki site is that this
program can be applied to every subject. It’s broken down into grade levels,
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Teachers and their students have created numerous
presentations built through student slides that pertain to what these students
are learning. For example, K-2 have created seasonal stories, animal habitats,
and holidays. The students create their slide and can add their voices to the
presentation to example their slide. Then the teacher pieces the slide together
to form the presentation. You can also create family webs, collaborate through
math projects, and give book reviews all through single slides that form a
presentation. Schools can subscribe and teachers will also get their own url
for their classroom website. I do love
this educational exploration. It’s simple, easy, and fun for all ages. As the
grade levels go up, so do the details and extent of the presentation and collaboration.
Scribblar is an online collaborative whiteboard. Some of the
features include: real-time audio, document upload, text-chat, crystal-clear
live audio, and unlimited running session. However, I feel that this product is
more geared for teacher collaboration amongst teams, It could be used in the
classroom setting as well. In simple terms, this resource could be used to
break students down into teams to discuss a current book they are reading or
work a math problem together. It does come with a price; however. For 5 rooms
with 5 users it is $14.00 a month, for 10 rooms with 10 users it is $24.00 a
month, and for 50 users with 25 rooms it is $39.00 a month. Again, I would
leave this to the teacher to decide. Yes, you can break kids down into teams in
the regular classroom setting; however, you can use this tool as an alternative
to the traditional classroom setting and allow students to incorporate the
digital world they love so much into learning.
Storybird is creative
storytelling that is free, simple, and safe. Teacher can create assignments for
any subject and it’s easy to share student work through the class library. It’s
also easy to use when class size varies. It’s broken down into categories,
ages, and formats. You can create stories, poetry, and blogs. You can grab and
pull clips to express the storyline and characters. Students feel like read
authors while they are enhancing their literacy skills. Storybird is a way for students to feel empowered as they create
books, stories, and poetry. This is a great tool for collaboration. Students
can create their own stories and then share them with their classmates.
Engagement is fun and creative. Students
can learn to read and write and have fun creating at the same time. As far as I
could tell, Storybird appears to be
free. This would make a great tool for collaboration amongst peers and allow
students to learn reading and writing in a way not traditional to the
classroom.
Kidblog is a safe and simple blog for your students. It is an
authentic way for students to engage with their peers at a local and global
network. It can also help students transform their writing through pre-writing,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing, and commenting. Students can show off their creative-writing,
work their math problems, journal in their science notebooks, have global pen
pals, and create digital portfolios. I could easily apply this in my classroom
through a number of subjects. For example, English. Let’s say I have a freshman
class who is reading To Kill A Mockingbird. We can easily sent up this site so
that they can write daily blogs on their chapters assigned and then read the
blogs on their peers to see what their thoughts were and comment. This site has
so much potential in the classroom. The basic package is free and the premium
is $29.99 per teacher for a year. This site is safe, has unlimited class size,
and it’s simple. This is a great way to get students involved at any grade
level and also great for peer critiquing.
An Example: The Alphabet
An Example: The Alphabet
1.
What was the presentation about and to
whom did you present it?
a.
This particular presentation was over
letters of the alphabet, letters K, L, M. It was presented to preschools. Some
were age 4 and other were age 5. We are learning our letters. The PowerPoint
was very short. The slides were white and the letters were upper-cased in bold.
i.
For example K, L, M
b. I ask the kids to tell me things they thought began with our
letters of the day. With my guidance, they came up with kite, lemon, monkey,
lion, etc.
2.
Of which item in your presentation are
you the most proud?
a.
The presentation was very clean and
simple. I want the children to recognize the letter and then try to tell me any
things they knew that began with our letters. I like that my students were
engaged.
3.
What might you do differently if you
could create the presentation again?
a.
One thing I will do differently is try
to incorporate some pictures in the slides that begin with the letters we are
focusing on that week. The children can recognize the pictures more easily than
the letters. This can teach them to associate the pictures with the letter.
4.
How did your students respond to the
presentation?
a.
The students enjoyed the presentation
because they are still young and amazed and think I can do magic when I get a
letter to appear on a white screen!
TED.com
I had
never heard of TED.com until it was assigned here in EDOL 530. However, man was
I thrilled when I was exploring and found one of my all time favorite short
films, The Danger of a Single Story. I first watched this film as an undergrad
at Eastern. I was taking an African American history class and the professor opened
up the course with this film. It is truly so powerful! Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie calls herself a storyteller and she truly tells an excellent
tale of how stories are a critical misunderstanding. She is from Nigara;
however, she grew up reading and creating stories of white people. Stories are
impressionable, she notes. She went through a shift when she began to read
about her culture and things she recognized. She loved her British books; yet
she didn’t know she could be in those stories as well. However, as she began to
read books by her culture she learned she too could be a part of stories and
books.
She notes heavily on
how single stories create stereotypes and if those stereotypes aren’t
corrected, we are at a create misunderstanding and misfortune. Western
Literature has created a small world that is centered on white people who are
powerful and conquer all. This is a single story.
We create perceived
thoughts and one track minds that are shocked at the realization that there are
many stories. We must open our minds. I
will encourage my students to do the same, read books that aren’t your first
choice, select music that it’s your first thought, talk to people who you
normally would not. I would encourage my students to open their minds to all
stories and situations and experiences that can help create in them
authenticity. I would encourage them not to believe the norm and to do their
homework on things they are not familiar with or are curious to know more
about. Lastly, I would hope for them that they aren’t the product on a single
story. Let your mind wander and explore, study, try, and create. Don’t let
yourself be a victim of a single story. Stories are never one-sided. There are
always two, three, even four sides to a “single story.”
An Overview of Presentation Programs
A presentation program is a type of
software designed to create, demonstrate, illustrate and clarify material in a
digital format that is making its way into the lives of teachers and students. Like
word processors, desktop publishers, spreadsheets, and databases, presentation programs
first made their mark in the business world. They are now taking the place of old
overhead projectors, chalk, dry erase boards, bulletin boards and other display
devices that have traditional been used to present material to students. Around
2000, presentation tools began to make their way into the educational setting.
A presentation is made up of slides incorporated
to make an entire presentation that can contain videos, graphics, audio, and
text. The presentation can be controlled with the click of a mouse, or more
automatically to a timer. Productivity tools allow users to incorporate animations
and slide variations. Presentation programs have common features and functions
for enabling users:
·
Change
Text Color
·
Add
Graphics
·
Add
Hyperlinks
·
Add
Sounds and Videos
·
Incorporate
Fonts and Font Effects
·
Add
Animations
·
Offer
Display Options
Etc.
Students can incorporate these into their
daily lessons and also allow their students to get creative with their own. Teachers can show presentations to their
classroom as a whole send them to students individually or post them to a
website where the class can view them at any time. This allows students to
review the concepts taught in class that day or if they missed school. This
gives the teacher the flexibility he or she may need.
7
Different Intelligences
Approaching
Different Learning Styles through Presentation Program
Presentations allow educators to effectively
communicate information to different learners in their classrooms. Let’s
identify seven different intelligences:
Linguistic- is what is called an original intelligence.
It involves verbal and written language. Activities such as reading, telling
stories, or working crossword puzzles involve linguistic learners.
Logical-or mathematical intelligence looks at
patterns, numbers, and experiments. Standardized tests only determine a person’s
linguistic and logical mathematical skills
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence uses the whole body
to solve problems. Hands-on projects and athletic experiences are examples of
whole-body experiences.
Spatial- intelligence is the ability to form and use
visual images of the world.
Musical- intelligence use rhythms and songs, singing,
rhyming, and listening.
Interpersonal- is a personal intelligence that has a
strong ability to understand other people. He or she can work together with one
another cooperatively.
Intrapersonal- is also a personal intelligence that has a preference
to work alone. He or she is motivated inwardly and by self.
When
a teacher stands in front of a class and gives a classic lecture, it appeals to
linguistic learners or students who learn through oral speech. When a teacher adds
a visual element, it appeals to spatial learners or visual learners. When a
teacher adds music, it can reach musical learners. Presentations can reach all
students and make learning for enjoyable and memorable.
Presentation can promote engagement if
used effectively by educators. The following are ways a teacher can use
presentation programs in their classroom:
- Communicate effectively with students
- Positively engage students in the learning process by offering something apart from traditional tools of learning: overhead projector, chalkboard, or bulletin board
- Add variety to classroom presentations
- Organized information in a presentable way
- Whole-Class Discussions
- Grad Student Attention
- Etc…
It’s
easy to get carried away and get PowerPoint Paralysis or Triple P so to ensure
you stay on task remember these 10 tools as an educator:
1.
Keep
the goal in mind.
2.
Plan
for the students, ALL your students.
3.
Develop
an organized sequence that is easy and to the point.
4.
Determine
how many slides are efficient and time competent.
5.
Be
Brief. Do not reading directly from your slides. Engage your students.
6.
Be
Consistent.
7.
Chose
colors for slide correctly so your students can follow along closely.
8.
Use
a large, bold font that is clear and clean.
9.
Use
upper and lower case letters, (especially if you are teaching reading or
writing).
10.
KEEP
IT SIMPLE
Presentation programs are great for students
as well. Students can learn the visual design principles of contrast,
alignment, repetition, and proximity. Contrast can be in the form or size,
color, shape, and texture. Repetition can create unity through symmetry or
asymmetry. Alignment can create strong lines to connect objects, while
proximity can create a sense of unity. Students can practice and masters these
skills, while expressing their creativity. Presentation programs are great for creating
book reports, book reviews, or videos. Students can also as practice their reading
and writing comprehension through creative slides and texts formats. The
possibilities are endless!!
Next Week:
Online Communication Tools
and
Technology Explorations:
Prezi, SpicyNodes, Edmodo, A Math Dictionary,
Glogster , Jing, You Tube for Education
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