I really enjoyed the second session and the activities that we were asked to do. In particular, I found the chapters in Presentation Zen to be very useful because they got me really thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of my presentations. Overall, I feel that my presentations really do have most of the elements that make it "stick" for the audience. The one area that I really want to work on improving are making the presentation more unexpected and/or add a few more elements of surprise that will raise the interest level such as music or video clips. Besides that, I also want to try and simplify my slides so that there is less information on each slide, which will allow the most important details to "stick."
Regarding the VoiceThread program, I have already begun to think about how I could really incorporate this program into my classroom. For example, next quarter, my students are creating PowerPoint presentations on popular culture from the 1950s and 1960s and then presenting them to the class. I am considering using the VoiceThread program with my students where they would use laptops and upload their PowerPoints and then record their voice, creating a much more unique way to present what they have learned. Students would then play these in class to everyone else to teach the rest of the class about their topic, again in a different way. This, of course, hinges on whether or not this is feasible given the resources at my school. So, my next step is to talk with the instructional technology teacher to find out if this is possible....I will keep you posted.
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Jennifer what a great plan for using Voicethread with your students. I wonder if they could also incorporate some music from that time period into their Voicethread? This would be the perfect topic for it.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with your comment about school resources. My district has such tight perameters on web use that it is difficult to tap into some of these great web based resources. Does your district have a policy for internet use?
I agree with you Jenny on how the readings from Presentation Zen are really making me take a hard look at my presentations, both positive and negative. It is great to actually be able to put what we are reading in class to immediate use! I hope to use the six key principal elements to improve our school's library presentations.
ReplyDeleteI would also love to collaborate with you on your student project!
I wonder why you would not have them start in Voicethread - toss out Powerpoint altogether. Many good things can be done by students when we give them opportunities to be creative. Have fun!
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