Why does Powerpoint lead to a slow painful death?

Wlecome to this weeks blog. I shall start this week with an apology; I am well aware that I bleat on about my lack of computer knowledge and that as of two years ago had not even used email. However, even I had heard of the term "death by Powerpoint," although I did think it was something the US army did with a sharp stick to suspects in Guantanamo Bay. But after a year at college I realised that death by Powerpoint was far worse than I had imagined.

My first attempt attempt at a Powerpoint presentation consisted of a dozen slides containing line after line of text, with me standing out in front reading directly from the screen. I was so proud of myself. I then proceeded to watch my fellow students do excactly the same, and as the fog of boredom descended upon me I realised the true evil power of "Death by Powerpoint"

Note to self

                                    


Therefore, this weeks ICT lesson on mulimedia in the classroom was one that I felt I needed to pay attention in. We looked at the benifits of using Powerpoint in the classroom. The format of Powerpoint appeals to students and its compatability with the interactive whiteboard makes it an effective pedagogic tool. The format is attractive to students with a variety of learning styles with a particular benefit to those students who learn via a visual and auditory method.

In our session we covered the basic functions of powerpoint. However, the focus of the lesson revolved around how to make your presentation appealing to the intended audience. We then looked at another multimedia package, Clicker is an award winning literacy tool that enables pupils of all abilities to significantly develop their reading and writing skills. Clicker grids give pupils point-and-click access to whole words, phrases and pictures, helping them to construct their work more independently.This is something I would use in the classroom to help the children develop their Literacy skills.

A Clicker grid

                             





You may find the following websites useful:

Powerpoint for beginners

Clicker 6 website