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Engage Students with Microsoft PowerPoint in the Classroom

Presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint has become an integral part of many classrooms, particularly when the audience is large and more oriented to information exchange. With the use of PowerPoint, teachers are able to communicate better with students and help them to learn more effectively. The main reason why PowerPoint has become so popular is because not only is it available widely but is also very easy to learn.

It is also possible to embed different kinds of media into the presentation such as images, animations, sound, videos, and much more. This can make the presentation much more engaging leading to enhancement of the students’ ability to understand and retain the subject matter. Teachers too can focus on communicating with the class instead of wasting time writing on the whiteboard with their back to the students. However, despite the many advantages of PowerPoint, it needs to be used with a lot of care as otherwise; it may actually end up disengaging students and hindering the learning process.

Different Approaches to Structuring Presentations

Text-heavy: In this version, the instructor includes the lecture in full using complete phrases and sentences. Not only does this help the teacher by making available his speaking notes but also his students just need to access a copy before or after the session to get all the necessary notes. They can instead focus on understanding concepts during the lecture instead of making copious notes. However, if the notes are such that the same content can be found easily in textbooks, it is better not to include the notes in the presentation as this may end up disengaging the students.

Text with images: A combination of text and images, this is among the most popular ways of structuring the content of presentations. Even though the comprehensiveness of the text is sacrificed so that the pictures can be included, the combination approach appeals more to students, especially those who are visual learners. To effectively show relationships, values, and sizes, it is possible to use a Venn diagram template that makes use of colorful and visually attractive circles.

Image-heavy: In this type of a presentation, the focus is on the images and the text is only included in the form of brief narrations or captions. However, teachers will often need to speak a lot more to explain the significance of the images, and students may also need to prepare more exhaustive notes because what they get in the presentation will not be adequate for the examinations. Lecturers may avoid preparing separate speaking notes by using ‘Presenter View’ option that displays the notes only to the presenter and not to the audience.

Narrated PowerPoint Presentations

Since it is possible for audio commentaries to be recorded and embedded into the PowerPoint presentation, many teachers take the advantage of recording their entire lectures and synchronizing it with the slides. This technique is especially helpful for instructing online audiences as the lecturer can iron out all glitches that can take place in the narration and present a perfect version that has the best impact. With some other tools, it is also possible to convert the slide presentation to a video file format that is compatible with all browsers and thus they can be uploaded to the web for audiences to either stream or download.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of any PowerPoint presentation depends on how well the presenter understands the subject and the capabilities and requirements of the audience. To this extent, he can make use of text, images, and AV filesthat can deliver the message in the most impactful way.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Charlie Brown .