PowerPoint

There were a lot of things I liked about the PowerPoint presentations. A few items that come to mind:

- James’ introduction to Algebra effectively simplified the information for his audience. The presentation appeared to be well planned and rehearsed with its timed animations and smooth transitions.

- Brandon’s presentation on major and minor thirds incorporated an engaging activity into the slides.

- Hayley used PowerPoint to present the rules of Improv, but didn’t let technology overshadow the content.

- Other things I remember: IPMAT (Liz), people shot bison from trains (Luke), lasers go pew pew (Zach).

I found the presentations crammed with too much information to be the least engaging. I was overwhelmed by slides containing too much text and had difficulty following lectures that were read word for word.

It was interesting to see the creativity in everyone’s presentations. I think the best PowerPoint presentations are those that are well planned and rehearsed, and take a variety of elements into consideration, including the presenter, the audience, the content, the amount of time, and the space. I would improve my own presentation by incorporating more sound effects and video clips.

I like using PowerPoint as a lesson presenter. PowerPoint keeps presentations organized and allows the audience to follow along and take notes. There’s so much you can do with PowerPoint. However, there are its disadvantages. Good presentations take time to prepare, create, and rehearse. PowerPoint also limits opportunities for students to actively participate in the learning. If used creatively, however, PowerPoint can be a very effective teaching tool.