The benefits of using presentation software in the classroom include:

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Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the benefits of using presentation software in the classroom, some ideas for classroom use to support literacy and numeracy and some further resources to enable you to effectively integrate the use of this technology in your classroom.

A digital presentation is a collection of electronic slides which can contain text, tables, graphics, pictures, sound and video. The manner and sequence in which the elements appear on the slide can be controlled and the presentation can run automatically or be presented by a presenter.

Benefits

The benefits of using presentation software in the classroom include:

• Presentation software is an excellent resource that can introduce, enrich, or encapsulate the material you present in the classroom.

• Resources created in PowerPoint / Impress can be shared with others and used again in the future.

• A digital presentation can be enhanced by incorporating text, images and video.

• The teacher is enabled to cater for the different learning styles in the classroom. It provides for the visual and auditory senses of the learners.

• Pupils are engaged and motivated by a dynamic, well structured presentation.

• ‘Flashcard presentations’ can be created with presentation software. Topics may include: practising parts of speech; extending vocabulary, practising spelling; reinforcing story problems and reinforcing numbers, letters, or colours.

• The process of preparing and giving oral presentations is a purposeful activity that involves finding information, reflecting upon that information interpreting it and creating

something new. Sharing the created product with others provides an audience for the pupil and acts as a springboard for discussion and interaction.

• The practise of extracting key information from pupils research and presenting it as bulleted points helps develop pupils’ higher order thinking skills.

NCTE ICT in the Classroom

Presentation software - focus on literacy & numeracy

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Ref: 12-11

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Classroom Application

Ideas for classroom application of this technology to support literacy and numeracy include:

Literacy

• Presenting projects to the class: Pupils research their assigned portions of the topic and develop slides to serve as a part of a group presentation about the topic. This develops presentation and critical analysis skills as well as the information contained in the project. • Digital Story Telling: Presentations can be created with images and accompanying narration. • Creating Digital Learning Objects for other classes: Pupils create slideshows for younger classes and present them. A senior class could create a presentation on the alphabet for the junior classes. They may be added to a school’s digital library for sharing with other classes. • My School Years – Pupils present their years in the school by creating a slideshow with photographs from each year as well as images of their work and other school activities. • Projects – Pupils develop slide shows to present projects individually or in groups. • Autobiographical Stories - Pupils can create short autobiographical stories about themselves. Scanned photos can be inserted for interest.

• Poetry Readings – Pupils collate appropriate images to accompany them reciting poetry. They can create a slide show with a voice recording accompanying the images.

• Science Presentations – Use presentation softwar to teach processes and how things work. Teachers and pupils can add additional items to a diagram to illustrate how a process grows and changes.

• Pupil Portfolios – Presentation software can be used to create pupil portfolios.

• Class Yearbook Type Presentations - Collect photos and information about special events, examples of class and pupil projects throughout the year and create a presentation. • A presentation may contain contrasting or conflicting images (one on each slide) so that pupils are encouraged to consider their responses to different visual stimuli.

Numeracy

• Pupils can create number stories to present to the class. • Pupils present sorted objects as a slideshow i.e. All things blue.

• Pupils create a book of Shapes with photos of shapes from the classroom and environs. • Pupils present word problems for their peers to solve.

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Assessment

Ideas for assessment using this technology include:

• Create a pupil self assessment rubric for presentations.

• Ask pupils to create and present a slideshow on a topic of choice. Ask the other pupils to provide peer review using the two stars and a wish structure.

• Ask pupils to present part of their reader, a poem or a short story with appropriate images and sounds.

• Show a presentation to assess the pupils’ language skills i.e. o Show definitions and ask pupils to write the word o Show a word and ask pupils to write the definitions

o Show an anagram of each of their spellings and ask them to write the correct word

Special Educational Needs

These examples outline ways in which presentation software can be used to support pupils with SEN:

• Create a pupil self assessment rubric for presentations.

• Allow pupils who may have language difficulties to present a visual slideshow.

• Use Powerpoint presentations to improve concentration i.e. what is missing in the picture? • Create simple slideshows with animations on mouse click to improve fine motor skills i.e. http://www.northerngrid.org/ngflwebsite/sen/resources/PowerPoint/Simple%20Mouse.ppt

Useful Tips

• Be aware of copyright issues when using resources available online. While they may have been uploaded and shared they are the property of others and you must comply with copyright law.

• Using and publishing images of pupils in a slideshow can be very motivating. However, be sure to consult your school’s ICT Acceptable Use Policy which will inform you as to how digital and video images are to be captured and stored within the school or on

your computer.

• Less is more. Use as few slides as possible, as effectively as you can with as few distracting transitions or animations. Aim for a maximum of 50-70 words of text per slide

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Animations

• Animations should be used sparingly.

• Think carefully about what the animation tells your audience.

• Use relevant animations that add to rather than detract from your presentation. • Avoid using too many different varieties of animation within the same presentation. • Some animations can be extremely distracting, especially when set with sounds. • Be consistent with how you set up your animations.

Video Tutorials

To learn how to use presentation software, or to develop your skills, please spend some time exploring the NCTE Video Tutorials at the links below.

• Presentation software - starting a new presentation

http://www.ncte.ie/ICTTraining/VideoTutorials/#21814

• Presentation software - Saving a presentation

• Presentation software - Adding a new slide

• Presentation software - Inserting images and clipart

• Presentation software - Slideshow

• Presentation software - Saving a file

• Presentation software - Animations

• Presentation software - Slide transitions

• Presentation software - Slide design

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Useful Links

• NCTE Good Practice Videos

www.ncte.ie/GoodPractice/Videos

• SlideShare to share your presentations online

http://www.slideshare.net

• PowerPoint Search

http://www.powerpoint-search.com

• PowerPoint Resources for Numeracy and Literacy

http://www.pppst.com

• PowerPoint Resources for Teachers

http://www.mrsmhoward.com/teachers_only.cfm?subpage=312119

• Elementary PowerPoint Presentations

http://www.pasadenaisd.org/teachertoolbox/PPTs/ppt_elem.htm

• PowerPoints for Teachers

http://www.worldofteaching.com

• PowerPoint Viewer: People who wish to view a PowerPoint presentation and do not have PowerPoint installed on their computers they may download a free viewer from

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/downloads.

Insert PowerPoint Viewer in the Search box. • Teacher Tube

http://www.teachertube.com

• Resources for children with SEN