Assignment 1, Reflection 4, Week 5

Creative Ways to Present Information

If you wish to completely engage your students when teaching, it is necessary to use a variety of text, audio, images and videos- as discussed last week. This week will focus on the importance of how you present information when teaching it to your students.

Some creative presenting tools being focused on this week are:

1. PowerPoint
2. Prezi
3. Glogster

Source: Google Images

1. PowerPoint

PowerPoint is one the most commonly used presenting tools by both educators and students. Although, so many people are familiar with the basics to using PowerPoint, there are very few people who know how to go far and beyond when using it to teach.

PowerPoint can be used to;

• Embed text, audio, videos and images
• Link to websites and other slides
• Create interaction

A tool used to help teachers and students think 'outside of the box' when creating PowerPoint's is Virtual Museums. This is a fantastic tool that can be embedded across curriculum areas to extend and refine knowledge. This tool allows you and your students to build and create a 'museum' that links to other slides, providing games, information and additional resources. This tool encourages interaction and engagement while using 21st century skills to help students make meaning of content knowledge.

 

 

I strongly recommend visiting 'Virtual Museums' when creating you next PowerPoint as it can be easily integrated in to all different subject areas and would be appealing to your students.

 

I have embedded a PowerPoint that I had created in a previous course, that was designed to be a Historical Web Story, focusing on the key learning area of year 3 History. This presentation could be used in a history inquiry on Australia day. The presentation followed the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2012) content descriptor for year 3 History;

 

Days and weeks celebrated or commemorated in Australia (including Australia Day, ANZAC Day, Harmony Week, National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC week and National Sorry Day) and the importance of symbols and emblems.

 

 

Click here to view slide show and teacher notes

 

Throughout this presentation there is use of text, images, links to relevant websites (interactive), useful teacher notes embedded on each slide and a reference list is included.

 

An important thing to remember when creating a PowerPoint presentation for early years students is to use a number of images, sound recordings, colours and limited text. This will ensure students are engaged and learning while interacting.

 

Source: Google Images

 

 

2. Prezi

A Prezi is often referred to as the 'Zooming Presentation Tool' and allows you to add all the little specific details that you wish to. Prezi is used like a magnifying glass, zooming into the big picture.

 

I had a go at creating my own Prezi:

This tool would be useful in the classroom environment for both the teacher and student. Prezi could easily be embedded into any curriculum area. The teacher may wish to use it to engage students when teaching a new topic. The students could possibly use this tool when presenting in front of the class or just to display understanding of a topic. Students can incorporate images, videos, audio, text and movement throughout the presentation.

This is a simple and fun tool! I am shocked that I have never used it before, but I look forward to using it in my future teaching career. IT'G GREAT!

Source: Google Images

 

3. Glogster

A Glogster can often be referred to as 'An Online Scrapbooking Tool' and has many educational benefits. Gorman (2010), discusses "The benefits of using Glogster in the education include the opportunity for students to use a dynamic, multi-sensory learning program that fulfils Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, enables standards mastery, provides differentiated instruction and so much more." Both teacher and students can use this tool;
- Through Glogster.com/edu teachers can create student accounts and observe them.
- Students can interact with Glogster by adding backgrounds, images, videos, audios, links and graphics.
Glogs can be embedded into Blogs and Wikis, like I have done here today;



As you can see the final product looks like a poster. I would highly recommend using this tool in the classroom environment across all subject areas.

I look forward to using Glogster, Prezi and PowerPoint again!

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2012). The Australian Curriculum: History. Australian Government.

 

Glogster. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.glogster.com/dashboard/pulse

 

Gorman, M. (2010). 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning. Retrieved from http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/changes-at-glogster-great-info-and-links-for-all-levels-of-users/

 

Keeler, C. (N.D). Educational Virtual Museums developed using PowerPoint. Retrieved from

http://christykeeler.com/EducationalVirtualMuseums.html

 

Prezi. (2013). Retrieved from http://prezi.com/your/