Some Reflections about Presentation Software
Presentation
software is a whole group of multimedia effects software that can support presentations either partially or wholly. The group includes PowerPoint, Prezi, other
similar Prezi tools, presentations that use maps, timelines and the whole area
of digital storytelling which is based around the idea of storytelling and uses
many different types of media to achieve it.
PowerPoint
belongs to an older model of software, however, I was really very surprised at
how many features there are. In my
professional life, we don’t use many of these features because they are
considered unprofessional or distracting or may just show people up in front of
a very important audience. However, in
education, there is a use for many of these features.
When
using PowerPoint in class, it is important to follow copyright laws regarding
use of images and sound and source resources that are created under the
creative commons or to only use 10% or to create the resources. In Prezi, it looks like we should be using an
Education specific subscription and all of the images within the program are provided for use. Students
should always understand what they are doing and why it is ethical to do what
they are doing. Scratch code for the
Scratch Digital Storytelling example is open source and in order to use the
code, students simply ‘remix’ it. As
Scratch is an educational program, all provided libraries are free to use under
the educational license. As I am part
accountant, I like to apply the ATO law to any question of copyright in that I
always only use resources in such a way that I favour the owner (ATO private
rulings always favour the ATO 😉).
For
me this week's task of choosing a presentation tool to trial was like being at the all you can eat bar and already having
eaten. There really is no easy way to
choose. Most everything that I saw in
the examples this week I haven’t tried and I wanted to try.
I developed a PowerPoint Virtual Museum presentation and I uploaded the presentation to SlideShare. (Refer to 5.1 PowerPoint Blog Post). See the virtual expo prototype that I created and uploaded.
I would use the Virtual Museum or Expo presentation approach in my class to have the students develop a project on an Economics and Business Topic such as the example I have created about where clothes are manufactured. The work I would set would be project-based and would involve the students handing in a completed Virtual Museum or Expo presentation for assessment. I would model the approach first and scaffold each of the techniques so that the students can see each them. We could assemble a tutorials and tips from the web and develop them on the class wiki. Having the students swap and then view each other's presentations would bring in higher order thinking skills. Based on viewing and reflecting on the other presentations, I would then encourage the students to create a newer version of their own presentation based on their experience with the other presentations. Rather than have the students make presentations in front of class, I would like to try having the presentations loaded onto a class wiki and then have the students do the reviewing of a peers presentation on the wiki (perhaps like a secret Santa) and using some of the bookmarking tools to make the reflective comments on other presentations. Having the students review peer presentations and make comments which contribute to assessment is Modification under the SAMR and having the presentations on the wiki with greater collaboration on the final reports is an example of redefinition, particularly if I could arrange for a colleague of mine to view the presentations and to make some reflections or comments.
I have used the SAMR for all three of my topics this week. (Refer to 5.1, 5.2 & 5.3 Blog Post)
A good read Judith. I haven't heard of 'Scratch Code' before - I will look further into this.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to offer advice on a brilliantly laid out blog that's easy to understand. I wondered if, in your last paragraph, linking numbers 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 to the actual blogs would be helpful to viewers, although I know it is easy enough to scroll!