Unit IV Reflection B - Using PowerPoint Presentations in the Classroom

Before putting this presentation together, I had never designed a PowerPoint with a young audience in mind. I found that I had much more fun creating a presentation to show to elementary students than I ever have when creating a presentation for my college peers. In this presentation, I used several slides to create an interactive multiple choice assessment. After reviewing the item, the students select one of two answers. The answers are hyperlinked and redirect to a slide that shows whether or not the answer was correct or incorrect. If incorrect, the next slide is a second presentation of the question. I love the idea of using PowerPoint as a way to informally assess students in class!

Multimedia can play an vital role in any classroom. I plan to use multimedia such as PowerPoint presentations frequently in my lesson plans as a way to make the lesson more interactive. As one of my classmates suggested in her discussion posting, PowerPoint is better suited for some subjects than others. Science, for example, is generally best learned with hands-on experiments and activities while history might be best learned using interactive presentations such as the multiple choice PowerPoint assessment I mentioned. I do feel that it is important that PowerPoint, or any technology actually, not be overused in the classroom. Although technology is great and more important now than ever, basic instructional methods should not be forgotten.

Unit IV Reflection A - Integrating Technology into Lesson Planning

Before completing this class, I had not thought very much about using technology as a part of my lesson plans. I knew that I would use technology in my classroom, but I was thinking solely of technology as a convenience for me as the teacher. I'm glad to be thinking outside of that box I placed myself in.

In this assignment, I was able to modify an existing lesson plan to include a spreadsheet component. The students will use weather statistics from the previous year in this unit about weather and climate. They will plug this data into an excel spreadsheet. Depending on the experience level of the students, we could use this data to generate a chart or graph using excel. The possibilities for expansion on this idea are nearly endless.

I plan to use a KWL chart for all my unit plans. In case anyone was unaware, a KWL chart is a graphic organizer that organizes what students already know, what they want to learn, and then what they have learned at the end of the unit. KWL seems to be used more often in Early Childhood Education classrooms, but it is a valuable tool at any level. By using this, I can see what the students hope to learn and then use that to direct my lesson. 

For example, if the students want to learn about trends in the weather, we can find appropriate data and create a table showing weather trends. If anyone is interested, here is a link to a printable KWL chart online. In ECE we usually complete one KWL chart as a class, but with older students, each student could complete one. You could even have a set of binders, one for each student, containing KWL charts for every unit.

I usually ramble when I start to reflect on my assignments because I just have so many ideas for things in my classroom!