Power Point as an Educational Tool

Before this week’s lesson, I always thought of Power Point as a slide show with bells and whistles. Most of my experiences with PPT were fellow student presentations. The PPT presentations seemed to be more to show the professor, “I must have put some thought and effort into this project because I made a Power Point.” They did not add depth to the presentation.

However, after this week’s lesson, I realized the range of applications for Power Point. It is a great multimedia tool for educational purposes. Students can utilize Power Point as a tool to extend their learning. There is no denying the “fun factor” with Power Point. This can help engage students. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to find a way to assimilate the fun design aspects of PPT with a deeper understanding of the content of the lesson.

The article I cited during our discussion this week is a perfect example. In Engaging Older Students with Reading Disabilities: Multimedia Inquiry Projects Supported by Reading Assistive Technology, the authors detail how PowerPoint can be used to improve student engagement and comprehension. The tools the teachers used allowed the students to develop research questions, organize their thoughts, and synthesize their research into exciting and informative presentations. At the end of the summer session, the students presented their projects to parents and other classrooms.

Power Point should not be used as a crutch to make a lecture flashier in the classroom. It should be used thoughtfully and integrated into lesson plans to add to the student’s learning comprehension.

Works Cited

Michael W. Dunn, et al. "Engaging Older Students with Reading Disabilities: Multimedia Inquiry Projects Supported by Reading Assistive Technology." TEACHING Exceptional Children 39.1 (2006): 6-11. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr. 2011