EQ’s
1. What do we mean by computer presentations?
2. What impacts have they had on teaching and learning?
3. What might a successful implementation of a computer presentation look like in the 21st Century classroom?
Let's not lose site of our essential questions. To that end, I would like all participants that were on the receiving end of a literature review to make a few summary statements, reflective comments, or ideas on how the literature might be useful in your classroom on our blog. The essential questions above should guide your thinking on your post. The following represents the body of literature we are examining:
1. Computer Slide Shows: A Trap For Bad Teaching, W.R. Kleim, 2007
2.
Kindergartners Use PowerPoint to Lead Their Own Parent-Teacher Conferences, Dianne Young & Lynn M. Behounek, 2006.
3. On the Informed Use of PowerPoint, Catherine Adams, 2007
4. Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Support Emergent Literacy Skill Development for Young Children At-Risk or Who Have Disabilities, Howard Phillips Parette, Jack J. Hourcade, Nichole M. Boeckmann, Craig Blum, 2008
5. Using Digital Media to Interpret Poetry: Spiderman Meets Walt Whitman, Mary B. McVee, Nancy M. Baily, Lynn E. Shanahan, 2008
6. Increased Interestingness of Extraneous Details in a Multimedia Science Presentation Leads to Decreased Learning, Richard E. Mayer, Emily Griffith, T.N. Jurkowitz, and Daniel Rothman, 2008
7. Seventh Grade Students and the Visual Messages They Love, Belinha De Abreu, 2008
8. Invention and Drafting in the Digital Age: New Approaches to Thinking about Writing, Tina Bacci, 2008
9. Computerized Presentation of Text: Effects on Children's Reading of Informational Material, Matthew A. Kerr & Sonya E. Symons, 2006
10. Ban the Bullet Point! Content-Based PowerPoint for Historians, Alexander Maxwell, 2007
Christine - #5 Spiderman meets Walt Whitman
ReplyDeleteI think it interesting assignment to give the students to see if they truly understand the poem. My only concern is often students get bogged down in finding the perfect font, visual, and music and NOT focusing on the interpretation of Whitman’s poem.
Cristine - Using multiple modalities is beneficial to helping students learn. However, there's a huge limit because of teacher knowledge. If we're going to have student-created works, teachers have to know how to use the technology well enough to teach students how to use the technology. If we don't know it, we can't do it. If we don't know it well enough to answer student questions, the students aren't going to be able to do it.
ReplyDeleteArticle 5 - I think poetry itself leads to being more creative, but sometimes in the creativity in the computer presentation the main idea can be lost especially with the attention deficit student. I feel that this poem was interpreted well, but I believe many viewers may be lost through all the additional visuals. Chris you did a great job presenting this topic and placing it in a presentation that demonstrated the use of many attention getting techniques.
ReplyDeleteWhen using PowerPoint, it's important to remember to present the information in a way that incorporates the various learning modalities. Questions, content, and layout should spark higher level thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs Chris mentioned I think it showed a wonderful evolution of her work and presentation. It was interesting to see the fine line between use of all modalities and what could become too much. Can it become distracting or overwhelming for the presenter or the viewer.
ReplyDeleteArticle 5 - I liked the use of different colors to make the important words stand out. I think this helps the audience to focus immediately on the main idea of each slide.
ReplyDeleteChristine – good job with the presentation. The concept of semiotic design in the presentation is important to maintain interest, but I agree that it can become overwhelming to add in and overwhelming to the students watching it. If you would use the “Spiderman and Whitman” presentation as an intro – the students would only interpret the poem that way.
ReplyDeleteIncorporating many learning modalities into a powerpoint is crucial for students to take the information and use it. I just need to be aware of not overdoing the cutesy stuff on powerpoints so it doesn't take away from the content.
ReplyDeleteUsing digital media to interpret poetry--Using digital media allows students to be creative when making presentations. However, at times, students are more concerned with looks rather than content. I have seen students with learning disabilities working on powerpoints with color, flash and dash, but not being able to spell or know what exactly they are putting in the show.
ReplyDeleteI thought you gave some good examples for us to use as reference.
With the use of the powerpoint to present the article, it was an effective way to show the the fine points of making a powerpoint. The use of the student's presentation was also an effective way to show the big idea of the article. By seeing these powerpoints, I know have a better idea of what is a better presentation.
ReplyDeleteUsing Digital Media to Interpret Poetry:
ReplyDeleteThis really gives me pause regarding pros and cons. From a poetry standpoint, this multisensory approach may be a great way to expose people to poetry that they would never think of reading. I would be concerned that the skills of sitting, reading, envisioning, internalizing, interpretting, and discussing would be in danger of being lost. I do see it as a wonderful exposure, "draw you in", technique. As I mentioned in class, I see one's knowledge of PowerPoint as the boundaries of demonstrating their interpretation/expression. At this point, I could write or talk my way through my interpretation better than I could express myself through PowerPoint. However, PowerPoint may be more dazzling, even if less thoughtful.
Vickie and Reagan - good job on the presentation. Neat concept to using the powerpoint as a teaching tool not just a note source. Tour guide analogy - very good.
ReplyDeleteRegan and Vicke:
ReplyDeleteBan the bullet:
Very Good. We must remember to have that balance of giving enough information, while fostering the higher order thinking. Great use of media of a popular movie. I like the metaphor of being a tour guide through the artifacts.
Vickie & Reagan
ReplyDeleteI liked your presentation. The quote you shared about acting as a tour guide through the presentation was great. The video incorporated was great too! I need to remember not to read the slides, but have the students become interactive throughout the lesson. You shared the main points of how to use a powerpoint effectively.
10 - I like the idea of acting as a tour guide when presenting information on a PowerPoint. We need to get away from reading the information from the slides. When information is bulleted, students tend to focus on copying rather than listening to what the teacher is saying. They miss many important key points in the presentation. PowerPoints should foster discussions and student thinking.
ReplyDeleteArticle 10 – Really liked the guided tour of a museum, lecturer is a tour guide analogy.
ReplyDeleteVickie and Reagan
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the use of the youtube video to demonstrate your article. You were effective in your delivery of the content. The tips that you provided from the article are beneficial to us all. Using a powerpoint as a discussion tool and using images to spark the discussion is a great idea.
Great job presenting Reagan and Vickie! I enjoyed the way you presented the information and the idea you both brought up as seeing yourself as a tour guide through information.
ReplyDeleteBan the Bullet Point--I agree that too many words on powerpoints can be overwhelming especially for struggling readers. I like the idea of the artifacts and the tour guide. However, I am sure there are times that words are necessary--definitions, descriptions of events, things that students need to write for study purposes.
ReplyDeleteReagan and Vickie - This was interesting to follow Christine's article, because of the contrast between 'use color, sound, etc' and 'keep it simple.'
ReplyDeleteI loved the video clip with the images there to support what the professor is saying, rather than the professor reading the slides. I also really like the idea that the text is there not to be read by the teacher, but to be reflected upon by the students. I'm not sure how I'd use this with my students, who have difficulty with reading sight words, let alone reading and understanding the actual content vocabulary, but it definitely makes me think about ways to use it and change it around to make it work with my struggling readers.
Ban the Bullet Point:
ReplyDeleteI can really see the point for Social Studies about having the PowerPoint act a visual SUPPORT to the content of the verbal presentation. Showing visual examples, to the verbal points of interest, seems fundamental. I know not all students are ready to rely on their own personal skills at notetaking instead of being provided the notes.
Jen-
ReplyDeleteI agree with many points of the article. I also agree that it is worth looking into another method (Reading Recovery?) to help our struggling students. It would be interesting to see research on the Kindles/Ipads.
Jen
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the points you presented from your article. It was interesting to hear that students read better when reading from a book rather than on the computer. I know many of my students who attend the Read Naturally session do not like it. They would much rather be in the classroom with me reading a book of their choice and having a conference about their book.
9 - I can speak from personal experience that the majority of my students would rather read text on paper rather than on the computer screen. I like to make notes, highlight, underline, etc. and I find my students use many of the same strategies. Also, my eyes get tired much faster looking at a computer screen rather than on paper.
ReplyDeleteArticle 9 - It is great to see that there is an article out there that supports what many of us experience in the classroom that many administrators fail to see. I believe this still supports the idea that in our classrooms, we need to have a truly differentiated approach to conveying information to our students. I don't believe that there is only one true means of delivering the information. When all of these ideas are blended together then we have a great learning environment.
ReplyDeleteJen - nice presentation. Interesting study, but as far as usefulness, I haven't seen a lot of text on the web that just scrolls. However, the actual reading rate distinction is quite significant.
ReplyDeleteComputerized presentation of text. Interesting results. I was surprised because I would have expected the students to rush through the computerized text. I see that with my students. They rarely take the time to read if they are doing research on the computer.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more hardcopy text for students to use when doing research for their classes. Too often using the computer is the easy out.
Article 9 - I am interested to see what the findings will be when some research is done on some of the new technologies used for reading (ie. Amazon's Kindle, Apple iPad). I still question why the authors studied scrolling text. I do not think this is a situation that occurs often when reading online.
ReplyDeleteComputerized Presentation of Text: Effects on Children's Reading of Informational Material
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting spin on technology does not always work. I think if we use it as a supplemental teaching resourse, it will be fine. However, we do not want our students to get "technologied" out...then they start becoming noncomplacent and frustrated. Again it goes back to knowing your students and what works well for them. One child at a time.
I do believe that fluency aids in comprehension. If a student struggles with decoding the text, meaning may be lost. I think we need to use a few strategies well so that students can become better readers, which is a life skill.
Being able to hold the text in hand, at times, helps a student interact with the text better. It has boundaries and is more concrete than a computer screen.
Computerized Presentation of Text:
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think the book vs. computer experiment ended with very believable results, I did find myself questioning a host of other variables that might have affected the results. In the grand scheme of the experiment, I find results completely defendable. Spacial relationships are a contibuting factor in reading that can easily be lost with technology. Only when technology actually recreates the conditions of reading a hardcopy book does it compare in its effectiveness. Once again, we are replacing real with virtual.
Very interesting information presented - Thanks Jen! I wonder what would happen if the text were presented as Jason said in a more comparable style... Page to page text vs. a scrolling comparison?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting information presented Jen! I wonder what would happen if the text were presented as Jason said in a more comparable style. Page to page text vs. a scrolling comparison?
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Jen's article (9)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the discussion that occurred there needs to be a balance between using a computer programs and one to one help when working with an intensive reader.
I always think of the Aristotle quote “ We are by nature social animals.” Sometimes students need that time with the teacher to talk things out in order to get to the higher level of comprehension that is necessary to be a citizen of the world.
Article 2 - This a great way to get both students and parents excited about the learning process. Having students being able to understand their strengths and weaknesses at such a young age will only allow students to focus and evaluate their progress throughout their elementary years.
ReplyDelete#2
ReplyDeleteI thought your article was very interesting. A lot of my parents do not come to conferences and it makes me wonder if the children were directly involved with the conference, would participation increase. The amount of time it would take to create these presentations is my only concern. Great job presenting!
2 - I love the fact that kindergarten students are making PowerPoint presentations and it's nice that parents can get involved as well. It provides meaning and ownership to students. I wish students at my school would be exposed to these types of technologies.
ReplyDeleteTiffany:
ReplyDeleteKindergartners Use PowerPoint to Lead Their Own Parent-Teacher Conferences:
That was a really neat article of involving our young students. We can help students identify their own strengths and needs. What a fantastic PR to get parents involved in their child's education.
The framed slides are wonderful...even for older struggling students who have trouble getting started on a project.
Article 2 – This was a very creative way to encourage parent involvement! I also like how the presentations allow the students to do some self-evaluation. Taken a step further this could be an interesting way to start the online student portfolios some districts are requiring.
ReplyDelete# 2 Kindergarteners-- I think any way you can get parents more involved in their child's educational program is wonderful. When you start at the lower levels, hopefully, it will carry over to the upper levels. I can also see this being used for students with special needs if there are assistants to help put the slides together when needed. I also liked how at the early age they were making the students think about strengths and weaknesses.
ReplyDelete#2
ReplyDeleteI thought that the idea of the students presenting for conferences was a good idea, but I can't imagine how much time that would take! The article stated that there was an aide that helped, but most times that would be unrealistic. The time involved in creating the powerpoint and then rehearsing times 25 in a class would be extreme. If the slides were premade and had a canned response that would be more effecient.
In regards to Tiffany’s summary for article # 2
ReplyDeleteI think that having elementary students create a PowerPoint presentation about that includes some self-reflection is a great idea. What a clever way to increase parent involvement by having the students present this Power Point during Parent-Teacher Conference night.
Tiffany - - Nice presentation. I'm not sure how this could be applied in a HS setting, but I think the concept is useful for the younger elementary students. I definitely agree with your thought that not all students in you school need recognition and it's ok to fail or not be as good as all others.
ReplyDeleteArticle 2 - I love the idea of students making their own PPT show for a conference. This would give students a chance to really reflect on their own learning. The biggest drawback that I see in this is the time that it would take to get PPTs made for an entire class of 20 students, plus the time for students to practice their slideshow.
ReplyDeleteWith a shift from 90% to 100% parent participation in the study school, I wonder how much change there would be in a building with a lower parent participation -- what would the change be for a school that had a 60% participation rate for conferences? Or a 25%?
Kindergartners Use PowerPoint:
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a perfect idea to get very young children introduced to computers. Again, a hardcopy idea transformed through technology. Having a definite structure already prepared for students to complete would be a must at this age. It certainly is a success story for encouraging parents to attend conferences. Would this also work if students prepared a live presentation?
Article 6 - Very interesting and true. How many times do students get us to go on tangents that take time away from the actual content? If we open the door during our presentations with the extraneous content that can lead the mind away, then the purpose of the presentation may be lost. Sometimes we need the extraneous content in order to peek interests and to help assess prior knowledge of the students. Just be sure to evaluate where it is in your presentation.
ReplyDeleteJason and Kevin-
ReplyDeleteGood presentation! I personally like the story of the skydiving experience. I think the story humanizes you and make you more able for your students to relate to you. I see the point of staying on task and to the point, but some of my favorite teachers and the classes that I learned the most were ones where we sometimes got off-task and the teacher told us stories that related to the topic.
Jason and Kevin:
ReplyDelete#6: You made research seem cool. Anyway, it helps us as teachers stick to the point. However, the students like to hear and make connections to those personal experiences. Like Kevin said maybe if continued and used Mole as an example problem...it would come back to the relevance of the lesson.
In regards to Kevin and Jason’s summary of article #6
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the personal stories help engaged your students BUT after your presentation I realize I need to limit the personal stories in order to help my students retain more information.
Jason & Kevin
ReplyDeleteI thought your presentation was great! The main thing I am taking from your powerpoint is when you are adding ideas to your presentation, just don't add them to add them. Your details and ideas should be what you want your students to take with them. The big idea of your lesson. However, Kevin I thought your story was great!!!
Jason and Kevin - I have to agree that it's important to make sure when you present material to students, you don't want to incorporate too much fluff. Sometimes we enjoy telling a "related" story to entertain or draw students in on the topic, but in reality, we get off task. I'm glad to be aware of this so that I stick to the important information when presenting material to students. However, I do enjoy a good story!
ReplyDelete#6 Wow, how often do we bring personal stories into the classroom? I guess we need to stay with the facts. It hard, however, because we want to make things interesting. This will change how I look at some of the things I use in class.
ReplyDeleteGood story, Kevin.
Article 6 (Jason and Kevin) - Your presentation was interesting and I love that you broke all the rules for PPTs in making yours (though I think that you needed more bullets and moving text!). :)
ReplyDeleteI think that there's a line between extraneous details and information that bridges new content to background knowledge, and that it's a very fine line. Sometimes we have to make the connection for students because they don't have the tools to make connections for themselves. The skydiving story might help make those connections for students, so it almost seems like it's more a question of how material is added rather than what material is added.
No. 6 Increased Interestingness of Extraneous Details in a Multimedia Science Presentation Leads to Decreased Learning
ReplyDeleteGreat job presenting information and making personal connections! I think it is interesting and important to understand what information is necessary to share and allow students to make connections. Not forgetting what the main idea you want them to focus on is from lesson to lesson.
Increased Interestingness of Extraneous Details:
ReplyDeleteThis is another topic that seems obvious. Determining what is extraneous material/information is the grey area. Using technology, I think it may be more applicable to address "distracting features" of a presentation: too many bells and whistles...literally! It seems we are encouraged to dress-up our presentations to make them more interesting, but it's the show that's more interesting, not the information. In many cases, students are looking for anything to take them away from the "learning" part.
In regards to...Increased Interestingness of Extraneous Details in a Multimedia Science Presentation Leads to Decreased Learning, Richard E. Mayer, Emily Griffith, T.N. Jurkowitz, and Daniel Rothman, 2008
ReplyDeleteFirst off, well presented. Ideas were communicated well.
I can agree and disagree with the points presented by the authors. My contention lies in I think teachers can humanize their content when the insert really world stories. And when kids find thier teachers human and approachable they may be more inclined to work hard and perform to the best of thier ability. I know I use human quite a bit in my history classes. And no doubt it was off task. But b/c my humor is so dry,corny anti-funny, many kids find it appealling. It is who I am and I share that aspect of myself with students. I will revisit whether or not I might include humor in the context of my presentations.
Amy
ReplyDeleteI found your article really interesting. I am always looking for a way to introduce persuasive writing assignments, especially since that is a district writing assessment. Having kids take a look at themselves with the use of some form of media will be a great way to introduce this assignment. Kids are persuaded to buy a certain toy/media and most don't even realize they were persuaded for some reason. Having students look at themselves will be a great way to introduce what it means to be persuaded to do something or think something.
Article 7 - I found the article and the presentation very interesting. At first, I also tried to figure how this was fitting into our course topic. I then realized that we need to be careful how we present information in our classrooms that may not be misleading or create a stereotype of a topic. It was neat how you experimented with this idea on your own children.
ReplyDelete#7 (Amy) - Listening to this made me think about my own media-influenced life. What do I have around me and why did I get it? As an adult, I like to think that I made decisions for my own taste, but in just a few minutes of reflection, I have to admit that there are things that I have because of friends and family. There are even more things that I -do- because of friends and family. (Learning to spin (spinning wheel, wool, yarn, sheep, etc) is a good example -- I started this hobby because of the influence of a friend.
ReplyDeleteIf that's true for me, how much more true is that for kids?
I think that this has a real impact in the classroom because how many students might want to do something because it's cool or their friends are interested in it, rather than because they really care about their education?
no.7 Seventh Grade Students and the Visual Messages They Love
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your presentation and the fact that you took it further by testing the theory out in your own home! Sadly too many of our students take what they see at face value. I plan on checking my ads from this past weekend to see what evidence I can find to support what your article stated.
Bryant-
ReplyDeleteMaking an informed decision is something that we have to do for everything we use from tradebooks to powerpoints. Unfortunately, we do not have enough background knowledge and training with technology to use it as effectively as we would like. The idea of having a coach, as we have been pushing for in this district, would be great that that person could should us possibilities and bounce ideas. Wouldn't it be nice to have the time and know-how to play around with technology and apply it to our classrooms?
In response to Amy’s summary of article #7
ReplyDeleteI was completely fascinated by the conclusions of the research. I was thinking about how this research applies to my PowerPoint presentations. One thing I realized, I must make sure to represent all races and genders into my presentations.
Bryant
ReplyDeleteGood job with your presentation...it seems like you understood your article even if you felt it was difficult to comprehend. The thing I got from your presentation was a powerpoint does not need to be complicated in order to be effective. Sometimes simple is best!
4 - I really wish the article about PowerPoints and how they can be used for students with disabilities would have actually provided strategies or techniques we could use to help these students with their learning development. I believe the teacher should lead the discussions or act as a facilitator, but to not let PowerPoint drive instruction. I agree with you, we don't need a PowerPoint sales pitch anymore. I would benefit more from learning how I can better use PowerPoint in the school curriculum.
ReplyDeleteAmy:
ReplyDeleteSeventh Grade Students and the Visual Messages They Love
It is amazing how media can effect or influence all of us. We start questioning ourselves, what is real and what is virtual? My main concern is that people, especially children may believe the virtual world to be totally true. It comes back to the old adage, "You can't judge a book by its cover." This would be a great segway for the students to develop self-awareness, character development, or the influences of propaganda.
Emily and Cindy - It's a shame that the article wasn't more useful and just a sales pitch for Powerpoint. I do feel the discussion after your article could be useful. I know if/when I create Physics Powerpoints/Google Docs presentations I will share them with you.
ReplyDeleteOn the Informed Use of PowerPoint:
ReplyDeleteOnce again, the plug for PowerPoint's usefullness doesn't need to be made. This article does remind us to have a clear understanding of why we're using PowerPoint, and to research how it can be used to achieve our desired outcomes. Certainly the more knowledgeable you are with technology, the more options you have to use it.
Bryn--when you first started your presentation, I did not think it would be something I could use. However, with the other discussion that occurred, I can see some use. Using powerpoint to help organize writing would allow the students with learning disabilities to write paragraphs that were concerned with only one topic. The size of the slide(s) would limit how long each paragraph could get.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Seventh Grade Students and the Visual Messages They Love, Belinha De Abreu, 2008
ReplyDeleteGreat article to make me think about how I might use digital cameras and PPT to get kids to think about identity( a topic I really enjoy exploring with students). In this model PPT is just a tool to display as we witnessed with the art presentation (pecha kucha syle).
Article 4 - It would have been nice if the authors had spent more time explaining how PowerPoints benefit LS and at risk students. However, I think the good teaching practices for using computer presentations we have been discussing work for all learning types.
ReplyDelete