Powerpoint Overhaul

Of all the technology that has been added to the classroom since I’ve been teaching (desktops, laptops, tablets, Smartboards, digital cameras, teacher webpages, many titles of the software) the tool that has made the technology tool that has made the most impact with our teachers is

....drum roll please....

the projector.

I understand why teachers love using a projector….it allows us to augment our message to enhance our presentation of content to the kids and if there is one thing that teachers love and are quite good at it is presenting to their classes.

Powerpoint seems to be the tool of choice to craft presentations and it is easy to see why. It is easy to use and it allows you to incorporate websites, video, audio, text, animation. If you can do it or see on the computer more than likely you can include it in a Powerpoint presentation.

A couple of years ago someone published an article online called "Death by Powerpoint" in which they lamented painful presentations in which business presenters lull their audience to sleep with standard template based presentations crammed with everything but the kitchen sink.

Are teachers guilty of doing the same thing to their students? Maybe…maybe not. It really all depends on how you put together your information. Scott Elias, a high school administrator in Colorado and blogger at Dare I Disturb the Universe (http://blog.scottjelias.net/) has put together a helpful presentation for you if you create Powerpoint presentations. There are some great tips and examples of what to do/not do in there and he ends it all with the one question we need to ask ourselves more often: "Would I want to be in my class?"

Taking Your Slide Deck to the Next Level
http://blog.scottjelias.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/slides.pdf