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powerpointtic TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM HEADLINE: [GETTING STARTED WITH TECHNOLOGY logo goes here] [NOTE: THIS LOGO NEEDS TO BE CHANGED FROM GETTING STARTED ON THE INTERNET TO GETTING STARTED WITH TECHNOLOGY] [set SMALLER] EDUCATION WORLD'S "GETTING STARTED WITH TECHNOLOGY" SERIES: PowerPoint [set DASH] Creating Classroom Presentations [set bold] By Linda Starr [end bold] TAGLINE: *** What can [set ITAL] you [end ITAL] do with PowerPoint? You may be surprised! Your students have just completed some terrific reports on cold-blooded animals or Native American culture or photosynthesis. You'd love to incorporate a technology component into the activity. You've never used graphics software, though, and you certainly don't have time to learn new software now! What's a technological newbie to do? [set COLOR] Included: Ideas for simple, teacher-created projects to build with your students! [end COLOR] [set bold] Editor's Note: [end bold] In this issue, Education World's Technology in the Classroom page presents the first in an ongoing series of articles on presentation and multimedia software applications. Each article will include a brief introduction to the capabilities of the software and its potential uses and an introductory tutorial created with the software. Because we'll be learning about most of these products at the same time you are, we hope to provide you with a unique perspective on the advantages, disadvantages, and "quirks" of each application. We want to help you select the software best suited to your individual needs. If you are considering purchasing or using a particular presentation or multimedia software in your classroom or school and want to know more about it, please let us know. We will try to include it in our series. TEXT: WHY POWERPOINT? You can use Microsoft PowerPoint to create interactive presentations containing text, art, animation, and audio and video elements. It is probably the best-known presentation graphics program available. If your computer arrived pre-loaded with Microsoft Office, you most likely have PowerPoint too. Just click [set bold] Start [end bold] and select Programs to find it. Not all Microsoft Office packages include PowerPoint, however. If yours doesn't, visit http://www.microsoft.com Microsoft to find out how you can get it and how much it will cost. PowerPoint's widespread availability isn't the only reason for its popularity, however. "I use it because I like technology and the choices it allows," LuAnn Kaiser, a teacher at Nebraska's Wausa Public School, told Education World. "With PowerPoint, you can animate words and graphics, add sound effects, include a QuickTime movie [set DASH] it's just awesome! PowerPoint captures the students' attention and helps keep them interested!" "The kids like it," Kaiser added, "because it's so easy to use and because the ability to integrate graphics and text means there's always something new to learn and do." TERRIFIC STUDENT PROJECTS! Kaiser generously agreed to share some of her favorite PowerPoint projects with Education World users. "One of my students' favorite projects is Today in History," she said. "Students research an event that happened on [a particular] day in history and then create a ten- to 15-slide presentation about it. They find graphics online or create their own. Most students incorporate sound effects in their presentations as well. One of the best ones was about the St. Valentine's Day massacre with Al Capone. The kids loved it!" "We also use PowerPoint during creative writing classes," Kaiser noted. "For example, in the [set HYPERLINK to TSL] Visual Poetry activity, students read a favorite poem and create a PowerPoint presentation depicting a visual interpretation of the images in the poem. In addition, students are currently writing and illustrating children's stories." "In tech prep," Kaiser explained, "students create resume-style presentations that have even included pictures of them working at their job sites. In speech class, they create slide shows to accompany their oral presentations." IT'S NOT JUST FOR KIDS PowerPoint works well in the classroom in a number of ways. Present information or instruction to an entire class. Create graphically enhanced information and instructions for the learning centers. Create tutorials, reviews, or quizzes for individual students. Display student work and curriculum materials or accompany teacher presentations at parent open houses or technology fairs. You can set PowerPoint presentations to run automatically during such events, providing a slide show of classroom activities and events as parents tour your classroom or school. RANTS AND RAVES Although most of the applications we will cover in this series will be as new to me as they are to you, I did have some minimal (although not recent) experience with PowerPoint. Because I rarely find, however, that using software applications is as "unforgettable" as riding a bike, I was surprised at how quickly I learned enough to create a reasonably attractive, interactive presentation. PowerPoint was both easy to learn (or relearn) and to use. The toolbar tools are easily accessible, clearly labeled, and relatively foolproof. Some of the shortcut icons seemed less intuitive than others [set DASH] I never would have "guessed," for example, that the star icon indicated the animation tool. The rollover labels for the icons cleared up any momentary confusion, though. Most important, no action is "undoable," so you can correct your mistakes easily [set DASH] even if you save them. (Do remember to save often!) In other words, you won't spend several hours creating the perfect presentation only to find you can't correct a typo, insert an additional slide, or add an animation. USE THE TUTORIAL As I explored the PowerPoint software, I used it to create a brief tutorial introducing new users to the basic functions of the program. Follow the directions below to view the presentation. If you don't have PowerPoint on your computer, download the http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/downloadDetails/Ppview97.htm Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 97. Open and view the [set HYPERLINK] PowerPoint Tutorial. Print the slides and use them as a guide as you create your own PowerPoint presentation. Remember that this is an introductory tutorial; PowerPoint offers many features and options beyond those covered here. Once you're familiar with the program, you'll be able to choose from a variety of presentation types, designs, and layouts; create original designs and layouts as well as change colors and color schemes in pre-selected designs; add, delete, and rearrange slides within a presentation; insert Web art, scanned images, or create your own drawings; create charts and graphs; incorporate sound and videos; add hyperlinks; save work in html. HELP YOUR STUDENTS CREATE PROJECTS When you've finished your own presentation, you'll probably be ready to help your students create theirs. Encourage them to start with short presentations that contain only a few slides. Remind them to keep the text and graphic images simple. A plan never hurts either. http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/Guide/Civics_Project.html Project-Based Learning with Multimedia provides a workable outline for planning and completing multimedia projects. Advise students to follow the guidelines below. Plan the projects. Identify goals and content; determine overall project length and progress checkpoints; determine project activities. Prepare the information. Complete research and/or activity components. Plan presentations. Create storyboards, which are detailed plans of the text, graphics, and order of each slide. Create presentations. Present completed projects, review experiences, and discuss project highlights or trouble spots. For a good evaluation tool, go the Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania. The school provides a http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/WEBQPRE/assesspp.htm PowerPoint Rubric for evaluating the writing content, technical content, technical organization, and communication skills used in student-created PowerPoint projects. Article by Linda Starr [[email protected]] Kw/03/010/00 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES http://www.ed.uri.edu/homepage/agenda/mop/powerpt/msppt/SLD001.HTM PowerPoint Informational Slide Show This slide show provides an overview of PowerPoint and describes its tools and capabilities. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/powerwk.htm Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 Carol Siwinski, of Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, provides step-by-step instructions for using a number of PowerPoint functions. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/instruct/powpt1.htm PowerPoint Instructions This step-by-step tutorial on using PowerPoint, from Pennsylvania's Germantown Academy Curricular Technology Program, includes instructions for everything from launching the program to printing the slides. http://www.orst.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm PowerPoint Tutorial Mark L. Merickel of Oregon State University provides this terrific PowerPoint tutorial, which includes lots of graphics. http://server.uwindsor.ca:5001/~bedard7/powerpoint/index.htm Sharing Your PowerPoint Slide Show on the Web This step-by-step tutorial clearly explains how to post a PowerPoint presentation to a Web site. http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm PowerPoint in the Classroom This engaging tutorial provides easy-to-read, graphically clear information about PowerPoint functions. DATABASE http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/Guide/Civics_Project.html Project-Based Learning with Multimedia This site provides examples of multimedia use in schools in San Mateo County, California. http://www.ed.uri.edu/homepage/agenda/mop/powerpt/msppt/SLD001.HTM PowerPoint Informational Slide Show This slide show provides an overview of PowerPoint, which describes its tools and capabilities. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/WEBQPRE/assesspp.htm PowerPoint Rubric This rubric provides guidelines for evaluating the writing content, technical content, technical organization, and communication skills used in projects created using PowerPoint. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/powerwk.htm Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 Carol Siwinski, of Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, provides step-by-step instructions for using a number of PowerPoint functions. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/instruct/powpt1.htm PowerPoint Instructions This step-by-step tutorial for using PowerPoint, from Pennsylvania's Germantown Academy Curricular Technology Program, includes instructions for everything from launching the program to printing the slides. http://www.orst.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm PowerPoint Tutorial Mark L. Merickel of Oregon State University provides this terrific PowerPoint tutorial, which includes lots of graphics. http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm PowerPoint in the Classroom This engaging tutorial provides easy-to-read, graphically clear information about PowerPoint functions. http://server.uwindsor.ca:5001/~bedard7/powerpoint/index.htm Sharing Your PowerPoint Slide Show on the Web This step-by-step tutorial clearly explains how to post a PowerPoint presentation to a Web site.

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