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Three Non-Traditional Uses for Presentation Software

Educators have long used presentation software to supplement traditional lectures, yet this technology remains underutilized in school. Now available on a multitude of devices including desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones, apps such as PowerPoint and Keynote are more accessible and user-friendly than ever.

Keynote useEducation World offers the following out-of-the-box ideas for integrating these handy tools into the classroom.


Student Presenters

This is the easiest and most obvious strategy. Instead of using the presentation software to conduct your own lecture, turn the reins over to students and let them present the material. This can be done as a group, with everyone contributing a slide or two, or individually, with each student presenting a five- to 10-slide deck on a given topic.


Next-Level Assignments

Keynote or PowerPoint can be used in ways their developers never imagined. Education World offers step-by-step instructions for making a narrative photo gallery and recording and presenting a video using Keynote. The ideas are only as limited as your imagination, but the concept behind them is simple: use the apps for purposes beyond their intended ones.


Get Organized

Seating charts, class rosters and the like are created primarily using apps such as Word or Pages. Users can, however, insert images, audio and text into a Keynote or PowerPoint slide, making these apps a viable alternative to word processing programs. Educators can make a class roster—complete with images of students, voice notes and other pertinent information—right on the slide. The result is a dynamic digital document that remains handy when printed.  



Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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