Power Point Presentations

The videos were some of the best items I saw during the presentations. Videos are a great way to capture a viewer’s attention. The videos I saw during the presentations were engaging and relevant to the topic being discussed. Kerri’s video was particularly entertaining. Her entire presentation on classification was eye catching and relatable. Brandon’s music lesson was engaging because he asked the class questions which made it very interactive. Matt’s video matched his presentation well. He did a good job of condensing a large amount of information. James’s video was great! Showing kids how to do basic algebra through the illustration of boyfriend/girlfriend relationships was a great idea. He made me want to take his algebra class. I am sure the kids will enjoy learning math because he makes it fun and relatable. Steven’s jeopardy idea was very engaging and a great way to use power point. This got the entire class directly involved with the material.


Although the presentations were very colorful and interesting, some of the pictures and backgrounds were distracting. James’s presentation was excellent, but the background made the words hard to read. Some presentations had so many pictures that it was difficult to focus on the speaker’s main points. Smart art can be a good way to illustrate concepts, but it works better with certain subjects. Overall, I didn’t feel that smart art was used as effectively as it could have been. For example, Zach’s presentation on lasers could have implemented more smart art to make those abstract concepts familiar to us. Sounds clips also work better for some presentations than for others. If you are not careful, sound clips can distract others while you are presenting. The sound clips would have been most relevant for Brandon’s presentation but they did not work.

Trying to find a sound clip that I could embed in a presentation was the hardest thing for me. I am still not entirely clear on how to embed a sound clip in a presentation. In the future, I will try to find a sound clip that relates more directly to my subject. I would make sure that the information I present next time is more concise and straightforward. I tried to cram too much information into a short amount of time and I don’t think students would retain very much of it. I would also make sure that the presentation was more interactive so I would pose questions to the class to make sure they understood the material.

I like using power point as a lesson presenter. It works well for transitioning smoothly from lecture to videos and it allows you to illustrate concepts using smart art and pictures. I also like the ability to clearly display the most important information for students on the screen. It works well for more visually inclined learners. One of the problems with power point is that students can tune the instructor out while staring at the screen. It is also designed for a lecture format, which can cause students to disengage from what is being taught.