If used effectively, I believe that
PowerPoint can very a very useful tool in a social studies classroom. It’s
unavoidable to lecture some of the time for this subject area, so PowerPoint
can be a useful aid during the lecture. They should be a guide in helping
students take notes. The key is to make it useful for the students, and not a
distraction.
There are many positive uses for
PowerPoint. One way to do this is to put up names and dates, so that students who
are visual learners can still keep up with the lesson. Some students cannot pick up some of this
information just by listening, so having the correct spelling and dates can be
really useful for them. It is also helpful for showing pictures and documents, perhaps
instead of printing them and passing them out. Showing pictures can really help a student
understand a concept or time in history that students may not completely grasp.
For example, when teaching a lesson on trench warfare in World War I, a concept
that students may not be familiar with, you could show pictures of the
trenches. The pictures will really show how life in the trenches really is. Also,
PowerPoint’s can be used multiple times a day, and can be used in subsequent
years. Once a presentation is made, a
teacher can use it for all the applicable classes throughout his or her day.
This eliminates needing to write information on the board, and worrying if you
have dry erase markers or chalk. And
depending on the grade level, PowerPoint’s can assist students who have missed
class.
While PowerPoint has positives
uses, there can be some negatives also associated with it in a social studies
classroom. One factor is that it can be a distraction, especially if there are
a lot of words and information on the PowerPoint. This is especially true if
the slide is not directly related to what the teacher is talking about (i.e. if
the teacher delays going to the next slide). Additionally, some classrooms may
not have the proper equipment to present a PowerPoint presentation. And along
those lines, there can always be technical problems that may cause delays.
Nice post Erin, I liked how you showed the positive and negative points for power point presentations. I think we have all had the expierence of when power point was used in an ineffective manner, where the teacher is only reading off powerpoint throughout the whole class. I liked how you showed how powerpoint is a great tool, but it still needs to be used in the right way or else it will not help anyone.
ReplyDeleteSomething I noticed about powerpoint is that when a teacher uses it, many times though it is great and has many benefits, I noticed that it takes away from the personal connection of the teacher and student relationship. Of course when I'm a teacher I will be using powerpoint, but I know I will not rely so heavily upon it because of this point.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI wrote about using power point in the classroom as well. I agree with you that in the content area of social studies lecturing has to be done during some parts of the class. I think that power point presentations make it easier for students to read notes and with the bulleted structure they offer, notes are more organized for students. I also agree with you that showing visuals through power point will help the student understand the time period better. Trench warfare is an excellent example to show that students will understand the concept better if there is a visual to go with it. I am glad you mentioned that teachers can use power points in subsequent years because it will definitely make our job easier. When I read that I also thought about how much easier it will be to make changes since it is not complicated to edit something on a power point. I know I definitely do not want to use power points constantly for every class since students will become bored of it, but I believe it is the best way for students to get organized and clear notes.