Microsoft Powerpoint

As far as presentation software goes, Microsoft PowerPoint (or referred to as PowerPoint) is a very powerful and commonly available application which can be found in most educational establishments as well in the home.

I find PowerPoint very useful even through there are other presentation software such as Prezi and Nearpod which I came across in the module. One of many key features it has is that you can have a play, create slides, experiment and if you are not content with the work then just delete, and no waste of paper. 

You can have as many slides as you wish but beware of ‘death by PowerPoint’ and there are templates which allow you to be creative in your presentation.

What I have noticed is that different lecturers use PowerPoint to deliver the lecture and some issue them at the beginning so learners can make notes and there are those who issue them at the end. 

However, what is made clear by all the lecturers I have observed or been taught by is that the slides are to supplement the lecture but not replace it.  Attendance, learner note taking and further reading is necessary.

My preference when delivering lessons is to provide a handout of the slides and for learners to make relevant notes which they take away and do further reading and learning.  For me, the slides have key points and this is more of a focus point and I speak and discuss the important subject matter and concepts with the learners.

A study by Worthington and Levasseur (2015), which found slides provided by the lecturer did not have an impact on attendance but a negative impact on the course performance for the learners who used the slides as part of their note taking.  This is an interesting point for me to consider.

The positive for PowerPoint is that the files can be loaded onto a laptop, computer or mobile device and delivered without internet access.

Reference:

Worthington, D, & Levasseur, D 2015, 'To provide or not to provide course PowerPoint slides? The impact of instructor-provided slides upon student attendance and performance', Computers & Education, 85, pp. 14-22, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 January 2016.