Project 2 Post

The PowerPoint project was a cool one. There are so many tools that we take for granted, using only a small portion of them, because that's the way we've always seen them used, when in fact, under the hood, they're extremely powerful. The ability to program in PowerPoint is one of those secrets that few know about.

I enjoyed the finished project much more than the process. I've never enjoyed programming, but this was simple enough. 12 questions, 3 potential answers equals 48 individual slides, most of which won't be seen (especially if people get the right answer on the first try). I liked that the project required good feedback, even on the wrong answers, so I felt like my students would learn even from choosing the wrong choice. I think that's smart.

I'd say the most rewarding part of this project, like I said initially, was the finished product. I feel like this will be a nice study tool for my students, and it's simple enough that they'll be able to do it at their own pace, which works well for students of any learning level.

PowerPoint is a great tool for the classroom because it's so readily available. Many times educators beg for some crazy expensive application that they feel is necessary for teaching. Many times (not always) the tools they have in front of them are more than enough for what they need. In a world where education budgets are consistently slashed, it's good to find new uses for the tools we have at hand.

The only concern I have with PowerPoint is that it is sooooo over used, and is frequently boring. Many teachers and presenters will just read text from a PowerPoint presentation which is just dumb. One of you doesn't need to be there, and if I'm in control of the budget, you're more expensive than that presentation.

Students are frequently encouraged to use PowerPoint for presentations, and I think that's great. It's a tool they'll use in the real world as well, and if we can teach them how to make GOOD presentations, we'll have served them well. I think some of the best ways to have students use Power Point is to have them teach a lesson on the subject matter. Another great way students can use PowerPoint is as an assistive tool in  Speech class, many people who struggle with speaking in public find comfort in having a third object "between" them and the audience. One last way I can think of to have students use PowerPoint is a tool like we created here. It isn't something they're creating, but a fantastic tool like we created could be used in many situations.