1) There was a lot of stuff that I learned in class on Monday. I really feel like watching each other is one of the best ways to learn. I loved how Cassandra incorporated questioning into her presentation. I missed the boat on connecting my teaching style with a presentation, thinking it was more of a speech. How she included the students in the discussion was really thoughtful. I also really enjoyed Rogers presentation and kept thinking how that would be a great way to introduce yourself as a teacher to your class during the first week. I think I might steal the idea and use it for some of my international travels!
2) Unfortunately the tech didn't work for a couple of people. By over loading the presentation with video clips either the server or program couldn't handle it and made two presentations less affective. I am not really tech savy but I thought maybe if you do it as a link instead of embedded it might take some of the strain off the system. I could very well be wrong about this one. But regardless, due to the missing examples in both presentations unfortunately some impact was lost. Also I felt that in Andy's presentation the equations were a little hard to read and understand but his hand-out rectified this problem. So I would suggest maybe just having the equations on the reference sheet and the concepts on the presentation. I feel as if the lack of mathematical applications might simply be a weak point of prezi.
3) I really would like to have included a few of the tactics utilized by others. I should have incorporated in some student interaction time. It could have been questions or personal stories or a variety of things but involvement by the students would have made it more affective. I also liked Andy's worksheet idea. This could be another way for me to involve students. The third thing I would have changed was my interaction with the smartboard. I should have utilized the pens to draw attention to specific things and show movement. But now I know for next time!
4) I honestly don't know how I fell about powerpoint in the classroom yet. I think it is a great way for students to get their hands on technology and use as a presentation tool but it felt to much like a speech for me. If I really modified my style and made it more casual, more students involved and less technical I think I might use it in the classroom. I like the idea of visuals to back up the topics I am lecturing on I just feel tethered and less able to diverge if a particular area of interest arises. I would not change my decision on Friday because I think that prezi is to fast for me (makes me a little motion sick) and the Smartboard would not have allowed me practice time at home. I think that powerpoint is the most practical for me. The pros of visually striking evidence certainly exist and are numerous. Yet I think modification of my prepared lesson would make it more fit for a classroom setting.
5) Due to my concerns expressed in the previous question I do not believe I will lecture in class exactly as I did in this course on Monday. I love the way in which powerpoint presents images and I believe that I will utilize it for that purpose. No words will be found on my slides, but visual evidence to support the information I will be teaching and on the worksheet I hand out. The powerpoint will not be the focus of the lecture but simply an accompaniment to the casual conversation I will be having with my students. I really support free thought and creativity in my classroom and thus do not support a rigid daily lesson plan. Powerpoint makes me feel roped into a specific time frame and structure which might turn out to not be what works best for my students that day. Therefore, I want to utilize powerpoints visual powers in a more flexible manner in my classroom.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI thought you nailed in on your answer to #4 (and during your presentation) when you say you don't want to include much, if any, text on your slides. I thought you showed a mastery of your topic and because you were so familiar with the subject you were able to spend most of your time addressing the class instead of the board like myself and several other students did.
I agree that my equations were difficult to understand in Prezi. While this is due to its lack of ability to sub and super-script fonts, I should have done some type of screen capture from the Word equation generator and used inserted the jpg.
I would however suggest you give Prezi a try as a presentation method. After I worked through some bugs and issues due to my lack of familiarity with the presentation format it was really quite simple. I think for non-linear type presentations it can be a great format for engaging students. I think in a way you need to be open to the idea of what will be the most beneficial to your students through differentiating to multiple learning styles, and I feel like Prezi at least attempts to improve on the often times mundane and linear PowerPoint presentation. If nothing else, Prezi can offer the students a fresh spin on the presentation format: they have seen hundreds of PowerPoint presentations throughout their academic career and maybe something new will keep them engaged for just a little bit longer. I thought your topic could have lent itself to Prezi quite nicely, though I also thought you had one of the best overall presentations as is.