Powerpoint, Is it the new overhead projector?

Welcome back.

Before I left to student teach in Portage we as an ICT class went over the common errors or misuses of powerpoint.  I find powerpoint to be useful in presentations to my fellow classmates or students.  I found out that there are many things that I need to avoid when developing a engaging powerpoint presentation.  Things like: paragraph use, the overuse of; bullets, animations, images, sounds, over informing using too many slides, poor colour scheme and so on.  It can make what you the presenter feels to be a well developed presentation into a lackluster one.

Tips to a good powerpoint or Apple's version called; Keynote are as follows:

1. Write a script beforehand.

2. Use one thing at a time.

3. Don't use paragraphs.

4. Good design.

5. Use images only when needed.

6. Ask Questions.

These are just a few things to think about when you want to make an engaging presentation.  You want keep the audience focused and lively in your presentation.  Hopefully using these tips and avoiding some of the errors you will have a successful presentation.  

Fun, Cool, Unique and Very Useful Apps

Hello and welcome,

I'm an Apple guy; I have a Macbook and an iPhone.  Both of which I use quite often.  I have many useful apps for each but always strive to gain more useful ones.  I find that I use a variety of apps I'm interested in for sports, social media and music.  Since being in ICT for education Mike Nantais and other guest speakers have introduced me to many useful apps for picture editing, notes and other interesting educational ones.  The iPad, which I do not own also opens up countless possibilities for educational apps.  This includes games, presentation types, music, etc.  I hope to get an iPad in the future and further explore some productive apps and build a strong technological future in education.

Technology seen at Portage Collegiate Institute

Over the last 5 weeks I student taught at Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.  I found it to be a productive and enjoyable experience as I was back in my hometown, at my old school, with familiar teachers and new students.  The familiarity was awesome to have but there have been some changes not only physically but technological wise to the high school since I graduated in 2010.  

I was with two of my former physical education teachers.  The department of physical education got a grant to purchase iPad's for the staff not long ago.  They use them for mark books, attendance, music and personal use so that is nice to see the staff getting a useful device.  The football field had just build a score booth that was made by BCT students and staff from the school which is awesome.  It features their score clock and they have plans to hook up sound in the near future as well.  Both gymnasiums have new $6000 sounds systems that are top of the line.  They are locked up but feature an auxiliary cord to plug in MP3's or phones for use.  From my standpoint I didn't really see anything else that stood out.  The computer labs featured updated computers but were in the same spot.  I saw newer projectors but was surprised of the lack of smart boards.  Going forward I think PCI is at or past where other schools are technology wise and it will be interesting to see what is next for the school.

Until next week, I'm back and I'm Rod.