Get Your Students Hired
I believe any new or novel technology has the potential to further engage the student.
I think slide share is a great way to minimize the preparation time for presenting topics. This way the instructor is able to spend more time on delivery and additional content. This helps to reduce the number of times we are reinventing the wheel.
As I understand the capabilities of SlideShare, it certainly enhances presentation sharing and availability to students and constituents. Technologies such as SlideShare offers the benefit and protects against technical problems that may arise from accessing an LMS system, or problems associated with the user's computer in attempting to open presentations since such presentations are launched from within SlideShare, hence presentations can be embedded on a blog or wiki to share with others. The only concern that one may consider is the level of comfort users must have with technology in order to productively navigate through such sites or applications.
We exclusively use PowerPoint presentations and I know students get bored. There are a lot of videos and some "non-technological" interactive opportunities (group work, discussion questions), but I think we can use more videos to help students get the point. I know we use YouTube a lot, but I'm curious if there are any other video sharing sites we can get credible information from?
My former high school English teacher uses Google Docs for his classes, and I think it's brilliant. This helps decrease the "I ran out of paper, I couldn't print it, I ran out of ink, the library is closed" excuses of handing in papers.
On the other hand, being able to draw directly on a diagram is a handy thing! With a more high-tech approach, I would have to make sure I have a tablet and make sure the presentation software has a way to draw on the picture.
I used an overhead projector when the school's only digital projector was busted (a few weeks to order a bulb!) and it was a handy backup. The pain of course was to go to Kinko's to make a bunch of transparencies.
I'm interested in looking at more advanced versions of presentation-sharing apps, but in the meantime the Google Page(s) I have that are pre-formatted for education pages have a slideshow feature that links to the Google slideshow apps. Unfortunately, they're transitioning away from the Picasa-based app (& plug-in) that was so much easier to use.
Its Google-based replacement is barely compatible with the Google Pages, which the slideshow was designed to use with Picasa, which is very sad. I hate it when they abandon useful technology.
i think that shifting content online is a great means to enhance student understanding if it is understood by students that this is a supplement to the classroom experience. The risk that students review materials and assume they do not have to show up for class is one of those lurking shadows that plagues us all. One possible solution is to have students review the presentation before class, and use it to supplement inclass discussions.
I think they make it easier to keep track of presentations and make them more collaborative. They can also be kept current more easily being that multiple instructors have access.
SlideShare is a tool that will help the students become more engaged in class. As such, the students will have a greater opportunity to retain the material.
Its one of the best tools since it provides a lot of resources and work thats already has been done and one can make use of those and make best prsentation and then make ir available to others to get benefitted.
James,
Your point about collaboration is spot on. Collaboration of students has numerous benefits to learning. However, in my experiences with slideshare, I find a collaboration among teachers just as beneficial. With all of the great lessons out there, there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Simply tailor a pre-existing lesson to our own context and school culture, and return the favor when you create an outstanding lesson. I think this is the future, teachers will become experts at picking and choosing what content will be worthwhile to accomplish specific learning objectives. And already the choices on the internet are overwhelming. Sites like slideshare help organize that data and provide a spring board for teachers to find out what other educators are using in their classrooms.
Looks like slide share can be very beneficial for ESL students too. It can be not beneficial if non applicable material is added to it.
Presentation-sharing applications will provide the students with a greater assortment of learning possibilities and student interaction.
It helps in at least two ways; it helps share information via the web (available to all), and can be used to encourage peer suggestions and feedback.
It has been my experience that any form of collaboration is a "good" form of learning. Students sometimes begin to share and actually teach their peers while encouraging new ideas they may share in my classroom and take it into other classrooms where other learners benefit.
Categories organize topics and questions that are posted by both the facilitator and the learner.
Hello,
Presentation sharing can be very helpful. I use to share my presentation slides at the beginning of my class but I noticed the students became less involved. They would just repeat what they saw on the power point. So, I now pass them out at the end of class.
I see presentation-sharing helping my learners share technical featurs in lab projects and advise on how to avoid potential mistakes made.
I also see a hinderance in that it removes some of the learners abuility to learn for themselves through technical research not social research.
Thad said, technical information can be much easier accessed.
I see it helpin gthe students becuase it provides such great accedd to the information that they need.
Cynthia,
I agree, many do become disinterested when viewing a series of facts presented in a PowerPoint. I find students really enjoy creating presentations on a give subject, placing them into the role of instructor. This is a great way for me to assess if they understand the concepts as well.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt