Narrated PowerPoint

In this assignment, Narrated PowerPoint, I created a stand-alone instructional presentation using a narrated PowerPoint about Fairy Tales for my future students. I actually used the final product with a group of 3^rd graders I was teaching as part of my methods program in college to introduce them to the topic of fairy tales. They loved it! I created a PowerPoint that explained the basic elements of fairy tales and at the end looked at two familiar fairy tales to compare how they measure up to the elements of fairy tales.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.

-Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the NETS. Teachers design and adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a glob and digital society. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

In this product I used my knowledge of the subject matter and technology to facilitate experiences that advanced students learning in a virtual environment. I supported the student’s creative and innovated thinking by giving them a set of characteristics to judge fairy tales by. The product gave students the tools to discover whether a story was a fairy tale or not. As I designed this learning experience I incorporated digital tools and other web resources to promote my students learning and communicate relevant information and ideas to my students in a digital format.

From developing this product I have learned how to use Prezi, since I originally made a project using Prezi. In the end I decided to use the PowerPoint to communicate the relevant information because I wanted it to be something that was completely stand-alone. I also wanted to convey quite a bit of information. So from this project I learned how to choose digital tools to most effectively complete the task that you want completed. This narrated PowerPoint is special because it incorporated both visual and verbal learning. If a student was deaf or auditory-impaired they would still have gotten the basic information presented. If a student were blind or visual-impaired they would still have gotten the information presented. A multi-sensory learning experience is more effective than merely relying on visual or verbal instruction. I feel very competent using both Prezi and PowerPoint.

I would like to dabble in Prezi more so that I can make more effective presentations. I have seen very effective Prezis but at the current level I am at I am dissatisfied with my end products. However before this assignment I had never created a Prezi before, so I have learned a lot about how to create and navigate around a Prezi. When I used this PowerPoint product with students I was teaching, they received it very well. Perhaps I would use more animation throughout the slide instead of just at the end when I didn’t want information visually presented until it was verbally addressed. This could have engaged students even more.