4) Using PowerPoint in the Classroom

In today’s classroom, Microsoft PowerPoint has become one of the most popular tools of choice for giving presentations.  If you have ever used Microsoft PowerPoint, it is easy to tell that it was developed with ease of use in mind.  All of the templates and tools are right at your fingertips and pictures and media files are easy to add in order to help you construct your presentation and make it more engaging.  However, there are many advantages and disadvantages to using PowerPoint.

Many students love visual aides because it helps them put an image to an idea. If you are standing in front of a class describing your thoughts, showing a picture or photo or maybe a short video with the highlighted points helps get your point across and your listeners are likely to sit up and take notice.  By PROPERLY utilizing a tool such as PowerPoint, you can effectively capture your student's attention.

Still, if PowerPoint is NOT used properly, it can become extremely ineffective.  Some teachers assume their PowerPoint presentation will lead the show, but this assumption is a terrible mistake because the program is designed to accentuate your presentation, not replace it.  Slides are best designed to be simple and direct in nature.  It’s also not a good idea to include too many slides because your students will tire of them if they are forced to sit through slide after slide.  The point of the slideshow is to enhance your presentation, not replace your words.  Another downfall of PowerPoint is that some teachers tend to focus too much on the slideshow during their lesson instead of focusing their attention on the class.  Students are not going to be engaged by watching a teacher pay more attention to their slides than them.

Overall, PowerPoint is an effective tool to use in the classroom if you are looking for a technique which will captivate and help engage your students during an otherwise boring lecture.  BUT THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU KNOW HOW TO EFFECTIVLY USE POWERPOINT!  A PowerPoint slideshow may be good bait to use in order to get students to notice your presentation, but it is ultimately your words and your personable approach to the lesson which will be the necessary hook to actually catch their attention and hold on to it.  REMEMBER, POWERPOINT IS MEANT TO BE A VISUAL TO ENHANCE YOUR LESSON, NOT TO REPLACE IT!!!!!