Creating a Powerpoint

I've really enjoyed this powerpoint presentation because it is one that I will actually be able to use it for teaching (making me feel rewarded) and for something other than just showing that I can work my way around the computer program. I've been most challenged by generating content material because I'm worried that what I'm really interested in my students will not be, so I'm constantly going back and trying to shoot ideas by other friends and teachers I know. I want to insure that there is a balance between the "fun" part of my presentation (hiphop) and the traditional poetry that I need to teach so my students can pass the SOL. With regard to the technical part of PP, I was challenged by finding a background color scheme that I thought would be interesting but not take over my presentation.

I thought about the objectives that I wanted to deliver to my students. I kept in mind that I want the presentation to be interesting and informative. I thought about the zone of proximal development - not too hard and not too easy for the students. I wanted to have lots of info so the students stay busy and on track. I want to move them from relying on me for all the answers to finding the answers themselves about poetry (that stemmed from thinking about my own experience in high school).

There was a very real value of mappping it out beforehand. I would not have known where to start with this presentation if I hadn't done that work. It made my powerpoint design go smoothly - I could focus more on extra info and animation instead of the main idea content.

I wanted to use more audio/video files - but I only found them on copyrighted spots such as (VSpot on VH1.com), so it can make the powerpoint not flow as well. Keep trying is my advice for that. I also ran into wanting to put too much writing on the slides -- this is very boring. I constantly have to remind myself this powerpoint is not a replacement for class notes -- students shouldn't be copying down every slide -- it is an aid for lecture. Keep thinking about how you would feel as a student listening to this presentation.

I would definitely use a mapping out program like we did if I do this again (which I will).

It depends on where I'm teaching. I'm student teaching at Grafton, and they have lots of computer resources for students. If I'm in a similar situation, yes, I would do a powerpoint project. If I'm in a less affluent situation, I would be more uneasy about doing this type of project because I wouldn't want it to take the majority of my class time when we have to be covering more writing and literature for the SOLs.