Blog #7

Your seventh post should contain:
A paragraph on what you feel are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of using presentation software in the K-12 classroom.
A paragraph on how you might use PowerPoint to support student learning at each knowledge dimension in a particular lesson. Be explicit in your example! Use Chapter 5 and google for ideas.
A paragraph on an issue related to educational technology that now interests you. You may provide information, ask questions, include links, etc.

The biggest advantage of using presentation software in the K-12 classroom is the convenience of it. Let's face it, Powerpoint is very easy to use and extremely accessible, so everyone loves it. It isn't difficult to put together an entire day's lesson the night before if you use powerpoint. The biggest disadvantage, however, is that powerpoint can become easily overused, and students can get bored with it. I say this because students are looking for stimulation when they come to school, and if all they get everyday is a powerpoint, they will become easily distracted and lazy. Powerpoint cannot be used daily.

I would use Powerpoint to facilitate learning by not only creating Powerpoints for my students, but also giving them assignments to create their own lessons for the class. I think the best way to learn is to teach, and this would certainly facilitate that. Students will grasp the knowledge much faster if they are given the opportunity to explore it first by themselves. This encourages the student to think about the subject matter and create their own questions before I even introduce it. I would also include a lesson on teaching my students how to use Powerpoint to their full potential, because I think that is important too.

A current educational technology issue that interests me is the introduction of Smart boards into more classes. I think Smartboards are awesome, I had one in my French class in 9th grade, and I think it is great that they are expanding. I hope that soon every class will have one, sicne I really think students benefit from it. I also think it would be very cool if students used these Smartboards to do virtual field trips, since that is all the rage right now, too. I hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to use a Smartboard with my students.