Ed Tech

The goal of a PowerPoint presentation is not for the presenter to read aloud each slide for an audience.

Quite simply, this one point (no pun intended) will drastically increase the quality of a presentation. Of course, there are exceptions, where the goal is to read aloud the words; however, unless your audience is a class full of second graders, which mine happens to be, reading words is not the point!

PowerPoint slideshows are meant to enhance a talk, not replace it. So, use your slides as a guide, and your audience will be impressed. Simple, straightforward, effective.

Teacher will use technology if it is exciting and easy. As a tech leader at my school site, making technology immediately useful is the litmus test–”Will it make my life easier NOW!?”

There are simple ways to get teachers to use more technology; however, each step must be easy. Sharing an excel sheet for assessments can be one easy step. Next, a teacher can edit this sheet. Soon, every teacher is keeping track of student data on Excel, rather than in lesson plan books.

Another example is using software during a lesson. Teachers at my school are each issued a laptop and a projector; it is an easy step to show them how to download Google Earth. Then, as we approach lessons that could incorporate geography, teachers simply use Google Earth instead of a pull-down map. Now, students are seeing actual photos from space, not some state on a political map.