Power point has certainly made an impact on education over the last few years. However, as the blog directions indicate, learners have experienced 'death by power point' because they can become boring and overused. These presentations are great for the visual learner and provide students a way to go back and review the material after the presentation has been given. It's functions also allow users to print off the slides in order to take notes on or have for reference as well. Over the last couple of years, the idea of power point has emerged into other applications that are even more professional and creative than the original concept. Prezi is supped-up, innovative, and interactive method of presentation that many instructors are learning to use. The templates for this program are limitless and create a visual and audio haven for some learners. For me, it has also been fun to use my creative side to produce a power point that keeps the attention of my students.
Some of the basic rules that I personally apply to my power point-type of presentation include not using too much text on a slide, use big enough font and a visually-appealing color of font to ensure your students can easily read the material, and like any other type of material be sure to cite references if you are using someone else's ideas.
Personally, I have thoroughly enjoyed most of my synchronous learning environments here at Liberty. It is one thing to write back and forth to your colleagues through a discussion board, and quite another to spend time laughing and working with them in a face-to-face environment. I have made some life-long friends by being able to collaborate in a meaningful way with other learners. Throughout my time at Liberty, I have been a part of several online classes. These have occurred through Adobe Connect, WebEx, and Google Hangouts. My favorite has been Hangouts because I feel like it is very user-friendly and free. I think, at first, we all feel uncomfortable in an online class meeting only because we are unfamiliar with the people we are chatting with and do not know what to expect. I have not yet seen any individuals within my program that have been too shy to communicate or collaborate on projects. I HAVE felt, at times, that some people try to take over the group and dominate the project which ends up making some people feel unappreciated and unneeded. This makes learning more difficult. Sometimes is also a struggle to agree on times that are most convenient for everyone, as well. Overall, though, I believe synchronous environments are very beneficial and should be used in many online distance education programs. In my own course, although it is face-to-face, I have encouraged my students to use Hangouts to study together in the evenings when/if they are not able to come back to school to study with each other. These environments can be very beneficial for parents who need to get children in bed and for others who have family commitments in the evening. I will implement more of this interaction in the next course I teach.
(This discussion was posted to the discussion board on time this week, just had not added it to my blogspot until today.)
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