EDRD 7718 Module 6

PowerPoint Presentations

                I learned a lot of the stuff that was mentioned about PowerPoint presentations either through undergraduate classes or by trial and error. However, it is always helpful to hear the information again. One of the first slides needs to be an outline of the entire presentation so that the audience knows what will be covered throughout the presentation. The slides that contain any information need simply bullet point the main and most important parts of that section of the presentation. If your slides are too wordy then the audience will be too focused on reading the slide rather than listening to the details that you are trying to present. It should take from one to two minutes to discuss each slide.

                No- you don’t want the audience to be focusing a lot on the words in your PowerPoint, but you do want the audience to be able to read it. Therefore, it is important that the background is not overbearing; it needs to be simple and consistent throughout the presentation. The words also need to be big enough (but not too big) for the audience to read.

                One of the points made was that graphs do a great job of relaying data. This makes perfect sense but something I may not have thought of because I would have wanted to add information along with the graph. However, in actuality the graph can do the talking for the data. 

EDRD 7718 Module 5

      There were a lot of things from this module that really interested me. As a first year teacher, I have never actually seen or experienced effective literacy centers, therefore any little bit I learn about them is so helpful. With literacy centers it is important that the students are working on curriculum based activities and not busy work. Whether the students are working individually or with a partner, it is also important that after they are finished with their activity they have something to show for it such as a little assessment such as a ticket out the door to show where they may be in their level of understanding. However, it is not only to show their understanding, but also to keep the students accountable for their learning. The things I learned from these few videos show that I am on the right track, but there are still some things I need to work on with a balanced literacy program. I am actually in the process of getting help from my school's EIP teacher. She is going to start coming into my room and assisting me with the proper process when planning for literacy centers.
    The other topic that was discussed briefly was the classroom environment. I love seeing other people's classroom and getting new ideas on how to appropriately organize my room in order to meet my students needs. The book entitled Spaces and Places seems like a great book and actually one I may go out and purchase. She gave a brief overview of her book, but the chapter titles drew me in enough. She discussed how to plan the space in your classroom, arranging the furniture, using wall space and organizing the clutter in your classroom. The students need structure and the way the classroom is set up and organized as an effect on them.