Presentation software offers great visuals. Some students learn by visuals. It offers a picture that can trigger recall on information. For elementary students, presentation software needs to have bright colors and lots of picture or they won't be interested. As the students get older, there's not so many pictures as there is info. But teachers have to be careful not to overload a slide with too much writing or the student will not be able to comprehend and process it all. I think some disadvantages would be that some students rely on it too much. I know I've caught myself relying on PowerPoint presentations. When a teacher doesn't teach with it and outline the basic info I need to write down, I tend to be confused on what I need to write down and learn. So sometimes I think visual presentations can be a crutch to learning. So I would encourage teachers to change it up so students don't get hooked on one style of learning.
PowerPoint can incorporate picture with writing. If I was trying to teach elementary students about Christopher Columbus I could include a cartoon picture of him discovering America and maybe a Schoolhouse Rock video about it. If I was teaching the same subject to middle school students, I would include a real life picture of Columbus along with some interesting facts about his voyages; such as: who sponsored his trip, what ships he used, etc. I could include a video from the History Channel that reenacts Columbus discovering America. When I would teach this subject to high school students, I would include a real life photo of Columbus along with many more facts about the voyages such as how Columbus actually did many voyages after the first one. I would also include the video from the History Channel as well. My middle school and high school approach would be roughly the same with high school receiving more than just the basic facts middle school would receive.
I am very interested in web conferencing in classrooms. At my school we never had the opportunity to have an online conference with a school in another country. I think this is such a neat idea and allows students in America to broaden their knowledge on the world. It gives students a chance to appreciate what they have, but also learn more about other cultures and appreciating what they have to offer. I hope to find ways that I can incorporate this method into my teaching. I enjoy traveling and learning about other cultures. I want to become someone who isn't stuck in the daily affairs of my own country. I hope to give that same belief to my students. And I think one way I could would be to incorporate a connection to students their age around the world either by Skype or podcasts or even just written communication.
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