EDU 314 Teaching With Computers in Elementary and Secondary Schools
State University of New York at Cortland


Educational Applications of PowerPoint (PowerPointProject)

To do this week

1. Thoughtful use of PowerPoint Presentations in elemenary and middles school classrooms

Multimedia powerpoint presentations may be compelling and persuasive. Or they may be glib and disappointing. In the worst case, powerpointing become powerpointlessness, an unfortunate example of technology being done for technology's own sake: more attention is devoted to special effects than on the issues being studied - a glib and superficial job, all about about glitzy graphics and fancy animation at most, without much content. In the best case, the presentation enhances and communicates a larger and deeper body of work and thought.

Through this project, you are expected to combine the presentation software with other forms of communication, writing and reporting to persuade, convince, inform and enlighten: to enhance kids' learning.

2. Project Ideas

2.1 Virtual Field Trip

Virtual Field Trips are created and used by educators to arrange a series of pages from one Internet website or selected sites into a guided and narrated tour to motivate and enhance their students' learning. Virtual Field Trips (VFT) can "take" students to nearby or faraway places without actually leaving the classroom environment. The goal of a VFT is to increase the usefulness of Internet sources for students by carefully selecting content embedded in website(s) to enhance students' learning (from Dr. Kimberly Rombach's Social Studies website)

Please visit Dr. Kimberly Rombach's Virtual Field Trip Resources.rces.

Here are some Virtual Field Trip Projects made by EDU314 Spring 2007 classes:

Even Jone's PowerPoint Project: An Virtual Field Trip to the Statue of Liberty

Lauren Rakita's PowerPoint Project: An Virtual Field Trip to a Nazi Concentration Camp

Adrianne Shultis PowerPoint Project: A Voyage to Antarctica

2.2 Questions for Science

You can use PowerPoint to teach processes and how things work. You can stimulate elementary kids with questions about science that they are curious about. Here are some questions asked by students from EDU314 Fall 2006 (View ePortfolios by EDU 314 Fall 2006 classes).

Amanda Weston's PowerPoint Project: A World of Imponderables

  • Do people really get cramps if they go swimming immediately after eating?
  • Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
  • Do elephants jump?

Emily Mahon's PowerPoint Project: How do clouds and fog form

  • How do clouds and fog form?
  • Why does it rain so much in Seattle?

Ashley smith's PowerPoint Project: Body formation and functions

  • Why do we have bad breath in the morning?
  • Why men have nipples
  • Since blood is red, why does it look blue in veins?

2.3 More project ideas

Using Powerpoint in the classroom: some interesting ways PowerPoint can be used in the classroom. Topics include: using recycled presentations, presentations for parents, presentations for instruction, and creative presentation ideas.

PowerPoint -- Creating Classroom Presentations : A technology article on why powerpoint, project ideas, powerpoint tutorials from Education World, "Educator's Best Friend"

3. Tackle the Technical Part: expectations on technical skills: open

Basic powerpoint skills:

  • Make a new slide
  • Add additional slides
  • Apply a design template
  • Apply a text layout
  • Insert digital images
  • Make hyperlinks
  • Slide show: Normal view, Sorter View, and Slide Show
  • Print Your Slide Show

Additional skills:

  • Assign Slide Transitions
  • Insert Sounds
  • Insert Movies

PowerPoint Pointers: a step-by-step manual in PDF

4.Some fun stuff to add to your PowerPoint Project

DiscoverySchool's ClipArt Gallery: Discovery School now makes it easy to add graphics to your next project, whether its for home or school. Choose from hundreds of original clip art pieces, including animations!