Large Classes and Interactive PowerPoint (Week 7)

Hello,

This week, we read about how to make student-center classes and use interactive PowerPoint. I am not used to working with large classes, but many of the activities mentioned in the readings can be applied to small groups as well. The use of pair, group activities gives the students the chance to interact with their classmates as well with the teacher in a more personal way. The use of technology like a PPT can also help to get students' attention in the class, but we learned this week that we have to make the PPT interactive. We have to include relevant information and give time for the students to process that information. We have to be careful not to include all the information in the presentation because it will make the students focus only on the presentation rather than the teacher. Besides, there is not much to say if you have included everything on the slides.

I have used PPT in my classes a few times, but must admit that they were not interactive. I had not the chance to explore all the benefits that this tool has for our classes. This week we learned how to make an interactive PPT and how to use it for large classes. As I said before, it is a gfreat tool to use not only with large classes, but also with small ones. If used properly, we can bring many activities for the class. We can do interactive games, quizzes, review of vocabulary, pre and post reading activities, etc.

We are getting close to finish the course, but all the learning experience is changing and will continue to change the way I used to see the incorporation of technology in my classes. I am looking forward to share some of this information with my peers and continue to encourage teachers to use technology in their classes as well.

Cristian