Reflection: Week 12

What?

This week in class we were introduced to the PowerPoint Activity. The description of this activity is different from past semesters because instead of presenting on two activities from our PowerPoint textbook, we created our own unique PowerPoint activity for our future classes. This activity is due next Wednesday, April 7, along with our podcast and vidcast.

So What?

The main reason we are doing this PowerPoint activity in our class is to get more familiar and intimate with the PowerPoint program. PowerPoint is a valuable classroom resource that most of us, as teachers, will be using all the time with our students. Before I started this instructional media class, I was able to make a basic PowerPoint presentation, but now I am able to do many more fun and exciting activities with my PowerPoint presentations. For example, I now know how to hyperlink, add pictures, sound, and movies to my presentations. Not only will this information help in my future teaching career, but it helps me now as a college student because I am often making PowerPoint presentations for class projects.

In previous semesters, the PowerPoint activity was slightly different from what it is now. This semester, we get to come up with our own fun, creative PowerPoint activity to use in our future classroom. What is even more exciting, is that Doctor Waters is giving us the opportunity to be able to publish our PowerPoint activity in her textbook that she is currently writing. "Doc" Waters is having a competition between the students to see who can come up with the best, most creative activities to be published in the textbook. This competition is motivating because it would be greatly beneficial to have an educational publication on my resume.

Now What?

All the information I have learned about PowerPoint this week will definitely benefit my future students. I really enjoy the PowerPoint activity I made this week and am excited to utilize it in my classroom someday. This assignment in particular is important for my students to complete because not only will they be learning about an important health topic, but they will also be using their creativity, interacting with their peers, and learning how to make a professional PowerPoint at the same time. I hope to share this idea and lesson plan with my fellow health educators so we can collaborate and develop an effective lesson plan.

My current schema has developed greatly throughout the course of this class. I never imagined that I would be excited about having a classroom website or understanding the intricacies of google and the UEN website, but now I am starting to understand how enjoyable and easy technology can be. Because of all the risky information that exists on the internet, I came into this class being skeptical about using its resources. Throughout the past few weeks when I have learned how to stay safe on the computer and how to develop valuable learning tools like podcasts, vidcasts, and PowerPoints, I have come to realize that all these tools will only enhance my lesson plans and teaching skills, not hinder them.

Video Reflection:

The video we watched this week was titled "How Not to use PowerPoint." This video was a nice change from the other videos we have viewed this semester because it was a comedy about PowerPoints. I feel that being a part of the education program here at Utah Valley University has made me more critical as I watch presentations. Whenever I watch one of my peers present a lesson, paper, or project, I always critique them and think about what they are doing wrong or what they could do better, especially while viewing PowerPoints. The man in the video this week basically presented all the mistakes that should not be in a PowerPoint presentation, but are mistakes that we see all the time. For example, when people make a slide and verbalize exactly what they have written on the slide. This act is unprofessional and boring for the audience. I love making PowerPoints and believe I have a real talent for it, so I enjoyed the humor in this video. I feel this video was beneficial, educational, and enjoyable at the same time.