spunkicast - for podcasting

power point class

power point - can be interactive, just like a website - creative way of using power point.

difference between website and power point.
power point is local. so if you have no internet in your classroom, it's a great idea.
it is easier to use than Nvu.

it can be used as a webquest (can even click on links outside the program)
students can di their individual work. Students can learn what they missed from a class they did not attend. Solve a problem - students can choose a from different options to solve a problem.
with foreign language you can have pictures for students to recognize, and it can have sounds in it.

citations for texts or images used - at the bottom of the page or in another page people have to go to before exiting.

you can have your students create their power point presentation. it is a great way to review. they can create a game or tutorial for other people to work through, and you can put them in your website.

comments on power point is evil

Honestly, I find it very funny and confusing that power point is being criticized for enabling people to do the very same thing I was always criticized for not being able to do in school - outlines.
Unless I got the whole thing wrong, the point of a powerpoint presentation is to outline or highlight the main points of something that was read, and it has to do with understanding main ideas and knowing how to summarize effectively.
it looks like what author really want to criticize is the bad use of power point. Using it in a way that hinders the message instead of delivering it. that might be what most people would criticize, but instead they they just say how evil power point is.
Again, I am not familiar with power point, but it seems to be a very rich program, filled with a number of different options, and misuse or overuse of those options can ruin the presentation. I think that might happen more often than not because people are just not used to the richness of it... and let's tell the truth people love to be extravagant, especially people that don't have access to the extravagance on a regular basis, and they often do it the first chance they have.
That's just human nature. Power point is not as evil as we are.

NPR thoughts

This is just a summary of the NPR report, so I don't forget it all by next week. The report questions the benefits or harms of power point at school settings. It asks whether or not this natural step of development in the world of technology is getting in the way of learning.
One teacher shows how that opened a million possibilities to the students and got them very engaged in school projects. The students can also use power point as a tool to organize and bring together data from so many different sources.
For teachers power point is harmful. It is only useful for the presenter who is disorganized, and it does intellectual harm to to the other presenters. It doesn't help the audience. Students will be led to only think about what points the can extract from a text they read instead of actually having a meaningful critical conversation about it.
I think the pros and cons are valid. But as it was pointed out during the report - power point is just a tool, and tools can usually be used both in good and bad ways. Usually overuse of anything is bad. SO I guess if one uses power point so often that he starts to see the world is points and bullets... maybe that is not a very good thing, because that is not really how the world works. But if someone uses it in a way that helps them and the audience who will be watching to understand the essence of the message and if that is done in an engaging way (I am not that familiar with power point, but I have seen pretty boring power point presentations), I can see how that would bring benefits.
It is true, it is more useful for the presenter than for the audience. But it doesn't mean it doesn't help the audience at all.