SlideShare

Powerpoint presentation

SlideShare, when importing my original powerpoint presentation into my blog was a complete nightmare. It took forever to download then told me that the presentation had been deleted (I didn't delete it!). I tried again and it didn't work. The third time I tried it finally worked, although I had done nothing different. Therefore, my current relationship with SlideShare is not a positive one.

However, I can understand the benefits of it. Not only can you develop a presentation and present it on SlideShare for others to view and comment but you have access to hundereds of different presentations and documents from one easy location. What I really do love about this concept is that it fits Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) Engagement Theory, specifically the ability to 'donate'. Students could create their own presentation on a specific topic that is then placed on SlideShare for public view and comment.

I would have been interested in synching audio to my PowerPoint presentation however I do not have the resources to do so, such as a microphone. The advantage of including audio in a lesson from a teachers perspective is that you could include crucial comments throughout the presentation that you may otherwise forget to mention due to the busy rush of the lesson. You may also use it to add in extra little 'did you know' comments to get the students thinking.

The main benefit of utilising the audio for powerpoint presentations however, is the students ability to learn and become comfortable with a new technology. As an example, students in my prac class have recently created their own television advertisement. This was basically a powerpoint presentation with their audio. Students learnt how their voices sounded once recorded and noticed that sometimes they spoke too quickly, too loud or too soft.