Digital Tool 5: PowerPoint's and Prezi's

Microsoft have developed a program known as PowerPoint enabling users to create presentations for a variety of purposes. This program allows users to insert text, images, transitions, music and speech to enhance a normally verbal presentation and create an aesthetically pleasing visual aid for audiences.

In a learning environment PowerPoint presentations can not only be incorporated for the use of teachers, but also students in assessment tasks. This can greatly benefit visual, kinaesthetic and auditory learners in the classroom as they can see, and hear an information in a new format with the aid of images and sounds rather than the traditional teacher centered classroom.

The incorporation of PowerPoint presentations into assessment tasks can develop students skills in ICT and also speaking to an audience. Not only do the students gain skills in creating and developing the presentation but also learn how to use the PowerPoint to enhance an oral presentation and interact with their audience.

PowerPoint presentations give teachers an opportunity to engage their students and involve them with their own learning. The twenty-first century demands a focus on the use of Information Communication Technologies used by adolescents as this is the way of the future and this is an opportunity for students to practice this.

An example of a PowerPoint presentation can be found on my Wiki at http://nicoleemma90.wikispaces.com/Dimensions+of+learning+PowerPoint

Prezi is an innovative more advanced version of Microsoft PowerPoint. Prezi is a storytelling tool which allows creators to develop a non linear presentation for audiences where the links between ideas can be identified. Photos, videos and text can be incorporated into the presentations. However this is a much more advanced option and may be difficult to incorporate into the classroom as they can be difficult to understand and also time consuming to create. For an advanced level classroom or an ICT class the program Prezi could be very useful to test the ability of its users.